Adjusting garage door balance

[coachgrd]

Anyone have experience with adjusting the balance of a garage door...without severely injuring themelseves?

I need to replace my opener. Before I begin I need to adjust the balance of the door. Not quite sure how to go about it...safely. First, the door is a sectional with what I thought was a torsion spring in the header area. With some closer inspection, I see there is no visible spring above the door but rather a beam running the width of the door and some sort of a dial on each end. Would this be where the balance is adjusted and if so, how do I do it?

Many thanks in advance...
Gary

**EDIT** After speaking with a couple of guys who are more familiar with garage door systems and apparently what I have is a rod across the width of the door with two internal springs. I've read some real horror stories about folks fiddling with these systems and paying dearly for it. I contacted a local professional and described what I have going on and he seems to think one of the springs inside may have broken because when I have it open I must prop it with a block and if not, it goes into a complete free fall...nothing holding it back. With a couple little ones, I'm going to let a pro tackle this one.

 

[kenmac]

On my door there are 2 torsion springs. The cable goes around pulleys at each end of the rod.. The torsion springs will have adjustments on either end of the spring with set screws. As a rule of thumb . turn the spring 1 round for every ft. height of the door (Ie.) 7 ft. tall door 7 rounds for each spring. If you have this type system .. be careful and DON'T let the spring slip

 

[ultrarunner]

It would help if you had the opportunity to see one being installed...

I've found with some wooden Sectional Doors that they get heavier in the wet winter months and dry out in the summer... Metal or Fiberglass doors don't have this problem and wood doors that are sealed on all sides are less affected.

You will need 2 steel rods about 16" long that fit into the holes on the tensioner and a wrench to loosen the (2) set screws...

Work slowly and always have one rod in the adjuster... I doubt you will need to turn more than 1 turn...

Before you adjust... make sure all of the guides and rollers operate smoothly... some older ones are designed to be oil.

Also check to see that the door doesn't bind against the jamb...

 

[CATMAN]

I have the type of garage door the kenmac describes, and I installed it myself. For safety reasons, on this 2 torsion spring style, I recommend you purchase the correct tool to wind or unwind the springs. I initially tried to wind the springs with big tapered punches that I already own. I stopped after a couple revolutions, unwound it, then drove back to the Ranor garage dealer and purchased the two smooth, solid rods that they sell for winding their springs. Those rods fit perfectly in the adjustment holes= much, much safer. Only $14 back in 1994. Your door style sounds different than this, but I thought I would share my experience and I would want the correct tool because there is a LOT of tension on these springs.

As far as tension or balance is concerned, the door technicians that work on our company's large 16 ft. tall, manually operated doors, tell us that the door should stay "put" at 3 feet, or 6 feet, or 10 feet, or mostly whereever you leave it IF it is properly adjusted. It shouldn't fall OR go up on its own.​

 

[Lasgambler]

Good Advice from Kenmac and Ultrarunner.

Get two 1/2 inch cold roll from a steel yard about 16 inches long. Do not try to use screwdrivers. BE VERY CAREFUL!!!!!!!

 

[PineRidge]

I'll throw my 2 cents in here since I learned the hard way. Make sure that you check the attachment point of the wire rope to the overhead door before adjusting the spring tension.

Years ago when I was but a young and unlearned individual I was standing on a 12' ladder adjusting the springs on an old wood door in a gas station that had gotten heavier because of absorbing water in the wash bay.

As the springs were torqued tighter the wire rope let go at the very bottom of the door. Don't think I'll ever forget that sound as that wire passed inches from me at light-speed.

I was very, very lucky that day. Be extremely careful.

 

[kenmac]

1 night just after going to bed ,I heard a loud noise. My wife thought someone was trying to break into the house.So, I Got up and looked around & couldn't find anything . The next morning my wife was leaving for work & hit the garage door opener. The door wouldn't open. It was then that I noticed that that noise I had heard the night before was that one of the torsion springs had broken. I had no idea that these springs would just break on their own.But , I do now ! I have a 20' wide metal door. I like to have never raised that door for to get her vehicle out of the garage.

 

[dooleysm]

The EXACT same thing happened to me at a house I was renting years ago. It's definitely not something I ever expected to happen, and sure left me confused until I tried to open the garage door (which I didn't do every day, because I kept my motorcycle in there).

 

[Dargo]

I have to assume that all relatively new garage doors have the torsion spring setup in the door header. In high school I once closed the garage door at my parents house only to hear a loud crash and see the long spring come through the garage door window right next to me! My dad still has the long springs on either side of the door track at the top of his doors. I can't convince him that they are old and dangerous enough to replace them.

I setup the overhead doors in my barns and it wasn't a really big deal adjusting the torsion on them. When new I heard to have them a bit strong so they will "break in" and be about right. I may have over done the "strong" on the lift because once put in motion, they go all the way up on their own. The newer ones are safer than the older ones. You can still get your knuckles or hand busted, but they are better. Others have given you good advice.

 

[dbdartman]

Dargo, the tension springs are still in use somewhat, but they have a cable run through the center of them so if/when they break the cable holds them in place rather than fly around. Shouldn't be too hard (or expensive) to thread a 1/8" "wire rope" through the springs & secure at either end with cable clamps.

 

[PineRidge]

1 night just after going to bed ,I heard a loud noise. My wife thought someone was trying to break into the house.So, I Got up and looked around & couldn't find anything . The next morning my wife was leaving for work & hit the garage door opener. The door wouldn't open. It was then that I noticed that that noise I had heard the night before was that one of the torsion springs had broken. I had no idea that these springs would just break on their own.But , I do now ! I have a 20' wide metal door. I like to have never raised that door for to get her vehicle out of the garage.

It has been my experience that the majority of broken torsion springs in the gas stations resulted after a pretty good temperature change. IE Hot during the day with a cooler than normal evening. Don't know why but it didn't seem to be coincidental.

 

[kennyd]

It has been my experience that the majority of broken torsion springs in the gas stations resulted after a pretty good temperature change. IE Hot during the day with a cooler than normal evening. Don't know why but it didn't seem to be coincidental.

Who is this? PineRidge who?

Glad to see you back Mike

 

[PineRidge]

Who is this? PineRidge who?

Glad to see you back Mike

Hey Kenny it's good to be back! thanks...

Love that new JD avatar too.

 

[kenmac]

Pineridge, I don't know about the temp. changes causing the springs to break. They just told me that the springs are under alot of stress and over time, they will break. I ended up replacing both of mine after the 1 st. one broke . The advise I got from the place I bought the springs was. If the 1 st. one broke , the other 1 isn't far behind .. I miss the cat in your avatar. you threw me for a second.

 

[ray66v]

I do a fair amount of garage door servicing. It is fairly common for an old spring, (6+ years), to break within 6 months after it is retightened. If this happens, replace BOTH springs at the same time.

Always use care, caution and keep your face out of the line of fire when torquing springs.

Set the new springs a little "hot", meaning the door should be really easy to open and a little hard to close. This way in 6 months, when they wear in, your all set.

For a few bucks more you can up size the springs, (Heavier wire gauge), to ones that will last much longer. I always do this when I put in a new door. $25-$50 dollars more now can save you a lot of trouble later.