tension confusion

[jawodele]

I recently replaced my door opener and adjusted the tension on my torsion springs. While adjusting the tension, I had trouble finding the right amount. When lifting the door a few feet off the floor, it falls back down indicating that there is not enough tension on the torsion springs. But when I try to close the door, it doesn't want to go all the way to the floor unless I push down on it. And when I let go, the door springs back up about a half inch. Likewise, with the opener connected, the opener has to push down on the door to get it to close completely until there is slack in the belt (probably not a good thing for the opener).

Are the springs in need of further adjustment or replacement? Something tells me this might rather be an issue with the pulleys and/or cable lengths.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks

[DixieDoor]

I can help

what do your springs look like? as in , can you see them or are they inside the shaft which means its a wayne dalton door. If you can see them, and your cable drum is approx 4" in diameter, then you want about 7.5 full turns for a 7 tall door and 8.5 for a 8' tall door. Either count quarter turns or draw a chalk line across the unwound spring and start winding, count the chaulk stripes that twist up like a barbers pole, should be 7 or 8. Get back with me if you have a different set up then this and ill walk you through it.

[jawodele]

Springs are on the outside of the shaft and I tightened to 7.5 turns for a 7' door. But, again, the door's behavior doesn't indicate whether I need to loosen or tighten.


1. The door falls when lifted a few feet (springs too loose?)
2. The door won't stay shut all the way (springs too tight?)

How can it be both? Or does this have nothing to do with the springs?

[DixieDoor]

Is it only moving a couple of inches either way after you let go? if so, your fine. Its not going to be exact. If you close the door and it comes up a half inch, leave it alone, the motor wont even notice it. But if you are lifting the door to the half way point and it falls to the floor or slowly rises to the header, then adjustment is needed. If you can not find a good balance where it only moves less then a foot or so, then the springs are wrong for the door. Let me know how little you can get it to move one way or another and Ill let you know if its something to worry about. You probably have a half horse motor on there, so if the door is moving slowly up or down less then a foot where ever you let go, your good.

[gdoorpro]

spring tension is on a typical 7" door is 7.5 turns. If the springs you have don't work withing 1/4 turn + or - than the IPPT's (inch pounds per turn) are off, and you have the wrong size springs.

You may check the top fixtures and see if they position the top rollers in the correct position. they could be too far from the door requiring more force to close all the way down.

Ryan

[mb123452010]

balancing the spring tension

Did you ever run the door by hand previous to the adjustment, if you did and it worked fine then chances are your springs are not the problem and its just a matter of adjusting the springs to the correct number of turns which has been covered.

[jeffkellen]

spring problem

Yes, as the other guys have mentioned, this is a classic case of having the incorrect size springs on your door. Many people are under the incorrect assumption that a garage door spring lifts a garage door- however there is more to it. The springs are engineered to lift a specific door that weighs a specific amount. Because different doors all have different weights, they require different springs. Keep in mind the amount of weight the spring actually lifts, changes as the door goes up and back into the tracks. when the door is almost all the way up, most of the weight of the door is supported by the horizontal tracks, so the spring doesnt have to pull as hard at the top of the door's travel. I have run into many people who have been given old garage door springs by friends or coworkers who had their own garage doors replaced. This almost never works. Dixie door is correct in saying if it's only an inch or so off, your opener should be fine making up that difference. Ideally, you should be able to open and close the door with 2 fingers of force, and the door should close all the way and open all the way without problems. If you have the wrong springs however, you can try and get it as close as possible, just keep in mind the more pressure your garage door opener has to overcome, the faster it will wear out. always try to get the correct springs if possible. good luck.