Opener J arm Angle ?

[norlando]

I'm repairing and tuning up my old Overhead Door system, and reading all sorts of instructions all over the net for various aspects of the job. Regarding the J-arm I have found these two instructions (at 2 different places).

By forum member 'stampdoorparts' in another thread :
"Check the angle of the arm that connects the opener to the door (j arm). It should not be too vertical or horizontal."

In clopay instruction pdf (google "clopay c18-r01-0704"):
"when the door is closed, the portion of the operator arm attached to
the door should be at angle of approximately 60 degrees from
the vertical "

Anyway, mine is almost horizontal, and has been horizontal for 10+ years, and worked with no problems (until a torsion spring broke).

So how important is it to have the proper angle?
In order for me to get 60 degrees I'd have to add more than 1 foot to the long part of the J arm.

[jeffkellen]

This can depend on what kind/style of door you have and where the attachment point is. Are you able to post a picture of your current set-up?

[norlando]

Can't do a photo right now. It's a steel 2-car door, 7ft height, with 4 sections. The attachment point is very near the top, aligned with the top rollers. The axle of the top roller is 1 inch from the top edge of the top panel. There is a heavy horizontal reinforcement brace which runs the full door width, mounted just below the roller holding bracket. The reinforcement brace is maybe 3-4 inches below the top edge of the top panel.

The center stile is damaged from when the torsion spring broke; the sheet metal screws pulled out, seriously mangling the sheet metal of the top 2 inches of the stile. I cannot find any ready-made brackets with the opener attachment point high enough. So now I will have to fabricate a bracket which attaches to the undamaged middle-lower parts of the stile and the hinge, while still having the high attachment point as described above, and while still allowing for the horizontal reinforcement brace. I bought some 12gauge angle iron; boy that stuff is tough to work with.

That's why i ask about the j-arm angle; if I end up having to move the attachment point lower down, it will really mess up the angle.

[norlando]

I found the installation instructions for my opener and it answered my question about the J-arm. It was correct as installed, and uses a different specification than the others I referenced.

[HayZee518]

I guess the original installation was correct. As you said it all worked for ten years before the spring let go. you say the bracket was correct where it was. the only variable here is the spring. must've been a heck of a counter balance for the door's weight. did you replace the spring?