How To Measure And Buy Garage Door Springs:
For virtually everyone who owns a garage door, springs are an essential part of your everyday life. Several times every day, you activate your garage door wither as you head to and from your workplace, shopping, or to school.
Therefore, the mechanical components which enable your garage door are, of course, utilized continually. Consequently, your garage door springs will inevitably wear out with time eventually.
With every activation, the garage door spring coils are pulled out and subsequently wound up. And although the springs are designed to endure this sort of activity, the effects of continual movement eventually take their tool. Ultimately, this makes it necessary that you change or adjust your springs.
What Size Torsion Springs Do I Have
Torsion springs require a few measurements including the wire diameter, the inside diameter, and the length of the spring. It is also important to note if the spring is a left-hand wind or a right-hand wind.
Torsion Spring Wire DiameterWire size is the first bit of information you need to collect. Firstly, measure 20 coils and divide that measurement by 20 and thats how you get the wire diameter. Be extremely precise with your measurements because if your measurement is even a little off it could have you purchasing the wrong spring. It may also be stamped on there in inches on either the winding cone or stationary cone attached to the spring.
Torsion Spring Inside DiameterAlmost 90% of garage doors in America have a 2-inch inside diameter, but you still need to double-check the inside diameter because not all garage doors do. Simply measure the interior diameter of the spring with a tape measure. You dont need to take the spring off to take this measurement.
Torsion Spring LengthThe length of 20 coils is normally around 5 inches but it is vital that you still measure and get a precise reading because even if you get the number wrong even slightly, you may potentially order the wrong size spring. Remember when you are measuring your torsion spring that the spring must be un-coiled. If the spring is in two parts, unscrew the set screws and connect the spring ends together to get your complete measurement but make sure to not include the cones in the final measurement.
Special Types Of Spring Ends
Most torsion springs have standard ends that are bent out slightly. If the spring you are ordering needs special ends, let us know. Otherwise, you will receive a spring with standard ends.
For example, Crawford and older BarCol springs pictured use end cones that are no longer available. If you would like to reuse your cones, you can order springs without cones.
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Can I Use A Heavier Spring On My Garage Door
You can use a heavier spring on a garage door if the spring stiffness is the same. Such springs would have the same weight rating in the table above. You can also check the IPPT specification of the springs match.
Different weight springs can have the same stiffness. If a spring is both longer and made of thicker wire, it can have the same stiffness as the original.
Find Out The Inside Diameter
This measurement is useful for broken springs. It is easy to determine the inside diameter of a torsion spring. This is usually indicated on the damaged spring. Check the winding cone where most manufacturers indicate the inside diameter. If a cone indicates OMI 1 ¾ then the inside diameter is 1 ¾ inch.
To check the inside diameter of a spring that is broken, first remove all tension. Once you have done that, measure the individual parts before putting them back together. The goal is to get a measurement that is plus or minus ¾ inches. Once you are within that, the measurements are still considered to be accurate.
Residential garage doors usually have an inside diameter of 1 ¾ or 2 inches. When measuring the inside diameter, make sure you do not include the cone. Otherwise, you will have the wrong measurement, which will cause the garage door to be unbalanced as it opens and closes.
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Why Does The Size Of The Garage Door Spring Matter
The garage door is likely the largest moving part of your home. The door itself can be extremely heavy, the starting weight of single doors is about 130 pounds and larger or heavier doors can weigh over 350 pounds. As a counterweight, the springs provide balance and stability to the door opening system. They make lifting the door more efficient, saving energy, and reducing the stress on the automatic openers motor.
To keep your garage door functioning smoothly as long as possible it has to be properly assembled with the correct parts and it needs proper maintenance. Installing the door with the correct spring matters, youll likely only worry about this when you need to replace a spring.
The size of the spring will depend largely on the weight of the door. Remember, the spring is a counterweight so it needs to be the right size to properly lift and lower the garage door. Operating a door with the wrong size spring can cause damage to the door operator and potentially create a dangerous situation where the door could fall.
Are You Sure You Have Torsion Springs
Torsion springs are located on a bar above the garage door opening.
Learn More: What Types of Garage Door Springs Are There?
The springs in a garage door system do the heavy lifting when it comes to opening the door. They provide needed support to the opener and cables when opening the door and help lower it gently as well. Because the springs work in every part of the process, they do eventually wear down and need to be replaced.
Garage door springs cant just be repaired. At a minimum some springs just need to be re-tensioned but at worst they need to be replaced because they can become dangerous and break.
A functional garage door system lifts the door in a balanced-manner.
An unbalanced door is a sign of:
- or poorly matched spring.
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How To Measure Garage Door Torsion Springs
In order to process your order for springs, please provide the following information about each spring: length, wire size, inside diameter, spring wind, and type of ends.
If you have two springs on a residential or commercial door, it is critical that you measure both springs. Approximately 30% of manufacturers and service companies mix wire sizes. Following the steps below will help in getting the correct dimensions.
Likewise, if you have a linear system on a commercial door, make sure that you measure each of your springs. If you have a duplex or triplex system, make sure that you know the inside diameter and wire size for the inner spring and all five characteristics of the outer spring.
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Purchasing A Garage Door Spring
One size fits all is something not quite applicable when buying a garage door spring. Every door requires a specific spring specification depending on the height and weight of the door. The typical spring size being 728, buyers must always keep in mind these five critical things. These basic things include the spring length, wire size, spring wind, inside diameter, and types of ends. For two-spring-type garage doors, its highly recommended that buyers measure and record each ones specification. This way, they can be assured of getting the right spring for their door.
Garage Door Springs Color Code Chart
Garage door springs are color coded to aid in proper identification for repair, ordering and warehousing purposes. Garage door springs have been given color codes based on DASMA guidelines and specifications.
Torsion springs are color coded based on wire gauge sizes. Extension springs are color coded based on the weight they are designed to counterbalance. For extension springs one pair are identified by a given color code and weight rating.
Color codes are designed as a supplemental identification aid and should never be solely relied upon. Always substantiate color codes with physical spring measurements and door weights provided by your overhead door manufacturer manufacturer.
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About The Spring Color Coding System: Extension Springs
Now that we know a little more about garage door springs in Parker homes, lets have a look at that often confusing color code that comes with them. When it comes to extension springs the purpose of the color coding system is to help the company performing your garage door service determine the lifting power of the springs. This is important because different garage doors weigh different amounts and you want springs with the appropriate lifting power for your particular door. The color/lifting power correlations are as follows:
- Tan = 100 pounds
- Gold = 180 pounds
- Light blue = 190 pounds
At this point the color sequence repeats so that 200 is designated by tan, 210 is designate by white, 220 is designated by green and so on. Garage door springs that youll get at the big box are often made of inferior grade cheap foreign steel and are prone to snapping before their time. To be sure you get the best quality springs available talk to the professionals at A Better Garage Door.
Get The Right Torsion Springs At Garage Door Nation
You can get the right springs for your door right here at Garage Door Nation! We carry every size and shape of garage door torsion springs under the sun! You can submit your specs to our Garage Door Spring Wizard, or shop by size in our garage door torsion spring catalog! We also offer a complete garage door torsion spring repair kit, which INCLUDES a pair of new garage door torsion springs!
And what’s more, all orders over $100.00 ship FREE!
If you need assistance, you can contact us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at !
- support@garagedoornation.com
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What Size Extension Spring Do I Have
For extension springs, youll need to know the length of the spring, the weight that its intended to hold and the outside diameter.
It is common that most residential garage doors are either seven or eight feet tall. Seven-foot doors usually use a 25-inch spring, and eight-foot doors use a 27-inch spring. However, because you dont want to end up with the wrong spring because you are guessing, it is vital you measure the above components.
Extension Spring LengthIf you dont have a loose spring to measure, you can measure the extension spring in use by doing the following. First, make sure your garage door is closed. Unplug your garage door motor unit from the power source, and release the garage door itself by pulling on the brightly-colored release cord hanging down towards the front of the door.
Then, lift your garage door manually and carefully, you may need help. If only one spring is broken, lift from the broken spring side, otherwise, lift from the middle.
Once the door is open, clamp a vice grip inside the track beneath the wheel, just under the bottom of the garage door. This will keep your garage door from closing.
Then, hop up on a ladder and measure the overall and body length of the spring with a tape measure.
The Wire DiameterWe recommend that you measure the wire diameter in two different spots using a micrometer and take the average. This will allow your reading to be more accurate so that you are not purchasing the wrong spring.
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Trust Ssc For Your Torsion And Extension Springs
At SSC, we can manufacture the right size torsion or extension spring for replacement or new garage doors. Our torsion and extension springs are proudly American Made using high-quality oil-tempered, galvanized or square wire.
If youd like additional support in determining the wire size or pull of the garage door springs you need, give our expert sales team a call. Contact us with the basic information of your project and well engineer a spring that fits your needs.
Consider Sti Garage Door Your Trusted Partner
Do you need a company to measure the torsion springs for you? Check out the STI Garage Door service as our specialists know everything about garage doors and how to measure lift for garage door torsion springs. Our services are available for both commercial and residential garage doors in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington. Our experience over the years has made us a trustworthy company. We work with all our customers to ensure that they get satisfactory results even when you need just to make a garage door torsion springs measurement!
When it comes to measuring spring size, our technicians know how to get an accurate estimation even for broken or rusty springs. Our services are available 24/7. We also provide emergency services and replacement of broken pieces, so feel free to call us when you need to figure out how to cope with any issue.
We have worked with Liftmaster, Genie, Craftsman, and Clicker garage doors. With all types of doors, we can measure, buy, and replace the torsion springs. Even when we have encountered challenges, our technicians always find an appropriate solution. So you can trust us to always provide high-quality services. Send us an email or call us today to measure your garage door torsion spring size.
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Residential Garage Door Extension Springs
An extension system consists of springs attached to cables at the bottom corners of the garage door. When opening the door, the springs extend and cause the stored energy within them to raise the door. The greater the force applied by hand or electric motor, the more the spring expands. The cables serve as a safety measure by preventing the springs from flying off and possibly causing an injury. Extension springs are less expensive than torsion springs, although they have more moving parts that could break and usually have a shorter lifespan.
How To Determine The Wire Size On Torsion Springs
When you measure a garage door spring, its not enough to simply take a tape measure and record the length from one end to the other. You also need to know the size of the wire itself. While this might seem difficult to comprehend, measuring the wire size is actually as easy as running a tape measure along the distance between 10 and 20 coils. The two measurements are then correlated to a wire size chart.
A lot of people would assume that wire size would more accurately be determined with the use of calipers or micrometers, but this is not the case. For instance, if a coil has a kink, a micrometer will give you an inaccurate reading. Likewise, if the coils are coated with paint along the outside, it could cause a slight swelling in the circumference of the spring, which would also render a caliper measurement inaccurate.
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What You Need To Know
Springs play a vital role in the function of a garage door. Springs work by counteracting the force of gravity. In essence, they offset the weight of the door and make it lighter when opening or closing it, whether the door is operated manually or via electrical power. There are two types of garage door spring systems: extension and torsion.
How Do Garage Door Springs Work
As garage doors close, it pulls on cables that are connected to tightly wound garage door springs. These springs are coiled so tightly that they create a buildup of tension and energy.
As the door opens, the tension and energy stored in the garage door springs are released creating force and acting as a counterbalance to the heavy garage door resulting in the door being raised.
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How Tight Should Garage Door Springs Be
One of the things you need to keep in mind as a homeowner is that your garage door springs always need to have theRight Amount of Tension. The right tension will make the door easy to operate by hand and via an electronic garage door opener.
If the garage door spring is too loose, the spring will not be able to effectively lift the door up, and the weight will make the garage door unsafe for use. Now, if the tension is too much, it can prevent the garage door from closing all the way, or it will remain closed.
Also, if the garage door has a torsion spring inside of the garage door opening, then a professional will need to adjust the tension. That said, other regular sectional doors or ones with a hinge could be adjusted using the basic procedure we outline below.
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