garage door cables coming off the drums


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Old 04-24-08, 01:41 PM
K
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garage door cables coming off the drums

The garage door was impossible to open without the electric opener and the spring was small & already as tight as seemed safe. I had also noticed that the the door didn't close completely on the side with the spring. So we tried adding a (larger) salvage spring on the other side of the pipe. Now it is easy to open the door by hand, & it comes to rest with the bottom about 4 feet above the ground. It requires maybe 50 or 80 pounds of force to close it by hand. The problem is, now the cables come off the drums on both ends of the pipe every time we use the electric opener. Also, the door now doesn't close completely on the side with the larger spring. We've messed around with tightening & loosening both springs, which hasn't seemed to help. Anybody have any ideas?
 
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Old 04-24-08, 02:12 PM
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Originally Posted by killeen
The garage door was impossible to open without the electric opener and the spring was small & already as tight as seemed safe. I had also noticed that the the door didn't close completely on the side with the spring. So we tried adding a (larger) salvage spring on the other side of the pipe. Now it is easy to open the door by hand, & it comes to rest with the bottom about 4 feet above the ground. It requires maybe 50 or 80 pounds of force to close it by hand. The problem is, now the cables come off the drums on both ends of the pipe every time we use the electric opener. Also, the door now doesn't close completely on the side with the larger spring. We've messed around with tightening & loosening both springs, which hasn't seemed to help. Anybody have any ideas?
It is impossible to say, you can't just add another torsion spring to a door and expect it to balance properly. Take my advice, You really need to bite the bullet and call a professional
 
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Old 04-24-08, 03:26 PM
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I have to agree. Your question/explanation makes no sense. Why would you add another spring to correct a problem that likely just needed some oil or adjustment. Call a pro.
 
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Old 04-24-08, 06:28 PM
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Put simply, a spring is designed to lift a certain amount of weight, a determined height. It's calculated in IPPT (inch pounds per turns). If your door doesn't want to come down, you used a spring for a much heavier door. A good example is using an old wood door spring on a light steel door. The other guys are right. Call a pro before somebody gets hurt.
Take my word, what you have now will "never" work out.
 
 

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