Top Reasons for Torsion Spring Failure on Garage Doors

sAs you pull into the drive after a long day of work and press that garage door button, the last thing you want is to have your garage door fail to open. If the torsion spring is the culprit, you’re facing the need for professional repair. When garage door springs break, many homeowners are left scratching their heads, wondering where they went wrong.

These common problems can lead to damage to the torsion spring and, ultimately, failure of your garage door.

Rust on the Spring

If the spring develops rust, it’s going to lead to failure. When the spring has rust on it, it increases the friction on the coil. It also corrodes the coil and weakens the spring. The good news is you can prevent rust by spraying the coil with some lubricant every three or four months. This will lubricate the spring and prevent rust from building up on it.

Incorrect Springs
Each garage door has a specific spring that is engeneered to operator the door. If the spring being used with your door is not the specified spring length and wire size, it is likely to break and cause failure more quickly.

General Wear and Tear
The most common reason for failure in a garage door torsion spring is simple wear and tear. Torsion springs only last a set period of time. In general, they are rated for about ten thousand cycles, which is one up and down cycle. So, you go through at least two cycles every day, one when you leave in the morning, and one when you return. Most families go through many more than two cycles a day. You could easily use up your ten thousand cycles in just a few number of years.

If you know your family is going to be heavy on the garage door use, consider investing in extended lifespan torsion springs. These will last up to four times as long, and only cost about two times the cost, so the investment is worthwhile.

Poor Maintenance
The last problem you could have with your torsion spring is poor maintenance. The better you maintain your door, the longer the lifespan of your torsion spring will be. In addition to lubricating your door, make sure the door is balanced. To test balance, lift up the door to the halfway point, then release. If the springs are in balance, the door will be still. If you notice problems with balance, have the springs inspected to ensure that you don’t end up with a failure and a car stuck in your garage.

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