Is this door spring gonna knock the cr@p outta me?

[Cobra6]

Is this door spring mount gonna get me?
I wound all the pressure off the spring - if I try to take off more the door actually comes up -
Is there always some tension on this and I just have to hang on to it? You can see from the pic that the bracket is kicked out on the bottom.

I need to raise my cable drums and the shaft about 2.5"

Thanks -

 

[Zeke]

Re: I this door spring gonna knock the cr@p outta me!

I think you wound it the wrong way. You better stop and think about this.

 

[domain]

Re: I this door spring gonna knock the cr@p outta me!

Agreed. Wound wrong way!

 

[LB-1911]

Re: I this door spring gonna knock the cr@p outta me!

You may want to refer to the information @
http://ddmgaragedoors.com/diy-instructions/

 

[larry_g]

Re: I this door spring gonna knock the cr@p outta me!

Go to the Wayne Dalton door site and search out the correct way to install those springs. Then do the reverse to unwind it. That white painted strip you see around the spring should be almost a straight across the spring when it is unwound and nontensioned.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[Cobra6]

Re: I this door spring gonna knock the cr@p outta me!

I think you wound it the wrong way. You better stop and think about this.

All I have done is unwind it (I thought) so I could raise the drums and the bar -
I guess I could have unwound it too much?

 

[PAToyota]

Re: I this door spring gonna knock the cr@p outta me!

I wound all the pressure off the spring - if I try to take off more the door actually comes up

If the door is coming UP, then it has enough tension on it to LIFT the door. Nearly certain you wound it the wrong way.

If done the right way, you should barely be able to lift the door at all - or it will be VERY heavy - because the spring is not assisting the lift at all.

 

[shoot summ]

Re: I this door spring gonna knock the cr@p outta me!

You don't really "unwind it". You release the tension, once the tension is gone you will no longer need the bars.

 

[srmofo]

Re: I this door spring gonna knock the cr@p outta me!

Did you unwind BOTH springs? Also, another vote for you were actually adding tension to it. You should be able to move the spring around by hand if there is no tension on it

 

[Cobra6]

Re: I this door spring gonna knock the cr@p outta me!

Well - thought I had all the tension off the spring - there is only one - when I was using the winding bars, I was actually lifting the door when releasing the tension.
I had to actually hold the door when the tension got low to keep it from coming up when I used the winding rod -

It is loose now so I can make the adjustments.

 

[koditten]

Re: I this door spring gonna knock the cr@p outta me!

If the white line is straight, all potential energy has been negated. I can see part of the line. This spring is armed and dangerous.

KO

 

[432bullet]

Re: I this door spring gonna knock the cr@p outta me!

I used to install all of my own roll up doors. The last one was from a contractor that built an addition on my barn, Door was messed up it came off the tracks and fell down. Luckily no one was under it. It is not worth the hassle. If your not sure call a professional door co.

 

[fordnut85]

Re: I this door spring gonna knock the cr@p outta me!

The purpose of the spring is to assist in lifting the door, therefore if it is unwound you can try and lift the door and it will be really heavy since your lifting the entire weight of the door. HOWEVER, if you are winding the spring and the door is trying to come UP YOU ARE ADDING TENSION to the spring rather than releasing it. The other posts are correct, the line on the spring should be straight if the tension is released.

BE VERY CAREFUL, those springs have a TON of energy when wound and can seriously hurt you if you do it wrong!!

 

[Worsedog]

Re: I this door spring gonna knock the cr@p outta me!

Well - thought I had all the tension off the spring - there is only one - when I was using the winding bars, I was actually lifting the door when releasing the tension.
I had to actually hold the door when the tension got low to keep it from coming up when I used the winding rod -

It is loose now so I can make the adjustments.

If the white line is straight, all potential energy has been negated. I can see part of the line. This spring is armed and dangerous.

KO

THINK about what you wrote, you had to hold the door down!!!! The spring makes it easier to lift the door. You have over wound it if the door is trying to go up by itself.

koditten is absolutely right, that thing is wound tight. If you undo ANY of the spring mounting hardware you will unleash a hell like you've never seen.

 

[JCQuick]

Re: I this door spring gonna knock the cr@p outta me!

you still alive? wow call the pros

 

[domain]

Re: I this door spring gonna knock the cr@p outta me!

I am surprised he was not complaining about how it was getting harder and harder to UNwind! lol

 

[wyb2]

Re: I this door spring gonna knock the cr@p outta me!

Hope he's not dead.

Lifting the door, pulling the bracket out of the wall, white line completely twisted up...

Definitely turned it the wrong way.

 

[rburke65]

Re: I this door spring gonna knock the cr@p outta me!

Maybe we should send flowers? Hope not!

 

[roblouvasz]

Re: I this door spring gonna knock the cr@p outta me!

Did anyone else notice the electrical wires right above the overtightened spring that's ready to rip out of the wall???!!!!!!

 

[roblouvasz]

Re: I this door spring gonna knock the cr@p outta me!

Maybe we should send flowers? Hope not!

Hey rburke65 I'm in Warren, howdy! Didn't mean to high jack this thread. We now return you to your reguarly scheduled programming.

 

[water-works]

Re: I this door spring gonna knock the cr@p outta me!

Did anyone else notice the electrical wires right above the overtightened spring that's ready to rip out of the wall???!!!!!!

This! I hope the OP was able to get this resolved safely.

Sidebar: Can for the forum moderator outlaw the use of the super flashy animated GIF used in the first post? Holy...that is seriously epilepsy inducing. I'm speaking about the animated gif titled [ : shocking : ]

Continue on. Thanks.

 

[Cobra6]

Re: I this door spring gonna knock the cr@p outta me!

Nope - it wasn't wound the wrong way - I just didn't get all the tension off the first time - there wasn't much left - the middle bracket wanted to move around about 1/4 turn after I took it off. The spring mount was just tight around the shaft. I did end up completely removing the set screws instead of just loosening them. I don't like messing with these or coil springs on cars because they are dangerous.

The wires do look like they are right next to the bracket in the pic, but they are above the rafters about 2.5" feet away - looks weird in the pic

I got the cable drums and everything back up - I just need to figure out how to get the brackets bolted up with some bracing before I put tension back on the spring.

 

[koditten]

Re: I this door spring gonna knock the cr@p outta me!

Com'on guys, easy now. I'm glad he took the time to ask the question. I'm also glad we took the time to give him some good advice.

Yes, doors are dangerous. So is lots of other things in our shops.

Is the danger of working on a door more hazardous than wiring a plug, for example? I think they are both pretty dangerous. If you are informed of the hazards and took time to learn about the hazards, are they still as dangerous?

Lets keep on track and help out a brother.

Thanks for letting me comment.

Later

KO

 

[Cobra6]

Re: I this door spring gonna knock the cr@p outta me!

Thanks KO -
I can tell you - two things I hate to mess with are garage door springs and front suspension coil springs on old Mustangs -

I think I used up 8 lives in Iraq and I don't want to use my 9th one on a compressed spring that decides to break loose in my garage.

I did learn one thing - as I released tension on the spring, and thought all the tension was off, I did not realize that the white line on the spring needed to be straight for the U to be zero (or close to it) - that was a good check - I finished releasing tension while holding the shaft so the cable drums wouldn't turn and pull the door up.
I can ask what some people think are stupid questions since I have pretty thick skin - maybe someone else will read this and not get hurt trying to do this.

 

[Richard Cranium]

Re: I this door spring gonna knock the cr@p outta me!

by the way rule of thumb is one full round per foot the door is tall when you do redo the spring... Rich

 

[Cobra6]

Re: I this door spring gonna knock the cr@p outta me!

by the way rule of thumb is one full round per foot the door is tall when you do redo the spring... Rich

Thanks - that would probably be my next question after I get the extra bracing installed.

 

[Drunken Yak inc]

Re: I this door spring gonna knock the cr@p outta me!

That white line is used as in indicator as to how many revolutions have been made when winding the spring... I'm willing to bet you didn't count before unwinding?

 

[64 lane]

Re: I this door spring gonna knock the cr@p outta me!

Be careful. Count the turns of the the spring when you start and count your teeth when you are done. This is one thing I am never going to try. Stay safe.

 

[Cobra6]

Re: I this door spring gonna knock the cr@p outta me!

That white line is used as in indicator as to how many revolutions have been made when winding the spring... I'm willing to bet you didn't count before unwinding?

actually I did (7 to be exact), but since I am changing the height of the cable drums and the door tracks from horizontal to an incline, the setting won't be the same - but at least I can reference it.