Uneven cable torsion and squeaking door

[ptr727]

Hi, I just had a Sommer 1HP Direct Drive opener installed to replace an old belt drive unit, no more rattling while opening the door, these are great openers.

I still however have problems with the door squeaking a lot when getting to to top open position, one side only. I've been lubing the guide roller bearings, the hinges, nothing works.

Today I noticed that at the open position the one cable is slack, and the other cable carries all the weight. It is the side that carries the weight that is squeaking.

I can't tell if the squeaking comes from the hinges, the rollers, the cable, or the big roller, I suspect the hinges or maybe the roller shaft in the hinge guide.

The door is less than 3 years old, the roller and cable on that noisy side had already been replaced once before, cable frayed and roller had grooves cut by the cable, resulting in the door not closing evenly and leaving a gap on one side.

The original installer is of no help, his only advice is lube lube lube.

This is a heavy door, 19' x 8', double pane glass panels, aluminium frame.

Should I be looking for heavier duty rollers and cables?
Different types of panel hinges, are there sealed bearing types that do not need lube?
Something else wrong with the install?

 

[Milton Shaw]

Door sounds like it is not being raised evenly and that one side is dragging on the tracks and causing the squeak. Tighten and adjust so both cables have the same tension and that should help in the noise situation.

 

[ptr727]

Thanks for the advice.

I had two different techs out to take a look.

First one moved the side rail to get the drum to line up with the bottom cable hinge, this made it worse with a non-plum rail and a gap under one side of the door, we agreed to disagree and he left without payment.

In retrospect, I should have passed on him from the get go, he was in no mood to work on the door, insulted the quality of my Sommer opener, told me heavy doors squeaking is normal, tightened the springs to try and get the one slack cable tighter, when I asked how tightening the springs on a solid torsion bar can make one slack cable tighter when all the tension is already on the other cable and why he doesn't just adjust the cables, he told me he cannot explain theory to me he just knows practice.

That night I discovered the opener no longer closed the door, I assume when the springs cool down there is more tension, and I had a hard time trying to manually push the door down, and it kept on opening by itself.

I ended up ordering torsion adjustment bars on Amazon, same day delivery, looking at lots of youtube videos, and loosening the springs until I could easily close and open the door, opener happy again.

Second tech said the door is crooked, probably due to the building settling, and that he needs to adjust the side and hanging rails to get the frame square around the door when the door is seated flat on the garage floor.

To do this I have to cut open the garage ceiling as the hanging support braces were closed in by drywall when they built the ceiling below the storage area, and call him when I'm ready.

Over the weekend I cut the ceiling open around the hanging support braces, and using my laser level I can see the door is off level by a 1/4" one side, the one side rail (the one moved by the first tech) is off by about 1 and 1/2" at the top, and the one hanging rail is off by about 1", while the other hanging rail is only off by about 1/4".

The second tech showed me a brochure for a Liftmaster 8500 jackshaft side-mount opener, and said this would have solved the noise transfer to the bedroom above the door, at about the same price as the Sommer, and I can reclaim the ceiling space for more storage. I did not know these types of openers existed, my bad for not doing more research.

Right now I'm torn between just having the door squared, or writing the cost of the Sommer off as a bad investment and getting a jackshaft drive opener installed at the same time?

 

[upndown]

Right now I would concentrate on getting your door leveled and squared, functioning properly! If not down the road you could be facing frayed cables, worn rollers etc.

Then if your still unhappy with your Sommer, list it on CL and purchase a Liftmaster. They don't work for **** either if your doors not functioning properly!

 

[Rookie2]

Follow what these two guys are telling you plus, You need to disconnect the opener from the door once you square things up and lift the door manually (yes I know its heavy) but with the correct spring tension you should be able to lift fairly easy if not you need more or less tension. find squeaks and binding by repeating up and down. when the door operates to your satisfaction then reattach the opener.

 

[upndown]

It doesn't matter what size your door is! Big or small, It should open or close easily. That's what the springs are for, especially torsion springs. There is absolutely no excuse! It doesn't help if the installer can't read a level or a tape measure. Any of your problems can be easily repaired.