What Springs Should I Use

[RoselleStar]

Greetings;
I have two 7 x 8' Aluminum, powered, garage doors. The spring broke on one of them but I will buy two new springs since I believe the other spring is not far behind in failure.
Because the doors are subject to extreme heat during the Arkansas summers, I installed typical glass wool insulation of the inside of the doors to cut down on the heat generated by the doors inside my garage.
I understand the color coding on the springs is an indication of the lift power the spring generates and my springs are coded White.

QUESTION: Since I have added weight to the doors by adding the i
insulation, should I increase the power of the springs &
to what power?

Thank You.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Get the numbers off the old spring and call your O/H garage door guy or stop by his shop. If you know what does you have, give him that information as well.

Let his know you added some weight to the door when you talk to him. If he is worth his weight as a garage door guy, he'll get you what you need.

 

[matt_i]

Did you have to tweak the spring preload after adding the fiberglass?

If not I would replace with same. Measure the OD, the length, and the wire diameter will get you close. I ordered "high duty" springs which was a cost increase over "standard" and hopefully worth it down the road. I stapled the packing list to the header and wrote the # of turns in pencil on the drywall for the next guy...which could be me....

 

[Hobbit]

In my experience you should not need a heavier spring for insulation but may need to adjust the new ones slightly more than the old set. Or not since the old set was obviously weakened. Word of caution on color coding of garage door springs. There is no industry standard. White for one manufacturer may be a different weight for another. Number of coils, diameter and length of overall spring and diameter of the wire are of concern to get the right spring.

 

[Leaflessshadetree]

Weigh the door.
If they were at the weight limit for the springs before you added the insulation you may want stronger springs due to the added weight.

 

[HotrodHR]

Springs break due to use, they just break. The added insulation probably didn't have much to do with it. Having replaced springs, openers, installed a high lift, etc. I would suggest you do your research before you tackle the job. A good place to start is DDM Garage Doors website: https://ddmgaragedoors.com. Lots of videos and instructions...

 

[myredracer]

Short answer: get a garage door company to take care of it.

Yes, garage door springs break all the time and IIRC, usually don't last past something like 6-8 years depending on useage. To get a replacement, you need to take calipers and measure the dia. of the wire and then the ID of the spring. Then measure overall length. That *should* be all that's needed. But if you order one online and it doesn't work, you're looking at return shipping costs. And if you order a new one, what if that doesn't work too?

There's millions of dimensions and ratings of springs out there. Not a simple case of ordering online and expecting it to be just fine. A spring on one of our O/H doors broke and we spent hours trying to figure out what to get and eventually just called in a garage door co. Even then, we had to get them to come back twice to readjust the spring tension because it wasn't staying balanced. Sometimes even the pros can have issues with these.

BTW, it's important to periodically lubricate the springs for longer life and quietness. There is a lube specifically for these springs in hardware stores. Rollers and hinges should also be periodically lubricated.

If you only have one O/H garage door you better hope the spring doesn't break when your car is inside and you are just heading off to work! Doors are freakin' heavy to lift without a spring.

 

[Stuart in MN]

I doubt the insulation added enough weight to affect the spring size required.

I've replaced them before, but the last time one broke I called a garage door company. They did the job in a matter of minutes, and the cost was surprisingly reasonable. (The fact it was -10 degrees F that day did influence my decision to hire the job out. )

Interestingly, I asked the repairman if there was a rule of thumb for how long a spring should last, and he said they usually figured 10,000 cycles of opening and closing the door. I did some estimating based on the age of my door, and how many times a day I used it on average, and his estimate was pretty much spot on.

 

[Chuckster in NJ]

Lubricating the springs will make them last a little longer...... This should be done on a twice a year schedule with "Garage Door Lube" that can be purchased at Hoome Cheapo or Loowes.

Torsion springs are not something to fool with if you don’t have the experience and proper tools...... Call a Pro!