Torsion springs play an incredibly important role in the operation of any garage door. Here’s what to know about their operation, how they factor into the longevity of a garage door, and what to do if they need fixing.
How Torsion Springs Operate
Operating on the physics principles of springs, torsion springs contain mechanical energy, which causes them to tighten their coils. Torsion springs store this energy through a motion of turning and twisting. One of the major advantages of torsion springs over normal compression springs, si that they can usually store a much higher amount of mechanical energy, as they are made from a much heavier and stronger material.
What do Torsion Springs do?
Torsion springs are usually attached on a horizontal axis above the entrance of your garage door. When the garage door is pulled down, cables on its lower corners force the springs to turn and wind, providing energy to the system. When the door is opened, the springs unwind, and transfer their energy to the door which assists in it’s easy lifting and opening.
Torsion Springs and Garage Door Longevity
As a garage door is opened and closed many times over years, the steel within torsion springs can degrade and get weaker, and eventually the door may become too heavy for them, making them lose their efficacy. Springs will eventually snap, which can leave a garage door stuck in a closed position,. Torsion springs are also somewhat vulnerable to cold weather, moisture, and rusting. The average garage door torsion spring system lasts between 5 and 7 years, and around 10,000 cycles of opening and shutting. The average person opens and shuts a garage door between 2 and 4 times a day, meaning the average person should get a pretty long run out of a set of garage door torsion springs.
Risks
Any garage door with broken torsion springs can quickly fall rapidly, leading to horrible equipment damage, or at worst, injury or death. The most common danger of torsion springs manifests when they snap and someone tries to conduct an ameteur repair. No tonly would anybody need the specific right tools to repair any torsion spring system, but also a full knowledge of it’s mechanics. Many of the tools required for a repair can be life threatening on their own, and need to be handled with the utmost amount of careful precision. This is why we always stress the importance of contacting an expert, like those at Garage Door Repair Chicago, in handling any sort of garage door torsion spring repair or replacement.
