Doug Miller wrote:
In article . com, wrote:

Doug Miller wrote:
In article , "Jim McLaughlin"
wrote:
Standard single bay ovehead garage door. One spring snapped.

Spring's body is 26" long x 1 1/2 inch diameter.

How does one goi about replacing these things?

Get out the Yellow Pages and your Visa card.

Really.

Torsion springs are dangerous, and -- no offense intended -- replacing one is
not a job for someone who needs to ask how to do it. Call a pro.

Apparently you can't or won't read. The OP has made it clear several
times now that he has extension type springs, so stop the hysteria.

Apparently you can't follow a thread -- the OP made that clear _farther_down_
in the thread, not before I posted this. I agree now that it is clear he has
extension springs, not torsion springs -- but I still stand by the comment
that if he has to ask how to do it, it probably isn't a job for him.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)


I can read and follow a post. The OP said that he has a single bay
garage door and one spring that was 1 1/2 in diameter snapped. It's
was clear to anyone with knowledge of garage doors that this is an
extension spring, because torsion springs are bigger in diameter.





It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

Grumman-581 wrote:
On Mon, 8 May 2006 22:33:33 -0700, "Steve B"
wrote:

Dumb is doing something you don't know how to do, and
not heeding the cautions.


With that type of logic, we never would have evolved from the trees to
the savannahs... Real men look at a problem and then figure out how to
solve it... Quiche eaters call the 'experts'...

Thank You! But do include real women. I learned to replace a spring a
few months ago. And it had broken about 3" from the end.
Liz

Older springs are usually stretched a bit which is why this works.

Richard J Kinch wrote:
HVF writes:


NEVER EVER try to
fix/replace torsion springs on garage doors, they can easily KILL you!


Trade-toady bunk. By your logic, NEVER EVER try to:

Drive a car
Climb a ladder
Push a running lawnmower
Go for a swim
Encounter strangers on a sidewalk
Cross a busy street
etc.

Many worthwhile activities carry lethal hazards that are managed by careful
qualification, knowledge and practice.


Unfortunately, "Fools rush in where angels dare to tread."

Too bad Darwinism has been corrupted by several generations of liberals
who believe that nobody should be responsible fow what they do to
themselves and have decreed that the rest of us should chip in to rescue
them from their own messes. That means we have to pay for many years of
maintainance for some brain injured clod who refused to observe a
motorcycle helmet law.

(End of rant...)

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia

(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)

"Life is like a sewer -- what you get out of it depends on what
you put into it."

"Grumman-581" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 8 May 2006 22:33:33 -0700, "Steve B"
wrote:
Dumb is doing something you don't know how to do, and
not heeding the cautions.

With that type of logic, we never would have evolved from the trees to
the savannahs... Real men look at a problem and then figure out how to
solve it... Quiche eaters call the 'experts'...

Oh, we evolved. It is just that there are branches on the family trees.
Some modern people do thing like "call experts". Others do bright things
like leave their children in hot cars. It's not always the best thing to be
a "real man."

The trouble with stupid people is that they are really fertile.

Steve

"Richard J Kinch" wrote in message
. ..
Steve B writes:

Fingers are worth more than the Franklin an experienced workman would
charge to change one.

And it's not worth your life to drive to work today. Stay home.

**** off and die, Richard. Do whatever your shallow gene pool brain tells
you.

Steve

Steve B wrote:
"Richard J Kinch" wrote in message
. ..
Steve B writes:

Fingers are worth more than the Franklin an experienced workman would
charge to change one.

And it's not worth your life to drive to work today. Stay home.

**** off and die, Richard. Do whatever your shallow gene pool brain tells
you.

Steve


Real nice. Maybe the reason you can't fix a garage door safely is
because you have an anger management problem.

wrote in message
oups.com...

Steve B wrote:
"Richard J Kinch" wrote in message
. ..
Steve B writes:

Fingers are worth more than the Franklin an experienced workman would
charge to change one.

And it's not worth your life to drive to work today. Stay home.

**** off and die, Richard. Do whatever your shallow gene pool brain
tells
you.

Steve


Real nice. Maybe the reason you can't fix a garage door safely is
because you have an anger management problem.


Oh, I can fix them. I just choose to pay someone else to do it. How can I
be angry about being able to do that? I have done things like pulling a V8
engine and rebuilding it; contracting my own house; remodeling several
income properties; contracting government projects; yada yada yada.

But there are some things that I just won't mess with because they aren't
worth it.

Garage doors are one of those. A call by a good garage door repairman will
diagnose and fix things that the average DIYer wouldn't even see.

But, if you can't afford a service call by a professional, by all means,
DIY.

Steve

Steve B wrote:
wrote in message
oups.com...

Steve B wrote:
"Richard J Kinch" wrote in message
. ..
Steve B writes:

Fingers are worth more than the Franklin an experienced workman would
charge to change one.

And it's not worth your life to drive to work today. Stay home.

**** off and die, Richard. Do whatever your shallow gene pool brain
tells
you.

Steve


Real nice. Maybe the reason you can't fix a garage door safely is
because you have an anger management problem.


Oh, I can fix them. I just choose to pay someone else to do it. How can I
be angry about being able to do that? I have done things like pulling a V8
engine and rebuilding it; contracting my own house; remodeling several
income properties; contracting government projects; yada yada yada.

But there are some things that I just won't mess with because they aren't
worth it.

Garage doors are one of those. A call by a good garage door repairman will
diagnose and fix things that the average DIYer wouldn't even see.

But, if you can't afford a service call by a professional, by all means,
DIY.

Steve


So because some of us choose to do a simple garage door spring repair
means we can't afford a pro? Yet you obviously think that doesn't
apply to you pulling and rebuilding an engine? Which of those repairs
is more within the scope of what an average homeowner has the skill,
equipment, and tools to handle? Geez!

Incredible how some people think and rationalize foolish things in
their minds.

On 9 May 2006 09:31:36 -0700, wrote:
So because some of us choose to do a simple garage door spring repair
means we can't afford a pro? Yet you obviously think that doesn't
apply to you pulling and rebuilding an engine? Which of those repairs
is more within the scope of what an average homeowner has the skill,
equipment, and tools to handle? Geez!

Hmmm... Let's see... Can you pull and rebuild an engine with just an
adjustable end wrench and two short pieces of steel rod / rebar? I
don't know about you, but I'm not *that* good... Although I've never
had a garage door with extension springs, I have no doubt that I could
figure out how to change them... Hell, I figured out how to change my
first set of torsion springs many years ago and even managed to still
have all my body parts attached... It's not rocket science...

Crusader george writes:

they say , If gasoline were to be invented today, it would be out-lawed
for the lay people to handle. gawd , it is dangerous!

That was indeed the case up until the innovation of self-serve gas in the
1970s due to price shock in the energy crisis.

Back then you needed a pro, er, 17-year-old boy working for minimum wage to
pump gas safely.

Ahhh...Doug --

Its an extension sping door, not torsion spring door.

--
Jim McLaughlin

Reply address is deliberately munged.
If you really need to reply directly, try:
jimdotmclaughlinatcomcastdotcom

And you know it is a dotnet not a dotcom
address.
"Doug Miller" wrote in message
. net...
In article . com, "RayV"
wrote:
I'm a little confused here. I read many posts where people ask about
installing sub-panels or installing DWV pipe or moving a giant shed and
all sorts of advice is offered. But someone asks about replacing a
garage door spring and the OP gets responses like "call a professional,
it is too dangerous"

You are more likely to get hurt messing around in an electrical box
than installing a garage door spring,

Depends a lot on the type of spring. You're probably thinking of extension
springs, which any idiot can replace without much danger. Sounds to me
like
the OP has torsion springs (an extension spring would likely be more than
26"
long), and those can be *very* dangerous.

and an improperly installed
plumbing system can cause serious illness or property damage. I would
also think it is more dangerous to move a shed than install a spring
that will lift 150 pounds.

What gives? Is it the immediacy of a pinched finger that has people
leery of this repair as opposed to the long term damage from poorly
installed DWV system?

The danger with torsion springs isn't pinched fingers -- it's *amputated*
fingers and broken bones.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

Its an extension spring not a torion spring.

--
Jim McLaughlin

Reply address is deliberately munged.
If you really need to reply directly, try:
jimdotmclaughlinatcomcastdotcom

And you know it is a dotnet not a dotcom
address.
"Doug Miller" wrote in message
. net...
In article , "Jim McLaughlin"
wrote:
Standard single bay ovehead garage door. One spring snapped.

Spring's body is 26" long x 1 1/2 inch diameter.

How does one goi about replacing these things?

Get out the Yellow Pages and your Visa card.

Really.

Torsion springs are dangerous, and -- no offense intended -- replacing one
is
not a job for someone who needs to ask how to do it. Call a pro.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

Its an extension spring, not a torsion spring.

--
Jim McLaughlin

Reply address is deliberately munged.
If you really need to reply directly, try:
jimdotmclaughlinatcomcastdotcom

And you know it is a dotnet not a dotcom
address.
"HVF" wrote in message
oups.com...
I NEED to repeat the above. Aperently you guys think that this is just
another easy job for the do-it-yourselfer. NEVER EVER try to
fix/replace torsion springs on garage doors, they can easily KILL you!
Sorry to pop anyones bubble, but this is serious! I have delt with
voltages of 30KV and above and still I would never try fixing these,
they are just too dangerous! A slip of the hand and your dead, or even
if you do everything right it may still maim you. Even specialized
repairmen get maimed and killed doing this, the DIY way is not the best
way this time!

A repairman is only a few hundred dollars, save yourself the hospital
trip. Get a pro!

Actually, I thought I had the replacement process really well figured out.
But I kept hearing some really hysterical tales fro folks as to how
dangerous the replacement rocess was. I couldn't see why the process was
so dangerous, so I decided to ask before jumped in.

Unfortunately, far too many folks confuse extension and torsion spring. And
add to the hysteria by not paying attenion to what is actually being asked.

Like you.

--
Jim McLaughlin

Reply address is deliberately munged.
If you really need to reply directly, try:
jimdotmclaughlinatcomcastdotcom

And you know it is a dotnet not a dotcom
address.
"Doug Miller" wrote in message
. com...
In article . com,
wrote:

Doug Miller wrote:
In article , "Jim McLaughlin"
wrote:
Standard single bay ovehead garage door. One spring snapped.

Spring's body is 26" long x 1 1/2 inch diameter.

How does one goi about replacing these things?

Get out the Yellow Pages and your Visa card.

Really.

Torsion springs are dangerous, and -- no offense intended -- replacing
one is
not a job for someone who needs to ask how to do it. Call a pro.

Apparently you can't or won't read. The OP has made it clear several
times now that he has extension type springs, so stop the hysteria.

Apparently you can't follow a thread -- the OP made that clear
_farther_down_
in the thread, not before I posted this. I agree now that it is clear he
has
extension springs, not torsion springs -- but I still stand by the comment
that if he has to ask how to do it, it probably isn't a job for him.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

wrote

Incredible how some people think and rationalize foolish things in
their minds.


Yah. And incredible how some of us miss the obvious. Like extension spring
vs. torsion spring.

My comments on torsion springs stand. My comments on torsion springs when
the actual conversation was about extension springs are retracted.

It's a simple thing.

I made a mistake.

Steve

AMEN brother! And as for a professional finding thing the homeowner won't
even see????? MY garage doors only have about 5 different pieces. What's
NOT to see????

--
Steve Barker



"Grumman-581" wrote in message
...
Hmmm... Let's see... Can you pull and rebuild an engine with just an
adjustable end wrench and two short pieces of steel rod / rebar? I
don't know about you, but I'm not *that* good... Although I've never
had a garage door with extension springs, I have no doubt that I could
figure out how to change them... Hell, I figured out how to change my
first set of torsion springs many years ago and even managed to still
have all my body parts attached... It's not rocket science...

You can eyeball toe in. I once worked at a place and that the only way we
did it. As for the caster, it's not the angle that's important, it's the
fact that both sides are the same. If it pulls one way with the camber and
toe correct, then adjust the caster to remove the pull. Simple.

--
Steve Barker



wrote in message
oups.com...

Mys Terry wrote:
On 8 May 2006 14:40:23 -0700, wrote:


Richard J Kinch wrote:
And I've yet to read a news report of anyone
getting injured changing a spring. I'm sure it's happened, but it's
less dangerous than many other home repairs that people do all the
time.

I've made a hobby of collecting such tales, and in almost (almost)
every
case that is not just a friend-of-a-friend myth, it is due to utter
ignorance of the most basic technique. Typically, somebody just
stupidly
loosens the setscrew on a winding cone, without engaging winding bars.
(This is like jumping off a roof, thinking it will get you down on the
ground.) This results in a maiming injury, after which all who hear
of it
conclude that the activity is death-defying, when in fact it is the
ignorance of technique that is the chief component of the hazard.

Yet even the guys in the biz tell me that they get hurt now and then,
despite knowing everything there is to know about what they do. So it
is
not without its inherent hazards that are to some degree unavoidable.

http://www.truetex.com/garage.htm


Reminds me of guy I used to work with many years ago. He was a nice
guy, but always had a cloud of doom following him around. Most of it
was his own doing. He had an old Dodge Diplomat and it was always in
need of repair. One day he starts telling me how he's gonna replace
the front suspension torsion bar. Sounds like it could be one of those
jobs that is a lot easier if you have the right eqpt, a shop, and have
done it before or at least have a service manual. This guy was
living in an apartment at the time, so he was gonna do it out in the
parking lot, with no other car available, minimal tools, etc.

He comes in Monday morning with his arm in a sling. Seems the torsion
bar wrenched it and nearly broke it. So, then he starts telling me
how he's gonna do the alignment next. Now, I do a lot of work on my
own cars, but how the hell can you do this? I mean you need to be able
to accurately measure toe in/out, caster, camber, etc. I try to tell
him to take it to a shop and get it done for $75, but to no avail. Two
months later, he's bitching that he needs new tires cause they're all
bald on one side!

Actually, you can do a pretty precise alignment if you know how to
measure and
have time on your hands, rather than cash to pay someone else. String and
paint
cans are a help. Now days it's even easier, because you can buy little
laser
pointers very cheaply. Once you have done it once, it becomes pretty
easy.


Terry & Skipper, Clearlake Texas


And how do you measure caster, camber, which are angles, with string
and paint cans? Or even toe in/ out for that matter, when a
difference of less than 1/16" will destroy a set of tires?

Quite honestly, I did not realize how heavy the door was. Plus the door was
an early composition material that sucked in moisture and bacteria was
actually feeding on the glue. It was a double width door using an extension
spring which shows how poorly it was put up in the first place. Normally I
was pretty handy... I put up my own garage door operator for example. But
changing the spring almost cost me my head. No joke.


"Richard J Kinch" wrote in message
.. .
Art writes:

I almost killed myself screwing around fixing a garage door.

Because you didn't know the proper techniques, correct?

Tell us the story.

On Wed, 10 May 2006 01:59:03 GMT, "Art"
wrote:
Quite honestly, I did not realize how heavy the door was.
snip

All this talk about garage doors kind of has me wondering... Another
method of opening a garage door would be some sort of counterweight
system... You don't hear much about them though... Seems like they
would be a simplier solution since the only thing that might break
over the years would be the cable... Of course, it would probably be
best to have multiple counterweights since a single one could be
rather eventful if it broke...

"Steve Barker LT" wrote in message
...
You can eyeball toe in. I once worked at a place and that the only way we did
it. As for the caster, it's not the angle that's important, it's the fact
that both sides are the same. If it pulls one way with the camber and toe
correct, then adjust the caster to remove the pull. Simple.

Have you seen the tolerance specifications on a modern car? You cannot eyeball
any of these readings. Geez some of the German cars specify that you put
sandbags in the seats before making the adjustments.

Jim McLaughlin wrote:
Actually, I thought I had the replacement process really well figured out.
But I kept hearing some really hysterical tales fro folks as to how
dangerous the replacement rocess was. I couldn't see why the process was
so dangerous, so I decided to ask before jumped in.

Unfortunately, far too many folks confuse extension and torsion spring. And
add to the hysteria by not paying attenion to what is actually being asked.

Like you.


Well Jim,

There are those that should not touch anything. A neighbor released the
brackets on his expansion springs with the door closed!!! Fortunate for
him he had only minor injuries.

He is probably a guy who might reach under his mower with the engine
running to see if the blade is turning. Etc. etc.

Only warning is to be real certain the door is blocked open and can't
come down in any way. At least that is if you have a heavy door.

Glad to hear someone else uses a torch on their extension springs. I've
done this for years with good results. Every spring that I've had break
will do it at the same place - right in the area where the end of the spring
was bent to form the loop used to attach the end of the spring to the
attachment (an eye bolt in my case). I suspect that when these springs are
manufactured, they aren't heated enough before the spring is bent to form
the loop/hook. As with any spring steel, bending it to a small radius to
form a nearly 90 degree bend will weaken/stress the steel at that point and
that's where it will eventually break. I use a torch to heat that spot to
red heat before rebending the hook on the end. Seems to work like a charm
and those springs that I've heated and rebent are much less likely to break
again at that spot, probably because the steel is well annealed at the bend.

On my garage doors, the extension spring is actually sagging from it own
weight when the door is in the raised position, as I believe it should be.
The motor has more than enough power to finish raising the door once
two-thirds of the door has risen the horizontal position. When in the
raised position, the springs are a piece of cake to remove and replace.

Harry

"Jeff Wisnia" wrote in message
...
Rich256 wrote:

Jim McLaughlin wrote:

Standard single bay ovehead garage door. One spring snapped.

Spring's body is 26" long x 1 1/2 inch diameter.

How does one goi about replacing these things?

Thanks in advance.




Are these expansion springs or torsion?

If expansion on a single bay it shouldn't be too hard. Just as others
have said the door must be safely blocked open. A neighbor damn near
killed himself loosening a spring with the door closed.

When replacing a very large expansion spring on a very heavy double door
I was having trouble trying to get it stretched adequately. Then I just
hooked it up as best I could. Closed the door which expanded the spring
several inches. I then put nails between the wrungs. Opened and braced
the door again. It is now a few inches longer. Hooked it where I
wanted. Closed the door and pulled out the nails.


Had that same problem just last week when I replaced (for the second time
in 20 years) both expansion springs on the garage door we open and close
prolly five time a day. (The other one of our two garage doors gets opened
maybe once a week and its original springs are still in place.)

I'd already torched and bent two new end loops on the last set of springs
within the last year, so when one more end loop broke off I figgered it
was time to spring for a new set again. (pun intentional.)

Say, has anyone evr seen a garage door expansion spring break anyplace
other than at the bend for the end loop? I haven't. The working stresses
are sure to be higher there than elsewhere along the spring, so I guess
that's why. The new pair of springs I bought at home cheepo last week have
their end loops bent out only about 45 degrees from the spring body, maybe
that'll help them stay on longer.

With the door up as far as it could go, I couldn't quite stretch the 150
lb springs enough with one hand while standing on a step ladder to get the
door cables over and into the pulley's groove with my other hand.

Then this idea hit me. I tied a piece of 3/16" plastic rope to the spring
end loop and let 19 year old son stand about 10 feet outside the garage
and pull on it. Worked slicker than snot on a brass doorknob, he could
easily have stretched it another foot if needed.

Final blather for those who never stopped to think about this; A coil
spring is just a torsion bar wound into a coil. The "springiness" comes
from the spring wire twisting as the coil is stretched or compressed.

HTH,

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia

(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)

"Life is like a sewer -- what you get out of it depends on what
you put into it."

Grumman-581 writes:

All this talk about garage doors kind of has me wondering... Another
method of opening a garage door would be some sort of counterweight
system.

Possible but not practical versus extension or torsion springs.

A simple weight applies a constant force, which is not well matched to
lifting a sectional door, which decreases in weight as it is lifted into
the horizontal track. Springs happen to roughly match that proportionate
behavior. While one can imagine a more complex system of weights that
lifts proportionately to travel, it becomes Goldberg-esque.

You also have an inertia problem with weights that you don't have with
springs. Garage doors are dangerous enough due to their moving mass, and
you don't want to increase that.

On Tue, 09 May 2006 23:34:16 -0500, Richard J Kinch
wrote:
Possible but not practical versus extension or torsion springs.

After posting that, I did a quick search on the net... It seems that
there are a few doors that use a counterweight system, but they're
rather specialty type of doors... I don't think any of them were the
typical 4 section metal doors... There were some 2 section (i.e.
bifold) ones where the top and the bottom of the door is in a vertical
track and the pivot point projects outwards as the door is opened...
Kind of like the door on my hangar, but it doesn't have a
counterweight... I had a cable break on it once and it was a very
interesting experience as it hit my boat and pushed it into me so that
I was pinned against the wall... It's about a 40 ft wide by perhaps 20
ft tall metaL door... When it falls, it is *very* loud...

*A simple weight applies a constant force, which is not well matched to
lifting a sectional door, which decreases in weight as it is lifted into
the horizontal track.*

Doors with counterbalance weights, commonly used in many carwashes, rely on
the vertical lift type drums, snatch blocks and cable to offset the changes
in weight as the door travels from a vertical position to horizontal. These
doors are remarkably balanced throughout it's travel.

Rich
====================================
Garage Door Parts, LLC
973-472-4818
http://www.garagedoorsupply.com
====================================

"Richard J Kinch" wrote in message
.. .
Grumman-581 writes:

All this talk about garage doors kind of has me wondering... Another
method of opening a garage door would be some sort of counterweight
system.

Possible but not practical versus extension or torsion springs.

A simple weight applies a constant force, which is not well matched to
lifting a sectional door, which decreases in weight as it is lifted into
the horizontal track. Springs happen to roughly match that proportionate
behavior. While one can imagine a more complex system of weights that
lifts proportionately to travel, it becomes Goldberg-esque.

You also have an inertia problem with weights that you don't have with
springs. Garage doors are dangerous enough due to their moving mass, and
you don't want to increase that.

Go to Lowes or Home Depot and have them install a torsion bar instead of
springs.

Robert
"Art" wrote in message
.net...
Quite honestly, I did not realize how heavy the door was. Plus the door
was an early composition material that sucked in moisture and bacteria was
actually feeding on the glue. It was a double width door using an
extension spring which shows how poorly it was put up in the first place.
Normally I was pretty handy... I put up my own garage door operator for
example. But changing the spring almost cost me my head. No joke.


"Richard J Kinch" wrote in message
.. .
Art writes:

I almost killed myself screwing around fixing a garage door.

Because you didn't know the proper techniques, correct?

Tell us the story.

On Tue, 09 May 2006 23:34:16 -0500, Richard J Kinch
wrote:

Grumman-581 writes:

All this talk about garage doors kind of has me wondering... Another
method of opening a garage door would be some sort of counterweight
system.

Possible but not practical versus extension or torsion springs.

A simple weight applies a constant force, which is not well matched to
lifting a sectional door, which decreases in weight as it is lifted into
the horizontal track. Springs happen to roughly match that proportionate
behavior. While one can imagine a more complex system of weights that
lifts proportionately to travel, it becomes Goldberg-esque.

You also have an inertia problem with weights that you don't have with
springs. Garage doors are dangerous enough due to their moving mass, and
you don't want to increase that.

Bulky, maybe. All you need is a series of weights on the cable that
hit the ground as the door opens. An anchor chain, for instance.
Or an eccentric pulley somewhere in the sequence.
I don't think the inertia problem is real...
The weights contribute to the inertia of the door only when it's
opening. When it's closing, if you block the door, the weights will
just coast, adding slack to the cable.
As for the dealing with snapped cables, you could add the sort of
cable-de-activated brakes they use on elevators, where a loose cable
allows (brake shoes?) to engage the track, while a tight cable
pulls them clear.

Goedjn writes:

All you need is ...

As I said, it is possible, just Goldberg-esque.

http://www.rubegoldberg.com/

On Wed, 10 May 2006 23:19:41 -0500, Richard J Kinch
wrote:

Goedjn writes:

All you need is ...

As I said, it is possible, just Goldberg-esque.

http://www.rubegoldberg.com/

Neither of those solutions is particularly
complicated, or mechanically unusual.

Goedjn writes:

Neither of those solutions is particularly
complicated, or mechanically unusual.

You are lost in naivete.

The torsion spring pair for my 238 lb single car door weighs 17 lbs.

Your counterweights would weigh, oh, at least 238 lbs.

At $3/lb lately for hardware, you are suggesting upwards of $1000 for a
mechanism that replaces $50 worth of springs.

Mys Terry writes:

How much does a cubic foot of concrete weigh, and how much does it
cost?

Not suitable as already explained. The naive idea was to use a metal
chain.

On Thu, 11 May 2006 13:50:43 -0500, Richard J Kinch
wrote:

Goedjn writes:

Neither of those solutions is particularly
complicated, or mechanically unusual.

You are lost in naivete.

The torsion spring pair for my 238 lb single car door weighs 17 lbs.

Your counterweights would weigh, oh, at least 238 lbs.

At $3/lb lately for hardware, you are suggesting upwards of $1000 for a
mechanism that replaces $50 worth of springs.

Ah. So your complaint is based on the theory that
"goldberg-esque" is a synonym for "expensive"?

Mys Terry writes:

Concrete seems like an excellent and economical choice.

No. Already explained why a constant-force weight was unsuitable.

Goedjn writes:

At $3/lb lately for hardware, you are suggesting upwards of $1000 for a
mechanism that replaces $50 worth of springs.

Ah. So your complaint is based on the theory that
"goldberg-esque" is a synonym for "expensive"?

No. Cost and complexity correlate.

you are not a very creative thinker.

I cast pearls; you are the swine.

"Jim McLaughlin" jim.mclaughlin wrote in message
...
Standard single bay ovehead garage door. One spring snapped.

Spring's body is 26" long x 1 1/2 inch diameter.

How does one goi about replacing these things?

Thanks in advance.



--
Jim McLaughlin

Reply address is deliberately munged.
If you really need to reply directly, try:
jimdotmclaughlinatcomcastdotcom

And you know it is a dotnet not a dotcom
address.



If it is torsion spring system (a rod) runs through the spring) and you have
to ask, PLEASE call a pro to do the job. I know how to do it and I still
call a pro. I have seen too many serious injuries to even think about DIY
on this one. I do about everything else I need except roofing.


Colbyt

Its not a torsion spring, its an extension spring set, which is obvious to
anyone who read the original post and noted the dimensions given.



--
Jim McLaughlin

Reply address is deliberately munged.
If you really need to reply directly, try:
jimdotmclaughlinatcomcastdotcom

And you know it is a dotnet not a dotcom
address.
"Colbyt" wrote in message
...

"Jim McLaughlin" jim.mclaughlin wrote in message
...
Standard single bay ovehead garage door. One spring snapped.

Spring's body is 26" long x 1 1/2 inch diameter.

How does one goi about replacing these things?

Thanks in advance.



--
Jim McLaughlin

Reply address is deliberately munged.
If you really need to reply directly, try:
jimdotmclaughlinatcomcastdotcom

And you know it is a dotnet not a dotcom
address.



If it is torsion spring system (a rod) runs through the spring) and you
have
to ask, PLEASE call a pro to do the job. I know how to do it and I still
call a pro. I have seen too many serious injuries to even think about DIY
on this one. I do about everything else I need except roofing.


Colbyt

"Jim McLaughlin" jim.mclaughlin wrote in message
...
Its not a torsion spring, its an extension spring set, which is obvious to
anyone who read the original post and noted the dimensions given.



Well Jim I am too damn lazy to go out to the garage and measure mine but I
think my torsion spring with a rod through it is at least 36" long and I
know it is at least 1.5" because the rod is close to 1" and there is a lot
of space around it.

Have one of us confused our terms? I may be mistaken but I thought that
torsion springs went through a rod and were twisted tighter and looser to
raise and lower the door. Extension springs generally follow the track at
the side or top and are stretched to provide the lift.



--
Colbyt
One picture can be worth a 1000 words.
Post yours at www.ImageGenie.net for FREE.

Colbyt wrote:
"Jim McLaughlin" jim.mclaughlin wrote in message
...
Its not a torsion spring, its an extension spring set, which is obvious to
anyone who read the original post and noted the dimensions given.



Well Jim I am too damn lazy to go out to the garage and measure mine but I
think my torsion spring with a rod through it is at least 36" long and I
know it is at least 1.5" because the rod is close to 1" and there is a lot
of space around it.

Have one of us confused our terms? I may be mistaken but I thought that
torsion springs went through a rod and were twisted tighter and looser to
raise and lower the door. Extension springs generally follow the track at
the side or top and are stretched to provide the lift.

The original poster has stated several times that it is an extension
spring including saying that it was parallel to the rails.