Garage Door erratic in cold weather
 

Now that the weather has dropped to the low 30's, my garage door opens up
erratically. When it opens, it stops 1/4 of the way; then I reopen it
again and opens up 1/2 of the way, and so on. There's no problem closing
it, just the opening part. It doesn't do this during hot weather. I've
lubed all the necessary parts, to no avail.

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Garage Door erratic in cold weather
 

On Dec 4, 8:53*pm, (horton)
wrote:
Now that the weather has dropped to the low 30's, my garage door opens up
erratically. *When it opens, it stops 1/4 of the way; then I reopen it
again and opens up 1/2 of the way, and so on. *There's no problem closing
it, just the opening part. *It doesn't do this during hot weather. *I've
lubed all the necessary parts, to no avail.

-------------------------------------



My experience says that cold weather is a problem. You've got to do
the balance test and adjust the springs as need.
Seems like you need some more spring wrap.

Is the door made of wood? If so, does it gain moisture & increase
weight?

Indiscriminate lubrication is not a good thing.....lube the roller
shafts & bearing not the rollers or the tracks.
Replace crappy stock rollers with BB rollers w/ nylon wheels

Tracks shoudl be clean & dry, not greasy & dirty...rollers are to roll
not slide.

cheers
Bob

Garage Door erratic in cold weather
 

On 05 Dec 2008 04:53:02 GMT,
(horton) wrote:

Now that the weather has dropped to the low 30's, my garage door opens up
erratically. When it opens, it stops 1/4 of the way; then I reopen it
again and opens up 1/2 of the way, and so on. There's no problem closing
it, just the opening part. It doesn't do this during hot weather. I've
lubed all the necessary parts, to no avail.

-------------------------------------



As already noted, your first step is to make sure the door works
well without the opener and that it is balanced. It should move
easily an smoothly and you should be able to lift it half way and have
it balance there with no assistance on your part.

Garage Door erratic in cold weather
 

"horton" wrote in message
om...
Now that the weather has dropped to the low 30's, my garage door opens up
erratically. When it opens, it stops 1/4 of the way; then I reopen it
again and opens up 1/2 of the way, and so on. There's no problem closing
it, just the opening part. It doesn't do this during hot weather. I've
lubed all the necessary parts, to no avail.

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alt.home.repair - 327728 messages and counting!
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My garage door gets water\condensation between the sections and freezes in
cold weather. In my case that hasn't really been a problem but does effect
the way the door opens.

Garage Door erratic in cold weather
 

"horton" wrote in message
om...
Now that the weather has dropped to the low 30's, my garage door opens up
erratically. When it opens, it stops 1/4 of the way; then I reopen it
again and opens up 1/2 of the way, and so on. There's no problem closing
it, just the opening part. It doesn't do this during hot weather. I've
lubed all the necessary parts, to no avail.

Check the clearance of the door with the door frame behind the weather
stripping. If there is insufficient clearance, the door will bind when each
panel tries to make it around the corner at the top of the door. I had to
add a 1/4 inch spacer at each mount to get enough clearance because the wood
shrank that much from the time that the door was mounted in the summer when
it was hot and humid.

Also, if the door is wooden and you have experienced a lot of rain recently,
the door may have absorbed enough water to make it difficult to impossible
for the drive motor to lift the door properly.

Make sure that you are using the recommended lubrication and in the correct
places as some lubricants may actually become worse than no lubrication in
cold weather.

Garage Door erratic in cold weather
 

On Dec 4, 11:53*pm, (horton)
wrote:
Now that the weather has dropped to the low 30's, my garage door opens up
erratically. *When it opens, it stops 1/4 of the way; then I reopen it
again and opens up 1/2 of the way, and so on. *There's no problem closing
it, just the opening part. *It doesn't do this during hot weather. *I've
lubed all the necessary parts, to no avail.

-------------------------------------

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This question comes up every year around this time, so you are not
alone.

What works for me is a slight increase in the up/down force of the
opener. Since my forces are still comfortably in the middle of the
range, and I can still stop the door myself, I feel safe increasing
the force just enough to compensate for the cold weather. Come spring,
I adjust them back down, just to be extra safe.

Unasked-for Tip:

Hang your opener from some rubber straps or conveyor belt material
instead of connecting it directly to your joists/rafters. The noise
reduction from the elimination of vibration is quite significant,
especially if there is a room above the garage.

Garage Door erratic in cold weather
 

My garage door acts the same way. I attribute it the "frost heave" which
raises the slab slightly and puts the door frame a little out of square.

Garage Door erratic in cold weather
 

horton had written this in response to
http://www.thestuccocompany.com/main...er-346342-.htm
:
Thanks, I'll try that tip. By the way, would it damage the opener if I
adjust the force seasonally, just like what you have described? The door
is the standard, sectional metal one and it's about 10 yrs old.

What kind of 'tune up' does it need (the opener)? For the door itself,
I've done the lube and tightenings.

-------------------------------------
DerbyDad03 wrote:



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This question comes up every year around this time, so you are not
alone.

What works for me is a slight increase in the up/down force of the
opener. Since my forces are still comfortably in the middle of the
range, and I can still stop the door myself, I feel safe increasing
the force just enough to compensate for the cold weather. Come spring,
I adjust them back down, just to be extra safe.

Unasked-for Tip:

Hang your opener from some rubber straps or conveyor belt material
instead of connecting it directly to your joists/rafters. The noise
reduction from the elimination of vibration is quite significant,
especially if there is a room above the garage.





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