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#1
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If torsion spring breaks on metal garage door
Hypothetically, on a metal garage door, if the torsion spring breaks,
can you disengage the garage door from the garage door opener (track) and open and close it? Suppose there are 2 torsion springs and only one spring breaks, same question? |
#2
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If torsion spring breaks on metal garage door
Doug wrote: Hypothetically, on a metal garage door, if the torsion spring breaks, can you disengage the garage door from the garage door opener (track) and open and close it? Suppose there are 2 torsion springs and only one spring breaks, same question? Hi, When it happened to me, I temporarily joined broken spring together with small U bolt and rewound it to just open the door once to bring cars outside. Then I closed the door down, called the service guy. After watching him do it, now I can work on door problems myself. |
#3
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If torsion spring breaks on metal garage door
"Doug" wrote in message ... Hypothetically, on a metal garage door, if the torsion spring breaks, can you disengage the garage door from the garage door opener (track) and open and close it? Suppose there are 2 torsion springs and only one spring breaks, same question? The release if for the opener. The springs are to make the door light enough so the opener has to do only small ammount of work. If the springs break the opener will not have enough power to open the door. With the springs working, the door is light enough to lift by hand when the opener quits working and the release is pulled. You can pull the release and lift the door when the springs break IF you are strong enough. It may take two or three people depending on the weight of the door. |
#4
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If torsion spring breaks on metal garage door
In article ,
Doug wrote: Hypothetically, on a metal garage door, if the torsion spring breaks, can you disengage the garage door from the garage door opener (track) and open and close it? Suppose there are 2 torsion springs and only one spring breaks, same question? I have some experience with a single broken spring on a 2-spring door. No problem lifting and lowering the door by hand. But, I could only lift it so high, and it wouldn't stay in that position. So I clamped a vise grip on the rail to hold the door open. Did that for a few months, a couple of times per week as needed. |
#5
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If torsion spring breaks on metal garage door
On Mon, 26 Nov 2012 09:47:05 -0600, Doug wrote:
Hypothetically, on a metal garage door, if the torsion spring breaks, can you disengage the garage door from the garage door opener (track) and open and close it? Suppose there are 2 torsion springs and only one spring breaks, same question? Hi Doug, Q: Can you disengage the garage door from the GDO with a broken spring? A: Yes. There is no relationship to the spring whatsoever for disengaging. Q: Can you then open & close the door manually (with a broken spring)? A: Yes. But. The torsion spring was counterbalancing the door - so - now YOU need to lift the weight of the door which 'was' handled by the broken spring. My single-car door is 127 pounds. A double-car door can easily be double that. BTW, "closing" the door will be easy (gravity does the work for you). But think about how you would go about 'stopping' two to four 50-pound bags of cement falling 7 feet along the tracks. Q: If one of two torsion springs break, can you manually open the door? A: The answer is the same. The only difference is that half the weight of the door is on you, the other half is on the matched unbroken spring. There are two (and only two) web pages you need to fully understand garage door torsion springs. I've read dozens, and I've watched every youtube video out there - but you only need these two pages: 1. Richard Kinch (background material) 2. Dan Musick (DDM Garage Doors DIY info) |
#6
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If torsion spring breaks on metal garage door
On Mon, 26 Nov 2012 08:55:47 -0700, Tony Hwang wrote:
I temporarily joined broken spring together with a small U bolt and rewound it to just open the door I've seen the youtube videos and web pages where they actually weld the spring together temporarily and they also use a u-shaped spring clamp. Seems to me the u-shaped spring clamp is the easiest for a homeowner to get the car out of the garage. The only thing is that I winced when I saw the video of the guy winding the temporarily repaired spring. I kept thinking to myself "what if that spring clamp broke?" So, its' probably slightly more dangerous to wind a temporarily fixed spring - but it will work for sure. |
#7
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If torsion spring breaks on metal garage door
On Mon, 26 Nov 2012 22:47:00 +0000 (UTC), "Danny D."
wrote: On Mon, 26 Nov 2012 09:47:05 -0600, Doug wrote: Hypothetically, on a metal garage door, if the torsion spring breaks, can you disengage the garage door from the garage door opener (track) and open and close it? Suppose there are 2 torsion springs and only one spring breaks, same question? Hi Doug, Q: Can you disengage the garage door from the GDO with a broken spring? A: Yes. There is no relationship to the spring whatsoever for disengaging. Q: Can you then open & close the door manually (with a broken spring)? A: Yes. But. The torsion spring was counterbalancing the door - so - now YOU need to lift the weight of the door which 'was' handled by the broken spring. My single-car door is 127 pounds. A double-car door can easily be double that. BTW, "closing" the door will be easy (gravity does the work for you). But think about how you would go about 'stopping' two to four 50-pound bags of cement falling 7 feet along the tracks. Q: If one of two torsion springs break, can you manually open the door? A: The answer is the same. The only difference is that half the weight of the door is on you, the other half is on the matched unbroken spring. There are two (and only two) web pages you need to fully understand garage door torsion springs. I've read dozens, and I've watched every youtube video out there - but you only need these two pages: 1. Richard Kinch (background material) 2. Dan Musick (DDM Garage Doors DIY info) Thank you Danny for the help / explanation. Appreciate it !!! |
#8
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If torsion spring breaks on metal garage door
On Mon, 26 Nov 2012 08:55:47 -0700, Tony Hwang
wrote: Doug wrote: Hypothetically, on a metal garage door, if the torsion spring breaks, can you disengage the garage door from the garage door opener (track) and open and close it? Suppose there are 2 torsion springs and only one spring breaks, same question? Hi, When it happened to me, I temporarily joined broken spring together with small U bolt and rewound it to just open the door once to bring cars outside. Then I closed the door down, called the service guy. After watching him do it, now I can work on door problems myself. Tony, you're brave. I don't think I want to attempt it. I've seen a video to replace a torsion spring but still hesitate on trying it. I'm game for many things but not all . I once watched my dad replace a garage spring (parallel to the track) and I know he had a job doing it alone but he did manage to get it correct. Well, bottom line is.... you did good !! |
#9
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If torsion spring breaks on metal garage door
On Mon, 26 Nov 2012 10:58:52 -0500, "Ralph Mowery"
wrote: "Doug" wrote in message .. . Hypothetically, on a metal garage door, if the torsion spring breaks, can you disengage the garage door from the garage door opener (track) and open and close it? Suppose there are 2 torsion springs and only one spring breaks, same question? The release if for the opener. The springs are to make the door light enough so the opener has to do only small ammount of work. If the springs break the opener will not have enough power to open the door. With the springs working, the door is light enough to lift by hand when the opener quits working and the release is pulled. You can pull the release and lift the door when the springs break IF you are strong enough. It may take two or three people depending on the weight of the door. Gotcha. Thanks !! |
#10
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If torsion spring breaks on metal garage door
On Mon, 26 Nov 2012 08:28:29 -0800, Smitty Two
wrote: In article , Doug wrote: Hypothetically, on a metal garage door, if the torsion spring breaks, can you disengage the garage door from the garage door opener (track) and open and close it? Suppose there are 2 torsion springs and only one spring breaks, same question? I have some experience with a single broken spring on a 2-spring door. No problem lifting and lowering the door by hand. But, I could only lift it so high, and it wouldn't stay in that position. So I clamped a vise grip on the rail to hold the door open. Did that for a few months, a couple of times per week as needed. Clever... I'll have to remember that in case. Thanks. |
#11
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If torsion spring breaks on metal garage door
Danny D. wrote: On Mon, 26 Nov 2012 08:55:47 -0700, Tony Hwang wrote: I temporarily joined broken spring together with a small U bolt and rewound it to just open the door I've seen the youtube videos and web pages where they actually weld the spring together temporarily and they also use a u-shaped spring clamp. Seems to me the u-shaped spring clamp is the easiest for a homeowner to get the car out of the garage. The only thing is that I winced when I saw the video of the guy winding the temporarily repaired spring. I kept thinking to myself "what if that spring clamp broke?" So, its' probably slightly more dangerous to wind a temporarily fixed spring - but it will work for sure. Hi, Using U bolt is only one time deal to get the cars out of garage. I have pair of winding bars I made of steel rod in 2 feet length. I wear work gloves, safety goggles when I work on springs. Have done it only couple times over the years. Springs last long time. |
#12
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If torsion spring breaks on metal garage door
On Mon, 26 Nov 2012 19:09:43 -0600, Doug wrote:
I don't think I want to attempt it. I've seen a video to replace a torsion spring but still hesitate on trying it. There are scores of videos of common people just like you and me replacing our torsion springs. Winding a spring is "almost" trivial. The only thing that makes it decidedly not trivial is the dire consequence of something going wrong. However, the spring-winding task, in and of itself, is quite trivial for a man of normal strength. |
#13
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If torsion spring breaks on metal garage door
On Mon, 26 Nov 2012 18:39:24 -0700, Tony Hwang wrote:
Using U bolt is only one time deal to get the cars out of garage. I understand. There are at least THREE temporary repair options, two of which were not initially obvious to me: 1. Use a grooved spring coupler to connect the two pieces 2. Clamp the two pieces together with a spring clamp 3. Use the shortened spring with the GDO disconnected Here's a video where a supplier of the grooved spring couplers (DMATools.com) shows how the moon-shaped spring coupler is used to repair a broken torsion spring: http://www.veengle.com/s/spring%20coupler.html Here's a supplier of the cable clamps who also provides a detailed DIY for how to temporarily repair broken torsion springs: http://www.prodoorsupply.com/category-s/192.htm Here's a video where they used a 'spring clamp' to temporarily fix 3 3/8" and 6" torsion springs. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHu3JtoUhV0 Personally, if I had to temporarily repair a garage door torsion spring, I would probably disconnect the garage door opener and remove the winding cone from the broken end and insert it onto the long end. Then I would manually open the garage door, with the shorter spring counterbalancing 'most' of the weight, but not all. Since torsion springs are so inexpensive (less than fifty bucks in most cases), I wouldn't bother with either the grooved spring coupler or the U-shaped spring clamp unless I happened to have them in the garage already. The beauty of those two methods is that the spring retains its strength - but the beauty of the shorter spring method is that you don't need anything to temporarily fix the torsion spring. Of course, winding either a repaired torsion spring, or winding a shorter (but old) torsion spring has its dangers - so - when mine broke a couple of weeks ago, I simply hefted the door open, and then left the garage door down until the new spring arrived by UPS. Installing the new torsion spring takes less time than it took me to watch all the youtube videos! |
#14
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If torsion spring breaks on metal garage door
What if you have both Springs broke. How do I open my door?
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#15
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If torsion spring breaks on metal garage door
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#16
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If torsion spring breaks on metal garage door
On Mon, 4 Apr 2016 10:22:44 -0700 (PDT), wrote:
What if you have both Springs broke. How do I open my door? You are probably best off if you can just leave it closed until you get the new springs installed. Like Don says, a lot of muscle or separate the panels. I know my 150 MPH rated door is not going up without the springs, even if you have a couple weight lifter friends. This thing is hundreds of pounds. |
#17
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If torsion spring breaks on metal garage door
On 4/4/2016 1:22 PM, wrote:
What if you have both Springs broke. How do I open my door? The one time I saw a garage guy open a door with broken spring, he used a come along "cable hoist" tool from the door frame to the lower roller. Seemed to work fine for him. You might need two workers and two come alongs. -- .. Christopher A. Young learn more about Jesus .. www.lds.org .. .. |
#18
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If torsion spring breaks on metal garage door
On Monday, April 4, 2016 at 2:30:13 PM UTC-4, wrote:
On Mon, 4 Apr 2016 10:22:44 -0700 (PDT), wrote: What if you have both Springs broke. How do I open my door? You are probably best off if you can just leave it closed until you get the new springs installed. Like Don says, a lot of muscle or separate the panels. I know my 150 MPH rated door is not going up without the springs, even if you have a couple weight lifter friends. This thing is hundreds of pounds. 2 Torsion springs stories: 1 - A coworker got out of his car and pressed the GDO button next to the door into his house. The door started to close when the spring on his side broke and smacked him upside the head. His wife, who saw him pull into the driveway, got curious when he didn't come into the house and went out to the garage. She found him lying on the floor, semi-conscious, with a bloodied face and head. He spent a few days in the hospital after getting sewn up and was out of work for a few weeks. When he came back his face look like...well, I guess it looked like he had been hit by a torsion spring. 2 - My door has a single spring across the top. I tried to close the door with the GDO and when it got about halfway down I heard a loud bang and door stopped. I looked above the door and saw that the spring had broken and the cable around the pulley was loose, kind of half on and half off. Not quite knowing what the deal was, I decided to pull the emergency release on the GDO. As soon as I pulled the release, the door dropped violently another 2 feet or so, when the cable got tangled up on something and stopped the door - just as my 2 year old daughter ran from the porch and into the garage. Holy crap! I don't know if I had ever hugged her as hard as I did that day. |
#19
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If torsion spring breaks on metal garage door
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#20
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If torsion spring breaks on metal garage door
On 04/04/2016 1:59 PM, DerbyDad03 wrote:
.... 2 Torsion springs stories: 1 - A coworker got out of his car and pressed the GDO button next to the door into his house. The door started to close when the spring on his side broke and smacked him upside the head. .... Don't doubt the guy got hit but can't see how it could've been a _torsion_ spring that did it...if the linear spring wasn't installed correctly with the cable thru it to keep it from going somewhere when it broke yes...but the torsion springs are wound around the solid bar; there's nowhere for them to go flying to off of it. Replacing them isn't _that_ tough; done it several times. One does need to ensure have the proper toolset/skillset to rewind one w/o letting it get away from you, though. -- |
#21
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If torsion spring breaks on metal garage door
On Monday, April 4, 2016 at 3:45:28 PM UTC-4, dpb wrote:
On 04/04/2016 1:59 PM, DerbyDad03 wrote: ... 2 Torsion springs stories: 1 - A coworker got out of his car and pressed the GDO button next to the door into his house. The door started to close when the spring on his side broke and smacked him upside the head. ... Don't doubt the guy got hit but can't see how it could've been a _torsion_ spring that did it...if the linear spring wasn't installed correctly with the cable thru it to keep it from going somewhere when it broke yes...but the torsion springs are wound around the solid bar; there's nowhere for them to go flying to off of it. Replacing them isn't _that_ tough; done it several times. One does need to ensure have the proper toolset/skillset to rewind one w/o letting it get away from you, though. -- OK, linear spring. My error. His pain. ;-) |
#22
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If torsion spring breaks on metal garage door
Don Y wrote:
On 4/4/2016 10:22 AM, wrote: What if you have both Springs broke. How do I open my door? Get some extra muscle! If all else fails, you can isolate each individual panel (beginning with the topmost) and raise each separately. I.e., the opposite of when the door is assembled/installed. Do *not* play with the torsion springs! You are likely to lose a finger (or three). Bull**** . With reasonable caution and the PROPER tools most handy men can replace tham . One caveat - tension both sprinngs at the same time , alternating between them to avoid problems caused by the tension rod being twisted by spring torque . -- Snag |
#23
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If torsion spring breaks on metal garage door
On Mon, 4 Apr 2016 11:59:54 -0700 (PDT), DerbyDad03
wrote: On Monday, April 4, 2016 at 2:30:13 PM UTC-4, wrote: On Mon, 4 Apr 2016 10:22:44 -0700 (PDT), wrote: What if you have both Springs broke. How do I open my door? You are probably best off if you can just leave it closed until you get the new springs installed. Like Don says, a lot of muscle or separate the panels. I know my 150 MPH rated door is not going up without the springs, even if you have a couple weight lifter friends. This thing is hundreds of pounds. 2 Torsion springs stories: 1 - A coworker got out of his car and pressed the GDO button next to the door into his house. The door started to close when the spring on his side broke and smacked him upside the head. His wife, who saw him pull into the driveway, got curious when he didn't come into the house and went out to the garage. She found him lying on the floor, semi-conscious, with a bloodied face and head. He spent a few days in the hospital after getting sewn up and was out of work for a few weeks. When he came back his face look like...well, I guess it looked like he had been hit by a torsion spring. How did he get hit with a torsion spring, They are captive on the pipe. That used to happen with the old style tension springs until people started threading a steel cable through them to hold the end when they broke. I know I did that when I put in my door in the 70s in Md and I retro fitted the one here. Now I have torsion springs on the replacement door. .. |
#24
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If torsion spring breaks on metal garage door
On Mon, 4 Apr 2016 15:13:33 -0500, "Terry Coombs"
wrote: Don Y wrote: On 4/4/2016 10:22 AM, wrote: What if you have both Springs broke. How do I open my door? Get some extra muscle! If all else fails, you can isolate each individual panel (beginning with the topmost) and raise each separately. I.e., the opposite of when the door is assembled/installed. Do *not* play with the torsion springs! You are likely to lose a finger (or three). Bull**** . With reasonable caution and the PROPER tools most handy men can replace tham . One caveat - tension both sprinngs at the same time , alternating between them to avoid problems caused by the tension rod being twisted by spring torque . Agreed. I did mine when I installed this door but you do have to be careful and have the right rods to crank them up (typically 1/2" cold rolled steel). You can make up a nice set out of a 30-36" stick of steel rod, cut in half. As you say, it is handy to have 2 sets, so you can bring the springs up evenly. Do one turn on one, then go do a turn on the other. Once I got a few turns on each I raised the door enough to put an old bathroom scale under it and used that as a guide to how close I was. It did take a little fine tuning to find the sweet spot, where up force on the closed door was about as much as residual force against trying to close the open door. |
#25
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If torsion spring breaks on metal garage door
On 4/4/2016 1:13 PM, Terry Coombs wrote:
Don Y wrote: On 4/4/2016 10:22 AM, wrote: What if you have both Springs broke. How do I open my door? Get some extra muscle! If all else fails, you can isolate each individual panel (beginning with the topmost) and raise each separately. I.e., the opposite of when the door is assembled/installed. Do *not* play with the torsion springs! You are likely to lose a finger (or three). Bull**** . With reasonable caution and the PROPER tools most handy men can replace tham . One caveat - tension both sprinngs at the same time , alternating between them to avoid problems caused by the tension rod being twisted by spring torque . With reasonable caution and the PROPER tools most handy men can fix their own computers, rebuild their own automobile engines, blow their own glassware, rewire a home, dig out their own crawlspace, fell their own trees, etc. Yet, amazingly, few people do these things -- and few do so without also injuring themselves (or damaging some collateral property) You get slightly *less* than ONE mistake when tensioning a torsion spring. Belatedly discover that you need to take a breather or that one of the "sockets" for the tightening bars is a bit buggered and you can't "press pause". far less risk in changing your own motor oil -- yet amazing how few folks will go to that "extreme"! |
#26
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If torsion spring breaks on metal garage door
On Monday, April 4, 2016 at 4:25:06 PM UTC-4, wrote:
On Mon, 4 Apr 2016 11:59:54 -0700 (PDT), DerbyDad03 wrote: On Monday, April 4, 2016 at 2:30:13 PM UTC-4, wrote: On Mon, 4 Apr 2016 10:22:44 -0700 (PDT), wrote: What if you have both Springs broke. How do I open my door? You are probably best off if you can just leave it closed until you get the new springs installed. Like Don says, a lot of muscle or separate the panels. I know my 150 MPH rated door is not going up without the springs, even if you have a couple weight lifter friends. This thing is hundreds of pounds. 2 Torsion springs stories: 1 - A coworker got out of his car and pressed the GDO button next to the door into his house. The door started to close when the spring on his side broke and smacked him upside the head. His wife, who saw him pull into the driveway, got curious when he didn't come into the house and went out to the garage. She found him lying on the floor, semi-conscious, with a bloodied face and head. He spent a few days in the hospital after getting sewn up and was out of work for a few weeks. When he came back his face look like...well, I guess it looked like he had been hit by a torsion spring. How did he get hit with a torsion spring, They are captive on the pipe. That used to happen with the old style tension springs until people started threading a steel cable through them to hold the end when they broke. I know I did that when I put in my door in the 70s in Md and I retro fitted the one here. Now I have torsion springs on the replacement door. . Read my previous post. |
#27
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If torsion spring breaks on metal garage door
Don Y wrote:
On 4/4/2016 1:13 PM, Terry Coombs wrote: Don Y wrote: On 4/4/2016 10:22 AM, wrote: What if you have both Springs broke. How do I open my door? Get some extra muscle! If all else fails, you can isolate each individual panel (beginning with the topmost) and raise each separately. I.e., the opposite of when the door is assembled/installed. Do *not* play with the torsion springs! You are likely to lose a finger (or three). Bull**** . With reasonable caution and the PROPER tools most handy men can replace tham . One caveat - tension both sprinngs at the same time , alternating between them to avoid problems caused by the tension rod being twisted by spring torque . With reasonable caution and the PROPER tools most handy men can fix their own computers, rebuild their own automobile engines, blow their own glassware, rewire a home, dig out their own crawlspace, fell their own trees, etc. Yet, amazingly, few people do these things -- and few do so without also injuring themselves (or damaging some collateral property) You get slightly *less* than ONE mistake when tensioning a torsion spring. Belatedly discover that you need to take a breather or that one of the "sockets" for the tightening bars is a bit buggered and you can't "press pause". far less risk in changing your own motor oil -- yet amazing how few folks will go to that "extreme"! Doing it myself instead of paying someone with probably less knowledge and damn sure cares less about my ass has enabled us to live a lifestyle otherwise out of our reach . I figure if I can do it I should . About the only thing I won't tackle is automatic transmissions . Today a neighbor and I laid the Advantech flooring on our new 24 x 24 foot kitchen ... by the end of the week I expect to be standing up some walls , next will be building the 6/12-3/12 scissor trusses , then on to decking the roof . And on and on , until ... -- Snag |
#28
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If torsion spring breaks on metal garage door
On Mon, 04 Apr 2016 13:52:42 -0700, Don Y
wrote: On 4/4/2016 1:13 PM, Terry Coombs wrote: Don Y wrote: On 4/4/2016 10:22 AM, wrote: What if you have both Springs broke. How do I open my door? Get some extra muscle! If all else fails, you can isolate each individual panel (beginning with the topmost) and raise each separately. I.e., the opposite of when the door is assembled/installed. Do *not* play with the torsion springs! You are likely to lose a finger (or three). Bull**** . With reasonable caution and the PROPER tools most handy men can replace tham . One caveat - tension both sprinngs at the same time , alternating between them to avoid problems caused by the tension rod being twisted by spring torque . With reasonable caution and the PROPER tools most handy men can fix their own computers, rebuild their own automobile engines, blow their own glassware, rewire a home, dig out their own crawlspace, fell their own trees, etc. Yet, amazingly, few people do these things -- and few do so without also injuring themselves (or damaging some collateral property) You get slightly *less* than ONE mistake when tensioning a torsion spring. Belatedly discover that you need to take a breather or that one of the "sockets" for the tightening bars is a bit buggered and you can't "press pause". far less risk in changing your own motor oil -- yet amazing how few folks will go to that "extreme"! I was working in my garage one day when I heard some yelling I couldn't make out. It continued, so I investigated. A neighbor two doors down had tried adjusting his torsion spring and dropped the door. His index finger got squashed between the top 2 panels and was still stuck there. I lifted the door with a wrecking bar and freed him, then took him to the hospital - he was a nurse there. The broken finger had to have the meat stitched back on. OTOH, I've adjusted them using screwdrivers to crank them. Of course, that's with the damn door closed. |
#29
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If torsion spring breaks on metal garage door
On 4/4/2016 5:59 PM, Terry Coombs wrote:
Don Y wrote: On 4/4/2016 1:13 PM, Terry Coombs wrote: Don Y wrote: On 4/4/2016 10:22 AM, wrote: What if you have both Springs broke. How do I open my door? Get some extra muscle! If all else fails, you can isolate each individual panel (beginning with the topmost) and raise each separately. I.e., the opposite of when the door is assembled/installed. Do *not* play with the torsion springs! You are likely to lose a finger (or three). Bull**** . With reasonable caution and the PROPER tools most handy men can replace tham . One caveat - tension both sprinngs at the same time , alternating between them to avoid problems caused by the tension rod being twisted by spring torque . With reasonable caution and the PROPER tools most handy men can fix their own computers, rebuild their own automobile engines, blow their own glassware, rewire a home, dig out their own crawlspace, fell their own trees, etc. Yet, amazingly, few people do these things -- and few do so without also injuring themselves (or damaging some collateral property) You get slightly *less* than ONE mistake when tensioning a torsion spring. Belatedly discover that you need to take a breather or that one of the "sockets" for the tightening bars is a bit buggered and you can't "press pause". far less risk in changing your own motor oil -- yet amazing how few folks will go to that "extreme"! Doing it myself instead of paying someone with probably less knowledge and damn sure cares less about my ass has enabled us to live a lifestyle otherwise out of our reach . I figure if I can do it I should . About the only thing I won't tackle is automatic transmissions . Isn't that the motivation behind *most* DIY'ers? My car hasn't seen a shop in more than 10 years. SWMBO's last vehicle only saw a shop when the timing belt had to be replaced. One of the five 40+ ft trees on the property was felled commercially (because a large bough passed *through* a neighbor's tree meaning that tree, at the very least, would likely see damage if I tried to fell it from below). None of the stumps for the four felled trees were ground -- I dug them each out! No one has ever touched any of my PC's in the 35 years I've been running them. No one has fixed a piece of electronic kit that I owned *ever*. The roof here has ~25 years on it. The neighbors' have all been replaced in that time period. We don't "buy on time", carry balances or pay late fees. We can live without cellphones (though SWMBO has an "emergency phone" for those times when she is out and runs into difficulties). We don't need to "pay for TV" -- or other "entertainment services" (library can supply us with more media than we've time to watch). Etc. BUT, we *can* do these things. I'd be very reluctant of recommending to (no "history" on which to base my assessment of his/her capabilities) that they even APPROACH the "both springs broke", let alone try to dick with them! Today a neighbor and I laid the Advantech flooring on our new 24 x 24 foot kitchen ... by the end of the week I expect to be standing up some walls , next will be building the 6/12-3/12 scissor trusses , then on to decking the roof . And on and on , until ... |
#30
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If torsion spring breaks on metal garage door
On 4/4/2016 7:11 PM, Vic Smith wrote:
You get slightly *less* than ONE mistake when tensioning a torsion spring. Belatedly discover that you need to take a breather or that one of the "sockets" for the tightening bars is a bit buggered and you can't "press pause". I was working in my garage one day when I heard some yelling I couldn't make out. It continued, so I investigated. A neighbor two doors down had tried adjusting his torsion spring and dropped the door. His index finger got squashed between the top 2 panels and was still stuck there. I lifted the door with a wrecking bar and freed him, then took him to the hospital - he was a nurse there. The broken finger had to have the meat stitched back on. OTOH, I've adjusted them using screwdrivers to crank them. Of course, that's with the damn door closed. I tend to operate on the premise that I can always get more *money* (or, can choose to live without something for some period of time to "make up for" money spent) -- but can't always get another hand, foot, eye, etc. This is particularly true for things that can go "very wrong" in an instant! |
#31
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If torsion spring breaks on metal garage door
On 4/4/2016 10:11 PM, Vic Smith wrote:
I was working in my garage one day when I heard some yelling I couldn't make out. It continued, so I investigated. A neighbor two doors down had tried adjusting his torsion spring and dropped the door. His index finger got squashed between the top 2 panels and was still stuck there. I lifted the door with a wrecking bar and freed him, then took him to the hospital - he was a nurse there. The broken finger had to have the meat stitched back on. OTOH, I've adjusted them using screwdrivers to crank them. Of course, that's with the damn door closed. That fellow is quite fortunate to have you for a caring neighbor. I'm not sure he said thank you, but I am, and will: Thank you. -- .. Christopher A. Young learn more about Jesus .. www.lds.org .. .. |
#32
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If torsion spring breaks on metal garage door
On Mon, 4 Apr 2016 23:36:41 -0400, Stormin Mormon
wrote: On 4/4/2016 10:11 PM, Vic Smith wrote: I was working in my garage one day when I heard some yelling I couldn't make out. It continued, so I investigated. A neighbor two doors down had tried adjusting his torsion spring and dropped the door. His index finger got squashed between the top 2 panels and was still stuck there. I lifted the door with a wrecking bar and freed him, then took him to the hospital - he was a nurse there. The broken finger had to have the meat stitched back on. OTOH, I've adjusted them using screwdrivers to crank them. Of course, that's with the damn door closed. That fellow is quite fortunate to have you for a caring neighbor. I'm not sure he said thank you, but I am, and will: Thank you. I think he did say thanks, but it's something any normal person would do. But I didn't like that he insisted he be taken to the hospital where he worked, which was at least a half hour farther than a number of local hospitals. Understandable, I suppose, for insurance reasons. Nor did I enjoy waiting at least 3 hours while he was treated. It was a terrible day for him, just a bad day for me. |
#33
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If torsion spring breaks on metal garage door
Robert Heinlein:
A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects. |
#34
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If torsion spring breaks on metal garage door
On 4/5/2016 1:14 PM, Vic Smith wrote:
On Mon, 4 Apr 2016 23:36:41 -0400, Stormin Mormon That fellow is quite fortunate to have you for a caring neighbor. I'm not sure he said thank you, but I am, and will: Thank you. I think he did say thanks, but it's something any normal person would do. But I didn't like that he insisted he be taken to the hospital where he worked, which was at least a half hour farther than a number of local hospitals. Understandable, I suppose, for insurance reasons. Nor did I enjoy waiting at least 3 hours while he was treated. It was a terrible day for him, just a bad day for me. That's my general experience with such things. The folks who need help often put a lot of conditions. And it's seldom fun or convenient for the helper. Still, it shows and speaks well of you as a person. -- .. Christopher A. Young learn more about Jesus .. www.lds.org .. .. |
#35
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If torsion spring breaks on metal garage door
"Terry Coombs" wrote in :
Doing it myself instead of paying someone with probably less knowledge and damn sure cares less about my ass has enabled us to live a lifestyle otherwise out of our reach . Ditto here. I figure if I can do it I should . Agreed. About the only thing I won't tackle is automatic transmissions . I've done two. And I'd do a third one before I'd replace a torsion spring on a garage door. I'm not as young as I used to be, and the healing process takes a lot longer than it used to. It's just more risk than I want, and the amount of money I'd save by doing it myself does not IMO justify the risk. |
#36
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OKAY, SO WOT "If [the] torsion springs break on metal garage door?"
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#38
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If torsion spring breaks on metal garage door
On 4/5/2016 10:14 AM, Vic Smith wrote:
I think he did say thanks, but it's something any normal person would do. But I didn't like that he insisted he be taken to the hospital where he worked, which was at least a half hour farther than a number of local hospitals. Understandable, I suppose, for insurance reasons. Nor did I enjoy waiting at least 3 hours while he was treated. Three hours seems blazingly fast! I've had two ER visits in the past 20+ years, was "#1" coming out of triage -- yet spent 5 hours there, in each case. It was a terrible day for him, just a bad day for me. We've stopped acting as ambulance for folks. They can call 911 (or, I can call FOR them). The ambulance is parked less than 2 miles up the road and there are at least two hospitals within 3 miles of here. OTOH, if I put someone in my (or their) vehicle, then I assume liability, have to address traffic, lights/etc. ("officer, we're on our way to the hospital -- which is why I ran the light -- and would have been there by now had you not stopped us"), can not monitor the "patient" to see if their condition is deteriorating, can not render aid (and still operate the vehicle) if the "patient" takes a turn for the worse, etc. The EMT's can be here in 5 or 6 minutes. My time is better served observing the patient and taking direction from the 911 operator (who is, undoubtedly, relaying my observations to the ambulance crew). Some things really aren't worth "saving pennies". A friend was found dead in her car on the side of the road cuz she opted to drive herself to the hospital. A lot of good those savings did *her*, eh? |
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