161–170 of 344 posts
Why are we still using springs?
Did you even read the article? Why are we still using passive, reliable mechanisms to reduce the force needed to move heavy objects?
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I don’t understand why it’s even considered safe to have one of these springs in one’s garage without a solid shield of some sort. While the energy involved is small on the scale of energy storage devices ( Which brings to mind some rather different designs. A rather small motor with a lot of mechanical advantage can easily open a close a garage door, and if a DC or low voltage AC motor is used, it could do so quite…
If the garage door opener breaks, or the power is out, many people might have a really tough time opening the door manually without those springs. They might not be able to even do it at all. It is still, of course, a valid question to ask if it's worth having dangerous springs up there all the time for the rare event of the opener being inoperative. Or maybe we just shouldn't have doors that are that heavy?
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When my spring broke I called a someone local (maybe via Yelp), he came out within 30 minutes, replaced it in 20 and charged me $75. This was only a couple of years ago. Likewise with brake fluid changes. I can do it, but the risk/hassle just ain't worth it for the cost of a pro.
What are the risks of changing brakes? Never thought of that as a particularly risky endeavor before.
One scam/scheme not mentioned in the article is calling the phone number on the sticker of the vendor that installed your opener. Those are very valuable advertisement slots. Call anyone but them. There's not a ton of specialization in residential garage door systems.
Can you clarify a bit? Why are they valuable ad slots? Why wouldn't I call the vendor that installed my opener to repair it?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
If the garage door opener breaks, or the power is out, many people might have a really tough time opening the door manually without those springs. They might not be able to even do it at all. It is still, of course, a valid question to ask if it's worth having dangerous springs up there all the time for the rare event of the opener being inoperative. Or maybe we just shouldn't have doors that are that heavy?
My garage door is no longer connected to the opener, I just swing it up manually twice a day. My kid can do so as well without issue. Maybe mine is lighter.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Can you clarify a bit? Why are they valuable ad slots? Why wouldn't I call the vendor that installed my opener to repair it?
Presumably because when they see the sticker they'll know that you called them without shopping around, so they'll quote you something ridiculous and bank on you not realizing you could easily get a second opinion.
Why are we still using springs?
The people answering apparently don't know that you can use counter-weights, cables and pulleys instead of a torsion spring. It takes more space, but it rock solid and safer to fix. It is very common in some other countries.
I have had to replace mine before. I was sitting in the family room. Big slam sound. I go out and check the garage and one of the springs had broke. It is really not a big deal to switch them out.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The people answering apparently don't know that you can use counter-weights, cables and pulleys instead of a torsion spring. It takes more space, but it rock solid and safer to fix. It is very common in some other countries.
300lbs of counterweights strapped to the doors would take up a good bit of space. Pulley systems would need to either be 1 to 1 or would need some space to fall below the garage floor or to be stored above garage door height. They seem far safer, longer lasting, and cheaper and easier to repair than springs, but are more expensive to install, take up more space, and probably cost more all in all compared to springs.…
At my home country we used counter-weights, pulleys and cables. Took more space, it is arguably uglier (but who cares how it looks on the inside?) but the cable usually lasts for ages and fixing it is not a life-threatening procedure.
How does a counterweight work? A torsion spring is great because as it unwinds, the tension decreases. As the garage door transitions from 200 lbs of vertical load in the closed position to almost 0 lbs when it's mostly parallel to the ceiling, a properly sized and wound spring reduces the force in synchrony with the door position. Wouldn't a counterweight provide insufficient force at the bottom and/or excess force…
