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How I replaced deadly garage door torsion springs (2002)

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Re: How I replaced deadly garage door torsion springs (2002)

#51

Post by Scoundreller »

cityofdelusion wrote: post #27
the__alchemist wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thank you. I agree on all examples. Absolutely not worth the risk. Not even close. I wince thinking about when I changed my own oil in my 20s... Potentially throwing away so many good years, for so little gain. The car danger can be mitigated if the work is done under a professional lift.

There is pretty much zero risk if the car is either jacked correctly or put on ramps correctly. Dummies that rely on a single 1.5mm o-ring not blowing out on their hydraulic floor jacks are gambling with their life. Always operate on flat terrain, always chock the wheels, always use the parking brake, always use jack stands, always verify no movement in the vehicle by rocking it, never rely on the floor jack.

I’ll also put tires (on rims) underneath in addition to jack stands/ramps.

Re: How I replaced deadly garage door torsion springs (2002)

#52

Post by crmd »

The author's intentionally verbose/non-linear storytelling technique, for example the two paragraph detour that describes his ladder and the ladder company's bankruptcy, and the 19 paragraph deep dive on garage door repair business marketing, makes it very hard for my brain to absorb the core information I was looking for (the procedure to replace the springs).

I know I'm kind of missing the point/creative intent of this essay, and I appreciate the non-linear full-of-detours style in other genres. For example I'm a huge fan of Norm MacDonald whose long, impossible-to-follow stories would often drive unaware audiences and talkshow hosts crazy. But for technical things I personally find the style super annoying and feeling like the author is trying to flex on how much engineering, business, and trivia knowledge he has in many adjacent topics.

I actually get anxiety thinking about getting trapped at a bar or party interacting with somebody who talks like this :-)

Curious how other readers feel about this, especially those who have the exact opposite reaction!

Re: How I replaced deadly garage door torsion springs (2002)

#53

Post by michaelt »

giantg2 wrote: post #21
levocardia wrote: post #5

I had a teacher in high school who was blinded (I think only in one eye) trying to do this repair. You could not pay me enough money to do this repair. >This work is risky, but the risk is comparable to doing your own car repairs, or climbing on the roof of your house to clean your gutters. Notably, "unintentional fall" is the #1 cause of emergency department visits for adults [1], which is why I'd hire a professiona…

"Notably, "unintentional fall" is the #1 cause of emergency department visits for adults" Most of these are not from DIY, but age realted

Among the workplace population, if you look at fatal workplace accidents [1] you'll find that falls are the second-most-common cause of death (deaths on the road are the most common)

Construction workers have the second-highest number of workplace deaths (transportation workers are the highest) and among construction workers, falls are the most common cause of death.

Transport and construction are second and third in fatalities per worker-hour, with 'farming, fishing and forestry' the most dangerous per worker-hour.

So ladders aren't the most dangerous thing out there - but falls are pretty near the top of the list when it comes to workplace deaths.

That's not to say people can't use ladders safely - just if you're hauling a heavy ass drill up a ladder and it's stopping you using both hands, the cable's flapping around your legs, your pockets are full of sharp pointy tools, and it's raining - maybe think twice :)

[1] https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/cfoi.pdf

Re: How I replaced deadly garage door torsion springs (2002)

#54

Post by hvs »

crmd wrote: post #52

The author's intentionally verbose/non-linear storytelling technique, for example the two paragraph detour that describes his ladder and the ladder company's bankruptcy, and the 19 paragraph deep dive on garage door repair business marketing, makes it very hard for my brain to absorb the core information I was looking for (the procedure to replace the springs). I know I'm kind of missing the point/creative intent of…

This is basically what the "early Internet" looked like that people often write paeans to. Lots of pages written by people very dedicated to a weirdly specific thing while also peppering it with nonsequiturs and their crazy theory about who runs the "real" government. It was fine, but hardly the glorious wonderland often portrayed. (Not that the current Internet is without its flaws, but if I want to learn something from someone it is a million times easier today than it was in the late-90's and early-00's.

Re: How I replaced deadly garage door torsion springs (2002)

#56

Post by MarkusWandel »

WesleyJohnson wrote: post #43
MarkusWandel wrote: post #12

I did one on the "do it with the spring relaxed and the door up" plan. The door isn't that heavy, you can just lift it with your hand to help the opener lift it up, and done. But cramped!! Getting the lift cable nicely wound on the lift pulley, giving it a bit of preload (pull) and getting it attached to the bottom of the door, all with the raised door in the way, and doing both sides, let's just say my supply of swe…

16' x 7' metal garage doors are like 150lbs or more. Maybe I'm a weak old man, but I wouldn't say that "isn't that heavy".

Mine is 8', uninsulated, and lifting was with the aid of the opener (which stalled without help, with the broken spring).

Re: How I replaced deadly garage door torsion springs (2002)

#57

Post by Red_Leaves_Flyy »

jtriangle wrote: post #44
shiftpgdn wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't entirely understand why you can't just have a motor move the door for newer aluminum doors. They aren't that heavy.

Because if someone needs to open the door and the power's out, or the motor has failed, many people won't be able to do it. That might be acceptable day-to-day, but, if opening the door is what's required to escape, say, a house fire, it's very much not acceptable.

Should be a door or egress window in any garage.

Re: How I replaced deadly garage door torsion springs (2002)

#58

Post by zdragnar »

linsomniac wrote: post #30

Nobody seems to mention keeping the springs lubed for longevity. What's the groups thinking on that? I keep a spray bottle of lube by the door and shoot it every few months, which is probably overkill, but it's so easy. Then just wipe off the excess and grime maybe yearly.

Might help with corrosion, too. My grandfather had a very old garage door and opener, and one day something gave and it blew apart. It sounded very much like a shotgun had been fired inside the garage.

Fortunately, nobody was in or near the garage when it happened, but I'll remember it every time "garage door spring" comes up in conversation.

Re: How I replaced deadly garage door torsion springs (2002)

#60

Post by crmd »

hvs wrote: post #54
crmd wrote: post #52

The author's intentionally verbose/non-linear storytelling technique, for example the two paragraph detour that describes his ladder and the ladder company's bankruptcy, and the 19 paragraph deep dive on garage door repair business marketing, makes it very hard for my brain to absorb the core information I was looking for (the procedure to replace the springs). I know I'm kind of missing the point/creative intent of…

This is basically what the "early Internet" looked like that people often write paeans to. Lots of pages written by people very dedicated to a weirdly specific thing while also peppering it with nonsequiturs and their crazy theory about who runs the "real" government. It was fine, but hardly the glorious wonderland often portrayed. (Not that the current Internet is without its flaws, but if I want to learn something…

Yeah, that's a good point and it makes me wonder if the modern web has shrunk my attention span.

I used to often meet this exact type of engineer early in my career as an enterprise data storage consultant in the 90s and early 2000s. I would say the most common "character" I would run into at a customer site was "UNIX libertarian hippie guy" who would love to weave politics, especially about privacy, freedom of speech, government overreach, new world order, esoteric obsessive hobbies, etc into technical discussions.

I feel like the typical tech worker today either has very different socio-political views, or keeps their politics out of our workplace interactions.

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