Garage Door Fundamentals: Torsion Spring Counterbalance

How your garage door really works. For beginners and journeymen alike.

[@MillennialPipeSmoker]

This video is 11 years old, yet EXACTLY what I needed, and the only one near as detailed or straightforward. THANK YOU!

[@dolam]

This is the video I have been searching for. You gave a great explanation about the function of the spring and the counterbalance effect. Thank you very much for the best video on KZbin when it comes to explaining this topic 👍🏼

[@ao2528]

So far the best explanation and details, I watched many related videos, non of them explains like you did with fairly clean and clear video and good editing.

[@user-cq8wu9ns5c]

Fantastic job explaining how this system works. Thank you

[@rachaelb9164]

I’m one of those people that likes to know exactly how something works before I mess with it. I couldn’t drive a stick shift until someone explained how it worked lol. This is very helpful. Thanks!

[@brittshort2793]

The fact that you're willing to teach the knowledge that you have is really cool thank you once again

[@brittshort2793]

Thank you sir you've given me the physics on what makes this work and I can fix mine I greatly appreciate the knowledge that you're giving me

[@MusicalFan1701]

Thank you for this. My garage door was only going halfway up since the weather got cold here in Chicago. I saved a $92 service call. I bought two 36" x 1/2" metal rods from Home Depot for $6.30 each, and proceeded to tighten each spring a half turn (two quarter turns). At that point, each spring had 8 turns. The springs were installed new with 7.5 turns about 3.5 years ago. I was told they would last 11,000 cycles, so I should have a few more years left of life in them.

[@tylercollier]

Thanks for this video. Amazingly clear explanation and pictures.

[@jcb1979]

This is a great video, thank you! I'm trying to get my un-tracked door (child-related SNAFU) fixed, and this is JUST what I needed!

[@JackLevybrooklyn]

Very good explanation. This is a great start for someone who want to understand the mechanism of a garage door and how it works.

[@saadamiens]

Thanks so much , i ve been looking to understand how torsion spring works in real word , this is a great example :)

[@dpmcox]

Brilliant! We have just moved into (our) new house and door speeds up in the last 2 foot or so from the bottom when coming down. Now I know why! Thank you!

[@kentlewis988]

Awesome! Thank you for taking the time and effort to explain this subject in an easy to understand video. Just Awesome!!

[@mulamoodan]

I never realized there is so much science to it!

[@Groovechild5]

Thanks, great video. You mentioned everything except the broken spring scenario.

[@pronike96]

what a great educational experience!!!

[@mikemcleroy8265]

Excellent presentation! Much appreciated!

[@jwt242]

Great vid - very informative and easy to understand.

[@Udmt.]

Thank you so much for this video I am doing a presentation and my professor is allowing us to show some videos. This was very well written and edited even with the low-end quality you were able to make a better video than the companies with amazing quality. Hopefully, you get the support you deserve.

[@haseebahmed6278]

Thanks for the detailed tutorial

[@khm70]

outstanding practical physics lesson!

[@aze216]

Thanks for the fantastic video!!

[@johnpetrucci2590]

You are very knowledgeable. Thanks for sharing.

[@fethilakhdari1078]

Really a great show, please keep them coming. Kudos Cheers

[@motorjive4363]

Great explanation. Informative. Thank you.

[@leli9362]

it's so detailed and straightforward!

[@dudleyworks]

Thx for this, u just saved me some $.. Fixed & reset my spring & drums myself after years of not working right.

[@dgreatll]

Great video!

[@jamietech1234]

great vid series!

[@MrWalloping]

Thank you so much for for your vid i went out and repaired my own garage door and saved myself £160.00 merry xmas

[@davidbann8388]

Absolutely Stellar tutorial

[@EdwinHenryBlachford]

I first watched this a few years back. Now I need a door, so i'm making my own. The principles explained here make the job a lot easier and I thank you William Murtha. Being an engineer is no substitute for experience

[@grenloopy2969]

How did the door build go?

[@mohammadazimi6117]

Ya how did go?

[@Backstabbio]

Great explanation!

[@beccalulu]

Thanks for this very informative video! My 4-year old is obsessed with garage doors, so he really enjoyed this. His favorite toys are a couple of garages I made for him out of cardboard boxes and his favorite game to play is that the torsion springs are broken, so the door won't go up and we have to replace them. He's a one of a kind kid, hehe. :)

[@zanthiel2009]

Amazing, the fundamental of counter balance!

[@jstriker623]

Thank you so much for this video!!!

[@wjb111]

Great Vid!!

[@roygee1283]

thank you for this very good explaination.

[@mkaufmandev]

Thanks! That's exactly what I wanted to know.

[@luigitosti7599]

Very nice explanation, thank you

[@seshachary5580]

very educative. thank you

[@georgehatz5927]

This was awesome, thanks!

[@murd777]

Thank you, Sir!

[@MrTorino619]

Great video thank you .

[@nigelcharkoo4559]

Great video great work really helpfull

[@Junmalo987]

Thank you sir! I'm a college student working part-time at Menards and we recently merged building materials and millwork and now I have guests asking me all these questions on springs, garage doors, and the openers. You've helped equip me with some knowledge on these torsion springs and now I can pass it on to others!

[@bjornkieran9595]

I know Im randomly asking but does anyone know a way to log back into an instagram account?? I was dumb forgot my account password. I would love any tricks you can offer me!

[@enzoalijah3344]

@Bjorn Kieran Instablaster =)

[@bjornkieran9595]

@Enzo Alijah Thanks so much for your reply. I found the site thru google and im waiting for the hacking stuff atm. I see it takes quite some time so I will get back to you later with my results.

[@bjornkieran9595]

@Enzo Alijah It did the trick and I finally got access to my account again. I am so happy! Thanks so much, you saved my account !

[@enzoalijah3344]

@Bjorn Kieran You are welcome xD

[@kharabera3793]

THANK YOU!

[@UberHolt3r]

i have been trying to figure out the issues on a entrance door on a carwash for way to long.... only to find out the random springs someone found to put on it..... were wrong... thank you!!!!!

[@nibelungvalesti]

Ow, cone just exploded and hit me in the eye. I tried to do this on my own without looking up the directions, owee~ Now I'm half-blind, but great video!

[@kirillm712]

The best video

[@markstevens2937]

Been using a garage door for 50 years, just found out now how they work.

[@AhmedKhan-io7qk]

OMG it all makes sense !!

[@jwatwater]

@NicksGarageDoor it just blows my mind....

[@steelermia]

informative video .. my garage door opener broke so I've been manually opening and closing it .. but I didn't know what role that spring played so sometimes I would open/close it too fast thinking it didn't matter .. I just went to open it now and couldn't .. looked up and the spring is broken in one section

[@justjim2693]

Gret video

[@J.Runk81]

Bi level torsion is always cool used in high cycle apps or if it's just a large door with not enough shaft space I.e way taller than it is wide and it's not two motors usually it's a slave rail running off the front of the motor operated shaft that's used on real wide standard and low head doors

[@djwilson48625]

A couple questions: If you have multiple springs on a torsion system, do they all get the same amount of winding as say a single spring? For instance if a single spring needs seven and a half turns, would a double spring system also require seven and a half turns on each spring? I have an industrial door on my house, and that thing must weigh about 500 lb. It is kind of heavy to get lifted, it is balanced in the center, and then it wants to slingshot open once you get up over on the horizontal part of the track. Then it is difficult to start to close, is balanced in the center again, and then wants to drop to the floor after you lower it past the center.

[@xolilegcaza834]

How can one repair the wire to put it back on the drum spool pulley and how to prevent future derailments of the garage door wire cable.

[@masterbatingpenguin]

what do you consider the door type with springs that run parallel to the horizontal rails

[@ax2140]

how much does it usually cost to replace broken springs and rollers?

[@mikev.9546]

My torsion spring broke and I'm going to replace it. I have two torsion springs so I'm going to replace both. I have 0.243 x 2" x 29" springs now and they are hard to find. Can I replace them with 0.243 x 2" x 32" which are more common?

[@BUSTER.BRATAMUS]

Spring broke ..I go top lift dor lifts about 6 inches with great force...why cant I lift it up? manually disconnected..I can find nothing holding door down..

[@mrslones1072]

torsion setup is WAY better than the Wayne Dalton torquemaster plus

[@united3689]

thank you so much for this video- so nicely explained and interesting. Is the torsion spring force transfered to the rod by the winding cone? Is that what effectively glues the spring to the rod? Thats the only part im stilll not sure about, how the tension on the spring forces the rod to turn. Thanks again!

[@kevinrhug]

If it is a hollow torsion rod it is bolted with set screws. If it is solid it is typically keyed

[@united3689]

@@kevinrhug thanks mate!

[@jacoblarsen4234]

just as youve stated ive based all my know-how on this very video

[@santembb]

Got same length torsion spring and followed the steps for replacement of springs; but issue I see is garage door only lift up till 1 foot , stay stuck and does not move up regardless how much manual lift force I put in (in manual mode). please guide. I tried going up to 33 quarter turns (16.5 half turns) as 31 or 30 turns was not helping, rotation was clock wise for 33 quarter turns.. my old part was 218 wire x 29 long spring and new one is 225 wire and 29 long spring.

[@ericcarlson4985]

You might have the springs flipped the wrong way

[@jimwoolner1737]

WARNING WARNING WARNING, READ THIS AND STAY SAFE DO NOT WALK UNDER A FALLING DOOR. This video is perfect in explaining the relationship between the weight of the door to force of the torsion spring when both are equal and match and a constant linear force is required to move the door up or down throughout the operational movement of the door. However if the door falls after being lifted and then settles at a mid point in its travel within its operational range and requires excessive force to either lift or lower it from its settled position, then the torsion spring or drum size or both do not match the weight of the door and the installation becomes dangerous. I only found this fact out after a door crashed down on me having lifted it up above my head and the door didn't stay up causing severe injury to my to my kneck,back and shoulders and a ridor accident SO BE WARNED AND DON'T GET INJURED LIKE I DID, STAY SAFE

[@1949RL]

I would not use a socket to tighten set screws on a residential hollow shaft.Use an open end wrench.It is too easy to collaspe hollow shaft.

[@RudyNortz]

How do you size torsional springs to a door if you don't trust the old ones to go by? I have two springs that are different sizes, lengths, wire size, etc. Maybe one is correct but I don't know which one. I don't even have the model number of the door but it is a Clopay 18' by 7'. One spring is broken.

[@elvisalberto5766]

do the spring have a number the on it

[@l337pwnage]

I've read it's not unusual for springs to be two different sizes in torsion setups. Not sure why it is, tho. I bought my parts through DDM garage doors online and they have a calculator to figure out the correct springs. You'll need to use a bathroom scale to measure the weight of the door. Their web site has instructions on how to do it correctly.

[@saicampbell3064]

my garage door after programming the travel the door will go up but will not go down on it's own,but will stay up, when i hit the remote it'll go down but will open up immediately on it's own and will stay up , sensors are both lit amber/green! what did i do wrong?

[@noelabray1233]

Sai Campbell n

[@tekksavvy2242]

not the video i was lookin for!

[@JonathanRogers1982]

Thanks for the video. I'm having an issue. The door spring is super tight, the drums are tight, but the door isn't balanced and drops heavily. What am I missing?

[@vmr6771]

I have the same issue. How did you fix it?

[@JonathanRogers1982]

@@vmr6771 need to balance the door but after that, I took the motor cover off, made sure it wasn't the coupler or capacitor, then took the motor to pieces, cleaned it all out and greased where I could, replaced the spring then put it all back together tightly and it worked again.

[@SammyM00782]

I've never seen such a complicated setup in my 10 years but that looks certainly commercial and I don't do that kind of stuff. I only did a commercial stint for 7 months but never came across it. I DID see a 22w'x28h' wood door with extension springs. F THAT, it's like a patriot missile just waiting to be unleashed 30' above your head.

[@coreygoff5878]

Wayne Dalton 😂

[@axtonjcranston1064]

My cables come loose when my door is up, it falls off the drum on one side, can't figure out why. Any ideas?

[@halleffect1]

not enough turns on your springs.

[@axtonjcranston1064]

OK i had to reset the cables in the grooves, that helped, but I also sprayed the spring with lithium grease like one other video said, and it\s alot quieter and works smoother but now i think the door feels heavier. That means I need to tighten the spring a bit more right?

[@johnalcazar4318]

Axton J Cranston your door is not level

[@axtonjcranston1064]

I put a turn or two on the main springs and it seemed to help. I think the door has other problems too...

[@michaelhidalgo7998]

garage door springs

[@molyoxide164]

So you’d want the door all the way down to tighten the spring

[@esthercarnahan7715]

my garage door opener will hum for a minute or so after the door is open

[@SPUDWRENCH]

esther, it could quite possibly be that the door is mechanically fully open, but the "limit switch" that signals the door control to stop pulling isn't active. Some doors have a plastic flipper switch, mounted on the center track at or near each end of door travel (open or close) for this purpose. The switch closest to the motor should flip back when the door is open just as the door levels off. It's easy to see and adjust...move it forward a bit and the door motor will stop driving sooner. Hope this helps.

[@trevorlyons6947]

My garage door won't open or close

[@ritamorzouq1033]

does anybody no why my garage door is heavy when lifting

[@anomicxtreme]

Mine just started too, it means that the torsion spring is not right. You might want to make sure it is tightened down on the bar in the correct position.

[@lawrencejwinkler]

The torsion bar is not balancing the weight of the door. These reason for that depends. If the torsion bar is of the right size, then the spring was not torqued to equal the door weight. According to this video, it should be torqued with 7 to 8 turns.

[@tellomalave9823]

The springs may lost tension or are broken

[@SammyM00782]

Typical, springs tend to do that in the winter months. Please be careful when you're doing this, at 7.5 turns you probably have a 7' high door so don't go past 9. If you over tighten you run the risk of binding the spring or breaking it while you're winding...and that's not fun, trust me.

[@btb4155]

Whats a journeyman?

[@Bulletcore]

somebody learning a trade.

[@SammyM00782]

Really? That sounds like cheap Chinese stuff to me. 10 ball bearing rollers usually last quite long, at least the ones I'm installing. 7's are usually the standard steel roller on a door, you can't actually SEE the bearings like you can on a 10 ball. I get mine from my supplier A-Tech but they don't do orders under 500 bucks :-). I'd say find a small garage door company in your area and ask if they'll sell you some rollers. I assume they would because we do.

[@vicerichter1163]

think Ill just pay someone to do that. Lmao

[@spymaine89]

cant hear

[@TheAceman2619]

Only reason the door weighs 150 lbs is because its a fuckin piece of shit Wayne Dalton door which is complete shit. Also you should tell people they need 2 springs on a double car garage not one.