Spring Conversion From Extension To Torsion Spring System

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BEWARE! Garage door springs are loaded with extreme tension & can cause severe injuries. Be sure to have proper tools and instructions for your system. Handle with CAUTION.
In this video the technician is performing a spring conversion. Converting a garage door that has extension springs to a torsion spring system. Extension springs are used on roll up sectional garage doors. They run along the side of the tracks above the door and stretch and retract as the door is opened or closed, using aircraft cable and pulleys. This type of spring system is usually provided with a garage door purchased by a home owner or the DIY expert buying at the local hardware store. Garage doors purchased and installed by professional garage door companies use torsion springs with cable drums and aircraft cables. A much more reliable, safer and heavy duty set up. Parts used for the conversion: Torsion Spring, Cable Drums, New Cables, Torsion Shaft, Spring Mount Bracket, Spring Bearing & End Bearing Plates. The door in this video is 8 ft. wide by 7 ft. tall steel sectional. The torsion spring used on this door is .218 x 1-3/4 x 26-1/4 (color code-white). The spring is specific to each door. You cannot use any spring. The weight and dimensions of the garage door must be calculated to determine the correct spring. Tools used to set up the torsion spring: Wind Up Bars, Vise Grip, Set Screw Socket. At the end you will see how the garage door is perfectly balanced. This video is intended for demonstration purposes.

[@l337pwnage]

Those little plastic housings from the extension spring system is something new to me. Never saw those before.

[@l337pwnage]

Did some googling. looks like a form of "EZ set" system where you can wind up the springs with a drill and install the springs with the door down. Interesting.

[@dimarc67]

Very nice video. Looking to do the same conversion on both of my Clopay 9' doors, and you provided a great conceptual demo. BTW - You mentioned that if the spring end on the left isn't curling upward, then you have to flip the spring around to put it in the correct position. Actually, if the spring end on the left isn't curling upward, then you have a left-wound spring (wound counter-clock-wise, labeled "LH"), and you might need to exchange it for a right-wound spring (wound clock-wise like a standard screw thread, labeled "RH", like yours is). The two springs on two-car garage doors use one of each type to prevent excessive twisting on the support tube. Flipping a spring end-for-end doesn't change the direction of the wind. :-)

[@joepowell2619]

Another great informative video! Ive never really been a fan of extension springs. Yeah there super easy to install and work with, but I've noticed that for some reason they always seem to make the doors run harder then they should. Ive noticed that this is especially true on these Clopay doors, must be because not only are there more moving parts (adding friction) with extension springs, Clopay uses those non ball bearing plastic rollers which creates even more Friction unless you keep everything lubed on the regular bases which the average homeowner doesn't lol. Great video thanks for sharing!

[@GSOverheadSystemsNovato]

+Joe Powell I would never want those extension springs in my garage. One time I had a broken one (no safety cable) that a piece of the spring flew across the garage and lodged into the big wood support beam like a bullet. I had to dig it out with my screw driver. After I saw that, I was like, good night.

[@austinowens1294]

Need to stretch the spring not just tap on it. Just bump the spring over while holding the bar. If not it will bind the spring when it is under pressure and cause failure sooner than later because the friction on the spring.

[@lenny0272]

I have the same door as you..I want to convert over to the Torsion spring system like you did...Where can i buy this complete setup?Great Video

[@dnedaed]

Thanks, was wondering what would happen if I could use a 90lb set of springs on a 70 lb door and this was close to appropriate. Would have been nice to know what size springs were on there as well as the door weight.

[@hehua2734]

And how can I know the right springs size?my door 10ft wide,6ft tall ,2in thick,about 140 lb ,so what spring size is good for me?

[@teamgriffingaming3811]

How do you know When the spring is wined up

[@dhayford200]

GOOD JOB GS OVERHEAD DOORS GOOD GREAT WONDERFUL JOB GOOD GREAT JOB

[@GSOverheadSystemsNovato]

Thank you...

[@dhayford200]

hey good job again you did a great job

[@hehua2734]

Hi !how are you? I have same problem,my question is where did you get the pipe(tube) and the right size spring? I couldn’t find on the Amazon?thanks ❤

[@GSOverheadSystemsNovato]

The best thing is to contact a local garage door company in your area that sells parts and maybe they can sell you the whole kit with drums, spring bracket and cables etc. They can help with determining the correct spring for your door. There are programs we use on the computer to calculate the spring. Door weight is most important but also asks track radius (10", 12", 15" and low headroom) and drum size and height and some other things. I cannot give you the exact spring size for your door with the info I have. The basic 7ft tall door weighing 140 lbs. would use a green spring about 32 inches long. .243 wire size x 1-3/4 in. x 32 in. or .243 wire size x 2 in. x 28-1/4 in. 6 ft. tall is an odd size and needs to be computed for exact spring maybe the garage company you purchase from will have the program to calculate for you.