Mark Andy wrote:
> Do I just need a couple rods of the appropriate size to wind a little
> more tension into the spring? Presumably I should put a rod in, hold
> it, and loosen what looks like a set screw, then wind a turn into it,
> reset the set screw, test, etc.?
Pretty much yes. Some notes:
Be careful. Lots of force involved.
Have a buddy with you, if you drop the wrench when holding the rods,
you are screwed. Works well to have one person working the rods, and the
other being the gopher and tightening the lock nut.
I wouldn't recommend doing it with mild steel rods. I did two of my
single-garage-doors with mild steel rods, but they flex a lot under the
tension.
Then I did another with the correct rod, which looks the same, but
it's stiff. Feels a lot safer to do it when you have good control,
rather than the bending rods and having to deal with how much they bend
under force before they start turning the springs.
> Doors are pretty heavy... Should I do this with the garage door up or
> down? Seems like the spring would have less tension on it if the door
> was up, but I dunno about how much access I'd have...
I've done it with the door down, but I had no choice.
In my case, I have three single doors on my house, and within a few
months, two of the springs broke.
However in both cases, they broke right at the end, just basically
lost a few turns of the coil around the end holder.
So I was able to just thread the coil back on again, and they have
been fine since.
> Appreciate any pointers. Thanks!
Be careful. It can be done, I've done it twice, but be careful.
--
Trevor Boicey, P. Eng.
Ottawa, Canada, trevor@boicey.com
ICQ #17432933 http://www.brit.ca/~tboicey/
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