Determine your torsion spring dimensions

Toll free 1-888-952-DOOR (3667)

We have all the common residential springs and can cut springs to any length. We can upgrade your springs from standard cycle to high cycle.

Telephone support available 12 hours a day. We will specialize your spring order and we will promptly ship or deliver them.

To order torsion springs you need these 3 dimensions and the wind of the spring.

#1 Length (of coils only - do not include winding cone & mounting cone)

#2 Inside Diameter (ID)

#3 Wire Size - See chart below

#4 (Right or Left Hand Wound) Wind of spring 

Caution: Garage door springs are under extreme tension!!  We recommend repairs, adjustments & removal to the springs or any working part of the garage door to be made by a qualified door technician. Any attempts to repair, replace, adjust are done at your risk. We are not responsible (which includes any advice given) for injuries, death or damages of any kind.    

 If you have two springs on a residential or commercial door, it is critical that you measure both springs. Some of the manufacturers and service companies mix wire sizes. Following the steps below will help in getting the correct dimensions.      
     
1.  First determine the wire size.  All measurements must be taken off the unwound spring.

On the unwound spring, count 10 coils.  (See diagram below)
    
Again on the unwound spring count 20 coils.  (See diagram below)
   
Uploaded with ImageShack.us
2.  Now use a tape measure or ruler to measure the distance between both the 10 coil and the 20 coil count. (See diagram above.)
   
Note: 20 coil count is to double check your 10 coil count. (See diagram above.)
   
3. Using the chart below. Take your 10 coil measurement and your 20 coil measurement and match it to the wire size shown on the right side of the chart.     

  

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Now you have the wire size of your old spring.    

4.  Measure the Inside diameter (not the outside) of the old spring. ( 1.75" or  2" are the most popular sizes )

Now you have the I.D. of your old spring. 
   
5. Measure the length of the coils (don't include the end cones) of the unwound spring.       
6. Now you need to determine if you need a (Right Wind Spring) or (Left Wind Spring). A pair of springs would include the right and left.

Standard springs are coded red and black.

Red is right hand wind.
Black is left hand wind.
Always  determine the wind of the wire.

To order you need the following specifications:   Wire Size (X) Inside Diameter (X )and Length (X) & [ (RHW OR LHW)  (Red or Black) ]

To determine if you are ordering a right wind spring or left wind spring the easiest way would be check the coloring coding - if is it red or black.

  Please note the side of door the spring is mounted DOES NOT indicate spring wind needed.  Standard garage door systems have the ( RHW)  red winding cone on the end and will be mounted w/ the red winding cone pointing towards the LEFT.  The (LHW) black winding cone  will be mounted w/ the black winding cone pointing towards the RIGHT.

 

Left Hand WindRight Hand Wind
 Wind the springs in the direction of the coil.  

1. Right hand wind would be wound counter clock wise in this diagram with the spring mounted on the left side of bracket.

2. Left hand wind would be wound clockwise in the diagram with the spring mounted on the right side of bracket.

After you've determined the the left & right hand winds you should have enough information to order.

 Read the caution advice below !!

 Caution: the following rules are for different spring configurations of garage door systems. If you have a low head room track or an older door system the springs could be mounted on the oposite side of the mounting bracket compared to a standard system. Always check the spring wind before removing your old spring to make sure you put the new spring on the correct side of the mounting bracket.

To understand garage door lingo, you must picture yourself inside the garage looking out of the garage door. Anything to the right side of the garage door would be considered a right side part. Anything on the left side of the garage door is considered a left side part.

This is where it may be confusing.

Standard garage door systems have 2 springs mounted with a center bracket, the RHW (right hand wound) red coded spring would be the spring mounted on the left side of the bracket and the LHW (left hand wound) black coded spring would be on the right side of the bracket.

 **Before you remove the old springs, check the color coding on the winding hub or the wind of the old springs and install the new springs in the same position on the mounting bracket. In a standard garage door set up, the red coded spring (RHW) will be to the left of the center mounting bracket  and the black (LHW)  is to the right of the center mounting bracket.

If you have a low headroom situation (non standard), or a garage door designed by various manufacturers (like Crawford doors)  the cable drums could be  mounted outside of the (shaft end bearings)and the springs could be mounted on the end bearing on either side of the garage door (not in the center), then the springs may be reversed because the cable drums are winding in the opposite direction of a standard garage door system.

Some of the reasons you need to know whether it is a LHW or RHW spring is if the old springs are not color coded and to  be certain they've been installed correctly. This is not to say that your old  springs are coded correctly. To be on the safe side, check the wind of the springs.

   Residential springs are wound at 1 revolution per foot height of your garage door. If you have a 7 foot high garage door and a standard 10",12" or 15" radius garage door track  with standard cable drums (400-8), you would wind your springs 30 quarter turns (7x4=28+2 = 30). This equals 7 1/2 full turns to the spring. The added 2 extra quarter turns are recommended so that in an imperfect system the cables won't unravel when the door is fully opened.

It is strongly recommended that the spring shaft end bearings  be replaced if they are not running smoothly. If there are signs of black dust near the end bearings or near  the brace of the horizontal track, the end bearings need to be replaced.  Even though there may be no visible signs of wear, overheated bearings (caused by binding or excessive weight) lose their grease first then fail .If the rollers show signs of excessive wear, they should also be replaced. 

If you do not plan to replace the existing end bearings or rollers, the rule of thumb is to add 1" to the length of the old spring size when ordering new springs. This will  lower the IPPTs (inch per pound turn) rating of the spring by about 1 increment.  It will also give you the flexibility to add an extra 1/2-1  full  turn to the spring during the winding installation procedure.  If no other parts are replaced and the system is not being overhauled, adding the extra turn will assure that the cables won't unravel when the door is in the fully opened position. The springs are almost completely unwound in the open position and there must be some tension left on the springs to keep the cables from unraveling. More spring tension is needed if the end bearings do not spin like they did when they were new. Additional tension is needed if the spring torsion bar is not perfectly perpendicular to the end bearings. The spring shaft should be straight across (without a bow) or it will bind in the end bearings and the cables could unravel. 

   If  you over wind springs and tighten the set screws and release the winding bars without checking to see if the door springs have been wound correctly, the garage door could fly open and throw you off your ladder.
  This is why it very important to get the exact size springs rated for you garage door weight and system.

Before releasing the winding bars, and after you've put the full amount of turns to the spring(s) & have tightened the set screws, gently move your winding bar up or down (depending on the garage door system). You should be able to feel the pull of the spring and the garage door will start to lift. At this point you'll be able to feel the winding bar motion and whether the door will go up by itself and knock you off your ladder. If it seems to be lifting on its own, the springs are over-wound or too strong for your door. If the garage door starts to lift on its own, something is wrong. And you need to unwind the springs & double check your count and  your calculations. Then rewind your springs & check the spring force again.  Caution: Never stand under the winding bars! Stand to one side or the other. Always have a good grip on the winding bars when tightening set screws.

                                                          ~ WARNING~
  A well balanced garage door will lift easily and, when released at about 4 feet above the floor, will stay at that position. The garage door should not, at any position, drop or lift by itself. Typically the garage door will slowly drop after being pulled down. It should not drop with enough force to crush a person's feet or damage the garage door. The garage door should also move with the same force upward as not to slam into the garage door opener or backstop. There is usually a bolt on the end of both tracks to prevent the garage door from running off the track.  

 Do your research. There are many videos online.  We also offer telephone support.

Caution:  Garage door springs are under extreme tension!!  We recommend repairs, adjustments & removal to the springs or any working part of the garage door to be made by a qualified door technician. Any attempts to repair, replace, adjust are done at your risk. We are not responsible (which includes any advice given) for injuries, death or damages of any kind.   

Minneapolis Area (612) 386-2132    St Paul Area (651) 768-0202
Northern Suburbs (763) 427-7003    Western Suburbs (952) 929-9707