Torsion spring lift mechanism
A torsion spring counterbalance system consists of one or two tightly wound up springs on a steel shaft with cable drums at both ends. The entire apparatus mounts on the header wall above the garage door and has three supports: a center bearing plate with a steel or nylon bearing and two end bearing plates at both ends. The springs themselves consist of the steel wire with a stationary cone at one end and a winding cone at the other end. The stationary cone is attached to the center bearing plate. The winding cone consists of holes every 90 degrees for winding the springs and two set screws to secure the springs to the shaft. Steel counterbalance cables run from the roller brackets at the bottom corners of the door to a notch in the cable drums. When the door is raised, the springs unwind and the stored tension lifts the door by turning the shaft, thus turning the cable drums, wrapping the cables around the grooves on the cable drums. When the door is lowered, the cables unwrap from the drums and the springs are rewound to full tension.
Life of Torsion spring
Most garage door manufacturers, garage door dealers, either produce and sell garage doors fitted with torsion springs that have a minimum of 10,000 - 15,000 cycles. This number of cycles allows the garage door to open and close an average of 3 to 7 years. However, it is important to remember that if the weight of the garage door in increased by adding glass, do it yourself insulation, or even several coats of paint, the life of the torsion spring will greatly be reduced.Other factors like poor garage door maintenance, loose tracks, or components will shorten the life of torsion springs. Other factors like poor garage door maintenance, loose tracks, or components will shorten the life of torsion springs. Never apply grease to the tracks of the garage door, this will prevent the wheels on the rollers from doing their job. only grease bearings, and spray light coat of lubricant on hinges and springs wire.
Extension spring lift mechanism
An extension spring counterbalance system consists of a pair of stretched springs running parallel to the horizontal tracks. The springs lift the door through a system of pulleys and counterbalance cables running from the bottom corner brackets through the pulleys. When the door is raised, the springs contract, thus lifting the door as the tension is released. Text taken from Wikipedia. Picture taken from http://www.industrialspring.com/one-piece-springs.html.
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