Torsion Springs, High Life Cycle

Habpro Garage Doors is a very knowledgeable source for high life cycle garage door torsion springs. We service the entire metro Atlanta, Ga area and all suburbs. For more in depth details about extended spring life and how it may benefit you, call us 770-985-3355.

In order to increase the life cycles of a Garage Door Torsion Spring we have to increase the size (diameter) of the wire that makes the spring. When we increase the wire size we either have to increase the length of the spring, the I.D. (inside diameter) or both. From the factory the average garage door is supplied with 10,000-12,000 cycle springs, that seems like a lot of cycles, however it depends upon the application. More on that in a minute.

Within that cycle range, a spring may only be wound to a certain number of turns, if you add more revolutions you’ll shorten the cycle life of the spring. If you use fewer revolutions, the cycle life increases.

Spring Cycles, Maximum Turns and Cable Drums

Now let’s factor in the cable drum that the cables roll onto to lift the door. The larger the circumference of the cable the drum, the more cables it will pick up with each revolution of the drum. Here’s an example, a 4″ diameter cable drum will pick up roughly 12″ of cable per revolution, that means a 7′ tall door will need approximately 7.5 turns on the spring to lift and hold the door open. The.5 turn is to hold the door in the horizontal, up position.

Now let’s say you are using a 5″ diameter of cable drum, it will pick up roughly 17″ of cable per revolution. So using the same 7′ tall door as an example the 5″ cable drum would only require roughly 5.5 turns on the spring to hold the door open.

Next the larger the cable drum diameter the more torque is required from the spring to operate the garage door. The smaller the drum diameter the less torque but more winds.

With all of the above known, the number of turns a spring is rated for, versus the actual number of turns needed is what increases the spring life, making them high life cycle springs. Simply look at it this way, if you need 7.5 turns to balance and lift the door and the spring is rated for 12 turns it will last significantly longer than a spring rated for 8 turns.

A few more details, the formula is simply as follows, the height, weight and track lift of the door determine the cable drum. Once you know that information, you know how many turns are required to open the door. Then you can determine the initial spring size based upon number of desired cycles you would like to have.

This is where larger wire size, longer springs and inside diameter all become a factor. One final note, all spring wire is sold by weight so the heavier the spring the more expensive it will be. High life springs always increase the spring weight.

High Life Cycle Garage Door Springs, Cost

This means your High Life Cycle Garage Door Springs will be longer and or larger in coil diameter than your original springs. Since springs are designed specifically for the weight and height of your door and increasing the wire size makes the spring stronger we then have to increase the length or coil diameter to maintain the same lifting strength of your original springs. Since springs are made of tempered steel and all steel is sold by weight, a longer life spring will cost more

If the average cycles of residential garage door springs is 10-12,000 cycles, you might want to increase the life cycles by 25-100%. Costs will vary from company to company but as a rule of thumb you can expect to pay $75.00 to $150 more for your springs to be replaced.

If your garage door is in great condition and you use your door often, 10 cycles a day or more, longer life springs would be considered a worthy investment and worth the additional costs.

Simply put the Larger the Torsion Spring Wire the stronger the spring. The Longer the spring the less lifting capacity but the longer it will last. The larger the coil diameter the less lifting capacity but the longer the spring will last. Habpro Garage Doors can assess your garage door cycles and recommend springs that will fit your budget.

Why Choose Long Life Garage Door Springs

Choosing long life springs for a residential garage door only makes sense if the following criteria is met. Your garage door is in good working order, you use the door more than 10 cycles per day and you will continue to live in your home to recoup the additional investment.

If you operate your garage door 10 cycles per day, that’s 3650 cycles in 1 year. Over 3 years of usage your 10,000 cycle springs will break and require replacement. If you spend $100 more and increase the cycles to 20,000, you now have springs that will last roughly 6 years instead of 3. That $100 price increase will equate to a huge savings over 6 years of usage.

For more information and assistance deciding whether or not to invest in long life springs, give us a call 770-985-3355. Habpro is always here to help.

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