How To Improve The Cycle Speed Of Your Garage Door
Posted on: 20 October 2014
Every day of the work week, you start your commute by stepping into your car and cycling your garage door. Over the years, the repeated cycling process has caused various components of your garage door assembly to sustain wear. Instead of beginning every day of the work week waiting for your garage door to slowly open and close, perform these tasks.
Tighten Your Chain
Your automatic garage door opener uses a small motor to pull on the chain connected to your garage door. Once the motor pulls the chain taught, your door will begin opening. After thousands of cycles, the tension created by your opener's motor causes your chain to become loose—and since your door won't begin opening until the chain is tight, a loose chain will increase the time it takes for your door to completely cycle.
You can determine whether or not your chain is loose by inspecting it for sagging. If your chain sags below it's railing, then it needs to be tightened.
To tighten your opener's chain, shut off the power to your automatic opener and disengage it by pulling downwards on the string that hangs from your trolley. Next, place a ladder underneath your trolley to gain access to the chain adjustment assembly.
The assembly that controls the tension of your chain consists of one long bolt and two nuts. To tighten your chain, use a wrench to loosen the nut closest to your opener. Next, tighten the nut that's closest to your garage door until the nut you loosened no longer allows the bolt to move. Repeat this process until your chain sags only halfway down it's railing. If you tighten your chain until it's always taught, then you risk damaging the sprockets in your opener's motor.
Have Your Torsion Springs Adjusted or Replaced
Your garage door opener isn't the only mechanism that lifts your door when you begin the cycling process. The majority of your garage door's weight is handled by your counterbalance system—the series of cables, drums, and torsion springs above your garage door.
When you've had to manually cycle your garage door, you've only had to apply a few pounds worth of effort. This is because your torsion springs wind and unwind to pull or release the entire weight of your garage door. However, your torsion springs only last so long—the average set of torsion springs are expected to last between 15,000-20,000 cycles. When your torsion springs exceed the number of cycles for which they're rated, they'll become weak and struggle to lift your garage door.
However, torsion springs are under an extreme amount of tension--even while worn. For this reason, you should not attempt to tighten or replace the torsion springs in your garage door assembly by yourself. Instead, leave these tasks to a professional garage door technician. Otherwise, you risk causing severe damage or injury to your garage or yourself.
Clean Your Guide Track and Rollers
Your automatic opener and torsion springs will only work correctly when your guide track and rollers are allowing your door to cycle with as little resistance as possible. If your guide track is covered in dirt, dust, or other debris, then the bearings inside your rollers can easily become seized with debris whenever you cycle your door.
When one or more of your rollers are seized, they'll scrape along your guide track and create friction that slows your garage door's cycling process. If you hear a scraping noise each time you cycle your door, then it's time to clean your track and rollers.
Use a damp cloth to wipe away any debris along the folded edges of your guide track. Next, cycle your door to identify which of your rollers have become seized.
Once you've determined which rollers are seized, you can remove them by using vice grips to unfold a small section of their guide track. If you have standard plastic rollers, then you can align the roller with the unfolded part of your track and pry out the roller with a flat screwdriver. However, if you have hinge rollers, then you'll need to remove the bolts that secure the hinge assembly to your door before prying out the roller.
Spray a small amount of degreaser into the bearings of your seized rollers. Give the degreaser two or three minutes to soften the debris inside the bearings. Next, wipe away the softened debris with a cloth or use an air compressor to blast the debris out of the bearings. Once the debris is removed, apply a silicone or lithium lubricant to the bearings of your previously-seized rollers to ensure that they operate smoothly.
After performing these tasks, you'll notice that your garage door will cycle as quickly as it did when it was brand new. However, if you have trouble tightening your chain or cleaning your rollers, then stop and contact a garage door technician to finish the job. Otherwise, you risk further damaging your garage door assembly. Click here to find out more professionals in your area.
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