With standard size residential garage doors, one torsion spring has traditionally been the norm. Lately, having two torsion springs instead of one is considered a much better option, even if the garage door is not necessarily extremely heavy, or oversized. And we are here to see why.
The double-torsion spring must-have for double garage doors
It makes sense to say that double garage doors function better with two springs. In fact, if the garage door is oversized and particularly wide, it may take more than 2 torsion springs. Yes, there are torsion springs for all types and weights of garage doors. That’s true. But having two springs sharing the load of a particularly heavy garage door is always better than having one spring do all the hard work.
And while two springs on heavy overhead garage doors are considered a must nowadays, they have started to become a norm for standard door sizes too.
Why?
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With two torsion springs, there’s a backup system
Nearly always, springs (when there’s more than one) don’t break altogether. If you have ever used extension springs, you’d know this. The second spring may suffer some wear and tear, but it will seldom break along with the other one. And so, when one of the two springs breaks, you have a backup. Although you will still need to find a garage door company to have the broken spring replaced rather quickly, you will not have the headache of the one-spring system. In other words, you will still be able to use the garage door. And there’s more to it. Let’s see.
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The garage door safety concerns are minimized
For the sake of argument, let’s assume you have a one-spring garage door system. If the spring breaks, you have to wait until it is replaced to use the garage door. You need to forget about the misconception that it is the opener that moves the garage door. The garage door opener only provides the electric power. All the hard work of the lifting, of lowering the door, of keeping it open is done by the spring. If you disengage the opener, in an attempt to use the garage door manually, it would be too heavy.
The most frightening thing? If the spring snaps as the garage door is descending. Or when it is in its opening position. Without the muscles of the spring, the garage door won’t stay open but will collapse. Even if there’s no one under the door, the property damage due to the force and the door’s weight will be considerable, whereas with two springs, the one not broken yet will still keep the garage door open – moving.
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The strain put on other garage door parts is reduced
With two springs, the garage door has more power – in terms of force. And when this is true, there’s less strain on the garage door cables, the tracks and especially, the opener. It will be less wear for the cable drums, the bearing plates, the brackets – all components. You see, the spring is the most crucial part of the garage door since it controls and balances its weight. With one spring, with one damaged spring or even worse, with one broken spring, the strain and thus, wear on the other components will come quickly.
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The life expectancy of garage door springs is prolonged
The strain on the springs themselves is minimized too. When they are two of them, they share the load. That’s why it’s important to quickly find a garage door torsion spring replacement when one of them breaks. With two springs, the weight of the garage door is absorbed by two – and not one muscle, and so the life expectancy of the springs is prolonged.
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Your expenses are cut short
When the lifespan of the springs and all other parts is prolonged, your expenses are cut short too. And when all parts are not strained, their wear is slow, their function is better for longer and so, you won’t have to replace the garage door any time soon either. And all that by having two torsion springs. Isn’t it worth considering?
