I have an extra large solid wood garage door on a Chamberlain 1/2 hp door opener with an old bicycle chain-type drive. The door has always struggled a bit when opening. Now that winter is coming to Minnesota, I'm wondering what's best to apply to the the guide wheels on each side of the door to keep it operating smoothly during the cold months? Actually, I've never put any kind of lubrication on the tracks on either side, so I'm looking for some sound advice.
Thanks! Scott
Oil everything and anything that moves, even motor bearings unless they are sealed. Your problem is most likely the springs stretched and needs adjusting. Test it, release the door from the opener at the door with the saftey release, the door should go up and down by hand with equal pressure. If it does not you need a pro to adjust the springs as this is not safely DIY.
On Sun, 10 Sep 2006 07:44:16 -0500, with neither quill nor qualm, snipped-for-privacy@webtv.net (m Ransley) quickly quoth:
It cracks me up to see people worry about garage door springs, especially the newer (safer, totally caged) torsion types. They'll hang off the top of a ladder on one foot using a chainsaw but a pair of 18" rods and a setscrew are far too dangerous to attempt. Priceless!
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The most important maintenance item is to balance the door weight and the springs yearly. This reduces the stress on the opener. Google "balance garage door".
Then of course, is to lube the moving parts like you said. Also check for loose nuts on the door and any load bearing parts.
If your tension spring do not have a safety cable running though it, then add one.
Cant, answer the door question but, if it's the garage door opener that I am thinking of the weak links are the plastic worm gear assembly and the top bearing. Lube the worm gear with Lubriplate and never have the chain to tight. (let it droop). If you have it to tight the top bearing or even the top bearing housing will fail.
==== If you fall off a ladder, you have time for a quick prayer.
If a spring breaks, you die before you can get your shit straight with God.
In a nutshell:
Rich
peter,
Thanks for the advice. Yes, I installed a safety cable years ago, and it's saved my bacon more than once when the springs have broken (due to age).
Scott
This being Minnesota, where the winters can get down to -20F, what is the proper grease and lube to use? I read somewhere that in cold weather, the wrong lubricant can make the garage door very hard to open.
Scott
On Sun, 10 Sep 2006 11:29:26 -0500, with neither quill nor qualm, "HeyBub" quickly quoth:
There were many more broken arms and collar bones than deaths with those old type springs, BUT...
How many of the old, loose tension type springs are still in use, and how many of those don't have safety chains on them? Probably 80% of garage doors now have torsion type springs (wound around the rod on the door header) which simply go "zzzzzzing" when they break and/or unwind. Do you fear torsion springs, too, HeyBub?
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On Mon, 11 Sep 2006 11:15:07 -0500, with neither quill nor qualm, snipped-for-privacy@nospam.com quickly quoth:
Give denatured alcohol a try. I keep a gallon around for all-purpose cleaning and paint prep. $10-12 at Lowes/HD, local hardware store, etc.
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