Spring attached to gate

[john hamilton]

My neighbour had this spring put on the back garden gate by someone, to get it to be self-closing.

is not enough compression on it to keep it completely closed and to stop it banging when the wind picks up.

I seem to remember seeing springs like this placed at a more vertical angle, but cannot think of a logical reason as to why this might be so.

Basically it needs some more compression on it to completely hold the door fully shut, (it stays open by about 8mm ). But its surprisingly strong and I cannot compress it enough and then put the screws in, to get it to have enough compression to completely close the gate.

Also I wonder why the ends of the spring have these holes, which are only about 3 mm deep. The holes are not there to turn anything around as there are no threads on it anywhere. And the spring can rotate freely at each end.

Novice grateful for advice for a more effective solution.

[Tinkerer]

You are absolutely right, the spring attaches in a near vertical position with one end on the post and the other on the gate. The holes you refer to are for tensioning the spring. There should be some steel pins that push through the holes to prevent the spring unwinding again, you also use the holes for the purpose of twisting it to get that tension.. As you apparently have no pins you will find that suitably sized (and depointed) nails are quite effective.

[John]

They should be fitted near to vertical - they operate in torsion. The holes are to enable the owner to wind on some tension and then insert a plug to retain the tension.

[John]

Try this:

[Harry Bloomfield]

john hamilton was thinking very hard :

That has been fitted completely the wrong way. It should have been fitted in line with the hinges, vertically and wound up to create tension the tension on it to close the gate.

[The Medway Handyman]

They are, especially when one of the pins flies across the garden :-)

Technically known as a pingfuckit.

[John]

instructions - or keeping an eye open on how things are fitted elsewhere.

[spamlet]

What puzzles me from the OP's pic is how *compressing* the spring more was going to make the door *close*: unless the jamb was on the wrong side as well...

From the pic, I'd have been looking to lengthen the spring to use it at that angle - and then the old 'washers in the side stand spring' technique would come to mind...

S

[Roger Mills]

Almost right! It is a *torsion* spring - and you rotate it to wind in torsion - not tension. Tension implies stretching it whereas you are actually *twisting* it.

[Before anyone else says it, yes I *am* aware that the material from which the spring is constructed is actually subjected to bending in a torsion spring or to a combination of torsion and bending in a tension spring!]

[Andy Dingley]

Your neighbour should employ a smarter spring fitter. Clearly there's no hope for them doing it themselves.

[Harry Bloomfield]

Roger Mills brought next idea :

Its a wind up!