How do I know what size garage door torsion springs I have?

Torsion springs are the long tubular shaped springs that have a torsion pole running through them. The torsion pole will usually be 6 to 10 inches longer than the garage door. They are more visible when the garage door is in the down position. Most of the time they are located above the garage door. But there are applications where you will find the torsion springs assembly in the back of the door when it is in the up position usually bolted to the back of the garage door track. This is called a rear torsion assembly. As far as the size of your torsion springs They are measured in three different ways. The first measurement would be the length of the coil spring itself. You will have to get a tape measure and measure just the coil portion of the spring do not include the cones on either end. The measurement in inches will give you the length of the spring. The next measurement would be the diameter of the coil. There are several different diameter size’s in torsion springs. On a conventional residential sectional garage door The diameter of the spring will either be one and three-quarter inches or it will be 2 inches in diameter. Anything larger than 2 inches you are now starting to get into the commercial torsion spring range.

Commercial grade torsion springs sizes

These will either be 2 5/8 inches in diameter or three and three-quarter inches.  Sometimes you can find the diameter of the spring printed on the end of the spring which is called the cone. Usually a silver colored metal cone at each end of the torsion spring one end bolts to the center bracket and the other cone is four winding and tightening down the spring. The third measurement on a garage torsion spring is the wire size of the coil. The thicker the wire size the stronger the torsion spring will be. There are several different ways to measure the wire size of the coil on a torsion spring. The first and easiest way to measure the wire is to use a wire gauge this will instantly tell you what wire size you are dealing with.

Springs are usually colored

Torsion springs are marked with colored paint not very much but usually on the end of the spring and it’ll either be tan, green, gold, blue, orange, yellow, white, red, or brown. Manufacturers mark the springs with these colors so it is easier to identify the wire size of the coil. When I have to replace a broken spring most of the time this paint is still on the spring and easily lets me know the wire size of the torsion spring so all I have to do really is just measure the spring to see how long it is and also the diameter. Also you have to keep in mind that with a door has two springs that they don’t always have to be the same color or wire Gauge you can mix different size wire coil to get the perfect counterbalance on your garage door torsion spring. So when you are measuring a torsion spring you need to know that they are not always the same on either side so don’t assume when you measure one side spring the other is exactly the same. Another way to measure the wire size of the coil on a torsion spring is to count to 20 coils and measure those 20 coils and that measurement will give someone who makes torsion springs the exact wire size by using a measurement chart that they use when someone does not have a wire gauge and needs to know what size wire gauge they are dealing with. Some garage door companies will actually make torsion springs right on the job site off of the back of their truck. Remember putting the wrong size torsion spring on a garage door whether it is too strong or two weak can cause all kinds of problems.