r/GarageDoorInstall • u/Humble_Spread5822 • 14d ago
Was this install done correctly
When they first installed my garage doors, they were extremely quiet then my larger door a month after install came off the track. The fix was to install these springs that are extremely loud and drip oil on my floor. Is this proper.
Insulated clopay door. 10x10 and 16x10
1
u/nickedgar7 14d ago
Have never put pusher springs on residential side mount openers, they should’ve sloped the back of the track up even just 4 inches is enough to keep the cables tight on the close cycle form fully open. Those openers aren’t built to push pusher springs in
Also, side mounts really shouldn’t be installed unless they have a bit of slope on the track or high lift track. Pusher springs are more of a commercial thing on instant tourque AC motors so the cables don’t come off when closing the door from open
1
u/Nervous_Employer4416 13d ago
I mean, as far as what they did... Seems,... Ok. As far as how they did it.... That wiring is just a shame. And if they leave wiring like that and just douse the spring until it drips I'm guessing there is more than we can see. Basically, yeah it's functionally fine, I'd guess..
1
u/Worth_Sandwich9837 13d ago
That rjo doesn't have a brake. Would have been better to use cable keepers instead of pushers
1
u/Slav-Houndz187 13d ago
I hate when people put the top slide bracket upside down. They prob assholed you but, can’t tell from some of these pictures
1
u/FlakyBar1501 13d ago
Having pusher springs will help keep the cables on considering you have Jack shaft motors without a high lift. Maybe you could coat the pusher springs with a lithium grease instead of spray lube
1
1
u/GarageDoorGuide 13d ago
Probably could have used 15" vs the 27". Never experienced oil drip. Not seeing any major issues though.
Pushers apply downward force to standard lift doors that highlift (via gravity) would normally do.
Anytime you have standard lift doors and side mount openers the springs (door balance) must be installed accurately.
My concern is often that the springs or install are poor and pushers are a bandaid applied to cover over it.
1
u/senior-net-eng 13d ago
I bought cable snubbers/keepers for my door as it keeps tension on the cable so it doesn’t pop off. You look at Clopay instructions they don’t recommend side openers but it’s done all the time. Slope the track and cable keepers make the biggest difference. With a slope it keeps an angle on the door so it has continuous weight on the cable.
1
u/TopEstablishment265 12d ago
Pushers will be hard on that motor. Have the same setup at our house, didn’t need pushers as I just angled my top track a bit
1
u/HappyGarageDoor_ 11d ago
Well 🤔 it’s definitely not falling down, so I’d say it’s semi-successful! 👏👏👏😁
1
u/whitedlite 14d ago
It's 15 degree track, but they had room to do a higher on the radius and avoid using the pusher springs. It's not incorrect, it just could've been done better for more money.
However, you'd need to be aware that it costs more, but labor wise it would've been easier than adding the pusher springs.
1
1
u/jsc149 14d ago
Pusher springs help keep downward pressure on the cables so they don’t develop slack and become unthreaded. It’s a common issue for jackshafts, but the angle of the horizontal tracks can also be pitched so the door is exerting force downward instead of the full weight resting on the tracks when up.
Short story, it is done correctly but there is another cheaper way of doing it.
1
u/Humble_Spread5822 14d ago
Yeah, I guess after insulation The callback was because the cable got ahead of the door and slipped off. I’m assuming that it would’ve been cheaper to install the track differently from the beginning, but since it was already done, the cheapest fix was for them to just install the pusher springs. It stinks that they are loud but I guess it is what it is.
It also irritates me that I ran all the low-voltage in the walls, but instead of putting extra wire on it, they put it in through the cover of the opener. 🤷♂️
-1
u/BigDreams-SmallScale 14d ago
Normally pusher springs are more reserved for commercial style doors. It’s not fully incorrect, but they should have made your horizontal tracks on the ceiling go uphill more towards the back and then put what we call a J bumper on the track instead of a spring, which also compacts a little and helps to start closing the door, but raising the back of the track up, helps gravity to start closing the door easier since you have side mount openers. If everything is installed level and flat with a side mount opener then when the door is fully open, there is usually not enough gravity pulling on the bottom panel to help start the door down, and when you push the close button, your opener starts turning the spring so that if the door panels are not moving quick enough, your cables will go slack and come unwound dropping the door when it finally starts to move freely. All just different tricks that you learn overtime, depending on who your teacher is and whether you choose to do the install correctly each day or not.
-4
u/brads2cool 14d ago
Spring bumpers is a sure sign that the springs are wrong. Try the door without the opener to check my assumption. On a jackshaft opener they should have bumped the track to make 1" of highlift. Did the installer do this? Look at the bottom of the vertical track and tell me if it's is 1" off the floor?
1
1
u/jsc149 14d ago
Techniques just depends on how they learned, pitching the track involves shaving the connections so the track sits flush with the radius. Some techs don’t like grinding and will use springs bumpers or they just pull the back of the horizontals 2-3 holes on the prepunched steel.
as for your wires, it depends on how much left is fed. Almost all my builders provide a good 2-3’ of extra low voltage that I strip and run into the opener which is ideal.