There are many small things, including several battery changes, you may not have thought about when it comes to garage door maintenance. Lubrication is absolutely necessary for devices like this, which operate every day.
The garage door rolls up and down on wheels that run on ball bearings. These wheels should be oiled each year with about three drops of oil or silicone spray. Put a drop of oil on the hinges also. Do not over oil these moving parts, as the oil will attract dirt that will harm the parts.
The garage door opener has a chain similar to a bicycle chain. This chain needs to be lubricated about once a year with silicone spray, spray grease, or a light oil. Do not over spray. The manufacturer recommends checking the chain tension twice a year and adjusting when needed. Look at your instruction manual for this, but if the chain is sagging, it needs to be tightened.
There is a large spring mounted over the door opening that aids the opener in raising the door. The life of this spring is about seven years. You must have a professional replace this spring when it breaks. It is very dangerous for someone who is not trained to tension this spring during installation. You can manually open and close the garage door by pulling down on the trolley release cord. The door will be heavy to lift, and you may need assistance. You will see why there is a spring assist. This release can also be used to open the door during a power failure.
There is a button battery in the remote controls for your garage door opener. When it is in need of replacement, you will notice that you need to get closer and closer to your garage to open it. The life is about five years.
If you have a touchpad to open the garage door, there is a nine volt battery inside to power it. This battery needs to be changed about once every five years. If it is not changed, you will come home someday, punch in your code, and the door will not open. Just hope the neighbor who has your key is home or that you can borrow a nine volt battery from someone to get into the garage.
There is a light on the opener that comes on when the opener is operated and stays on for 4½ minutes. When the bulb burns out, replace it with a 60W or smaller. 40W is usually enough light. A larger bulb will melt the shield.
If the door should encounter an obstruction while closing, it will stop and the light will flash. If the light begins to flash and the door does not move in the close direction from a push button or remote, the external safety device is activated or defective. To temporarily override to close the door, activate the push button for two seconds. The opener will begin in the close direction. Keep depressing the button until the full cycle is complete. If the button is released before the cycle is complete, the door will reverse and come to the full open position.
If you have suggestions for future tips or have questions about maintenance around your home, submit them to ask.the.woodchucks@gmail.com
1 Comment
Well written article. My garage door always got stuck in the winter when it was really cold. Going through and lubricating everything and making the proper adjustments fixed it like a charm. No more getting out of the car to hand assit it up!