Have you ever inspected your garage door opener? The answer is probably not. Yet this is one mechanical device in your home that can cause serious injury if not operatiing properly. The article that follows furnishes some practical tips on how you can easily perform such an inspection and assure yourself that your garage door opener is operating properly and safely.
Have You Inspected Your Garage Door And Opener Lately – If Not, You Should!
The size of a garage door, its regular use, and the fact that it is often opened and closes with an electrical remote, are all very good reasons why both the door and the electrical opener should be tested on a regular basis. There is a real risk of severe injury from a malfunctioning garage door or opener causing the door to close too quickly.
Inspecting both your garage door and opener on a monthly basis will kept them in top working condition. Your garage door opener should be equipped with a reversal feature. If it’s not; replace it; any garage door opener made after 1992 is required to have one.
Testing Your Garage Door Opener
Perform a monthly test on the garage door opener by first determining if your garage door is accurately balanced. You’ll do this by disengaging the garage door from the remote opener and attempting to raise it manually. If the garage door will not open easily and remain open at a height between three and four feet, it needs to be adjusted by a professional.
If you garage door passes the balance test, re-engage the electric opener and open the door completely. Place a two-by-four, about an inch and a half thick, flat on the garage floor at the door’s center. Operate the electrical opener and see if the door reverses when it hits the two-by-four. If it doesn’t, call a professional to see if it can be repaired or needs to be replaced.
Inspecting Your Garage Door
If you garage door opener checks out, go ahead and inspect the garage door itself. Your garage door springs are under extremely high tension, so they should be situated where they cannot harm anyone’s fingers or hands.
Usually the door springs are found close to the garage ceiling and should be equipped with central cables so that if they snap, they will be less apt to injure any bystanders. If you notice that your garage door springs do not have retaining cables, have some installed.
Even the brackets located at the garage door’s bottom and the doors lift cable to which they are attached are attached to the springs via the door’s lift cable are under high tension. The brackets should not have their screws loosened or even adjusted. Check the springs, brackets, and pulleys for wear and if they need replacing, again leave it to the professionals.
Finally, make sure the garage door is lubricated with heavy grease and that the roller shafts are not bent so that the rollers operate smoothly.
You can also find more info on Garage Soltions and Garage Organizer. Garageplanshelp.com is a comprehensive resource to know about Garage solution.
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automatic garage door,
garage,
garage door,
garage door opener
May 28 2008 | Garage Door Openers | No Comments »
If you have one, you probably take your garage door opener for granted. It’s something you use several times a day, just like your garbage disposer, and, like your garbage disposer, you probably don’t really know much about it. You just expect the opener to work flawlessly, time after time, year after year. Actually, there are reasons they don’t burn out, as you’ll see below. Because of this, modern garage door openers provide a level of home security, not to mention tremendous convenience around the clock.
Take some time to read on for more information about this tireless device that serves to make every home owner’s life a little easier.
Automatic Garage Door Openers Are A Great Investment
The concept of a garage door system arrived during the Second World War. Garage Door Openers have been saving Americans from back injuries for over 35 years, yet there have been few new modifications or major innovations in these garage door openers. Believe it or not some people have voice activated garage door openers instead of you having to place your finger over the button when you walk from your house to the garage.
Garage door can keep the home safe because when they close the doors are locked automatically, this way you don’t have to worry about locking the doors. Garage doors are important features in a security system for a number of reasons and those who use openers, however, need to be mindful of a few things. The main parts in a garage door opener system are: transmitter, the remote control, safety sensors, key pads, receiver/remote kits, screw drive and much more.
The garage door openers are automatic and so convenient they are standard in most garages today. An automatic garage door opener is not just a convenience; it’s an investment in your house, and an important home appliance that will get daily use for many years to come. An automatic garage door opener is a terrific convenience and it may give you a sense of security as well.
When building a home it is sometimes confusing when trying to figure out the opening of the garage door. The rough opening for a garage door, simply put, is the actual size of the door itself. You should make sure the garage door is properly balanced you can do this by slowly opening and closing the door, when the bottom of the door hits the floor evenly and the door doesn’t sway back and forth the door is balanced.
The reason garage door openers do not burn out is because the springs allow the door to open easily by pulling the door up so the opener has less strain on the motor, the springs also help if you need to open the door manually. Usually two types of springs are used linear expansion and tensional springs. The springs on your garage door can pose a safety hazard. These kinds of springs are installed over a shaft that helps roll the door up to the open position. Garage door springs are very dangerous, even when the garage is closed, as they contain large amounts of potential energy (that’s just waiting to be suddenly converted to kinetic energy, ie movement) and have killed or seriously injured many people.
Some garage door openers offer heavier steel or a sturdier design. Some garage door openers do not use the steel chain pulley system; they use a screw threaded steel rod that turns to move the garage door up and down. If you are deciding on which type of garage door to purchase keep in mind the differences between wood and metal, the wood doors need to be taken care of just like a deck, you need to stain or paint it so it doesn’t rot, a steel door is easier to maintain. If you decide to get a steel door the main thing to check is that it has been properly prepared to prevent rust.
Tags:
automatic garage door,
garage,
garage door,
garage door opener,
home improvement
May 25 2008 | Garage Door Openers | No Comments »