Question:
Recently my automatic garage door opener has taken to occasionally stopping
roughly half way up. As this tends to happen more after a heavy rain I
assume it may just be added weight on the door. The door is for a double
garage and is one single piece.
The workaround at this point is the lower the door and try it again.
Usually it opens fine on the second attempt.
Is there any maintenance that might help (e.g. lubing something, adjusting
spring tension)?
Answer:
-Try lubing everything first. Also, watch it during operation and see if
it seems to be hanging up anywhere. And check the springs to see if one
may have broken and you didn't notice it -- this sort of problem can occur
when there is an imbalance that causes the door to twist as it goes up.
-If after following Dan's advice, you still have the problem, check you GD
opener for the up force adjustment screw. It should be adjusted so that the
door will open, but you can stop it about half way up by pulling down with
about 25 lb exertion.
-Many operators operators have a control to adjust the up force and the down
force. Before making these adjustments, however, I'd first disconnect the
door from the opener and raise it by hand. If there is much apparent
weight, the first thing I'd do would be to adjust the counterbalancing
springs. (For goodness sake be careful)
If the rubber weather-stripping sticks to the floor, spray it with Pam or
silicone spray.
One amusing story goes back to when I adjusted my sister-in-law's
manually-raised garage door. She'd lived in the house for years and had
become accustom to giving a mighty heave when raising it. That evening, she
came home and almost threw the door off its track with the huge heave. She
then walked to her front door (which I had planed and adjusted) and thrust
against it with her shoulder, as she always did.
We were waiting for her inside the house, and you can imagine my wife's
surprise when the front door burst open and my sister-in-law sprawled out
lengthwise on the living room floor.
