How to Measure Garage Door Torsion Springs
Posted on December 5, 2018 by IDC SpringUpdated February 21, 2023
Providing the correct torsion or extension spring for your application is our number one priority. From standard springs to hard-to-find replacement springs, IDC Spring promises the right spring for your application. Let us match your requirements to the correct IDC Spring solution.
Step 1: Determine the Wind Direction of The Spring
Look at the end of the spring to determine the wind direction. If the end of the spring points in the clockwise direction it is left-wound and if the end of the spring points in the counter-clockwise direction, it is right-wound. On most springs, wind direction is also indicated by the color of the winding cones and cable drums — red indicates a right-wound spring while black indicates a left-wound spring.
Sometimes this step can cause confusion. If you are not sure about your spring’s wind-direction, contact our team today, and we would be happy to assist you.
Step 2: Measure the Spring’s Wire Size
Measure the length of ten or twenty coils of the spring that needs to be replaced, using inches. Then compare that measurement to the garage door torsion spring chart below to determine the correct wire size. These measurements come from the Door & Access Systems Manufacturers Association, an international organization that provides standardized sizing for garage door torsion spring wire.
Garage Door Torsion Wire Size Chart
You can view all wire sizes by clicking the “Previous” and “Next” buttons at the bottom of the chart.
| Length of 10 coils (in Inches) | Length of 20 Coils (in Inches) | Wire Size |
|---|---|---|
| 1 1/4 | 2 1/2 | .125 |
| 1 3/8 | 2 3/4 | .135 |
| 1 7/16 | 2 7/8 | .142 |
| 1 1/2 | 3 | .148 |
| 1 9/16 | 3 1/8 | .156 |
| 1 5/8 | 3 1/4 | .162 |
| 1 1/16 | 3 3/8 | .170 |
| 1 3/4 | 3 1/2 | .177 |
| 1 7/8 | 3 3/4 | .187 |
| 1 15/16 | 3 7/8 | .192 |
| 2 1/16 | 4 1/8 | .207 |
| 2 3/16 | 4 3/8 | .218 |
| 2 1/4 | 4 1/2 | .225 |
| 2 5/16 | 4 5/8 | .234 |
| 2 7/16 | 4 7/8 | .243 |
| 2 1/2 | 5 | .250 |
| 2 5/8 | 5 1/4 | .262 |
| 2 3/4 | 5 1/2 | .273 |
| 2 13/16 | 5 5/8 | .283 |
| 2 7/8 | 5 3/4 | .289 |
| 2 15/16 | 5 7/8 | .295 |
| 3 1/16 | 6 1/8 | .306 |
| 3 1/8 | 6 1/4 | .312 |
| 3 3/16 | 6 3/8 | .319 |
| 3 5/16 | 6 5/8 | .331 |
| 3 7/16 | 6 7/8 | .343 |
| 3 5/8 | 7 1/8 | .362 |
| 3 3/4 | 7 1/2 | .375 |
| 3 15/16 | 7 7/8 | .393 |
| 4 1/16 | 8 1/8 | .406 |
| 4 7/32 | 8 7/16 | .421 |
| 4 5/16 | 8 5/8 | .430 |
| 4 3/8 | 8 3/4 | .437 |
| 4 17/32 | 9 1/16 | .453 |
| 4 11/16 | 9 3/8 | .468 |
| 4 7/8 | 9 3/4 | .490 |
| 5 | 10 | .500 |
| 5 5/16 | 10 5/8 | .531 |
| 5 5/8 | 11 1/4 | .562 |
| 6 1/4 | 12 1/2 | .625 |
Step 3: Measure the Inside Diameter of the Wire
For torsion springs, measure the inside diameter to the 1/16” of an inch.
Step 4: Measure the Overall Length of the Garage Door Torsion Spring
Measure the overall length of the spring to the nearest quarter inch.
For any additional questions, explore the rest of the in-depth guide below, or contact our team today.
In-Depth Guide: How to Measure Garage Door Torsion Springs: Everything You Need to Know
- How to Determine Wind Direction >>
- How to Determine Wire Size >>
- How to Measure the Inside Diameter >>
- How to Measure Overall Length >>
- Information to Have To Order New Springs >>
For pretty much anyone who owns an automatic garage door, garage door springs are a vital part of daily life. Anywhere from two to four times each day, the garage door is activated when heading to and from work, the supermarket or places of leisure. As such, the mechanical parts that activate a garage door are among the most utilized pieces of equipment in a typical household. Consequently, garage torsion springs can wear out during the average length of a residential occupancy.
The overhead torsion spring set is the part of a garage door system that allows the door to move up, down and remain suspended at certain heights. With each activation, the coils are pulled out and wound back up. While torsion springs are made to endure such activity, over time the effects of the constant movement can take their toll on the spring wire. Eventually, the springs need to be adjusted or even changed out entirely.
How to Determine the Wind Direction of a Garage Torsion Spring
Before you contact a garage door torsion spring manufacturer, it’s important to know the direction in which a spring is wound. That way, you’ll know whether you need to replace a left-wound spring, a right-wound spring or both. In some cases, you might find that when one garage door torsion spring is broken — be it the left-wound or the right-wound — the other will be nearing the end of its life cycle as well.
Determining the Garage Door Spring Winding Direction if the Spring is Unmounted
Out of all the information you’ll need to gather before ordering garage door torsion springs, the easiest to determine is the wind of a given spring.
- Examine the end of the spring and evaluate which direction the wire would continue to wind if it was extended
- The end of a left-wound spring points clockwise and would continue coiling in a clockwise direction
- Conversely, a right-wound spring features an end that points counter-clockwise and would continue in that direction with additional wire.
Determining the Garage Door Spring Winding Direction if the Spring is Mounted
- Look for the springs. From the inside of the garage, you’ll likely see two springs along opposite sides of a bar that hangs above the garage door.
- Locate the stationary cone. On most residential doors, the two springs are divided by a stationary cone.
- The left-wound spring is located to the right of the cone. The spring of the cone and the cable drum should be red.
- Thile the right-wound spring is located to the left of the cone. The cone and cable drum should be colored black.
The exception to this rule is when you’re dealing with a garage door that uses a reverse torsion system.
Why Does Spring Wind Direction Matter?
It’s important to know the direction of each torsion spring because this is integral to the operation of the garage door. To make the door raise, each spring must turn in a certain direction. Likewise, the springs need to turn a certain way for the door to lower safely and steadily to the ground. If a wrong-turning torsion spring is applied on either side, the door just won’t function properly.
When you contact an overhead door torsion spring manufacturer to request replacements, be sure to include info about the wind direction of the spring or set of springs you intend to replace. Note the side of the bar on which the spring appears, as well as the color along the end parts.
How to Determine the Wire Size on Garage Door Torsion Springs
When you measure a torsion spring, it’s not enough to simply take a tape measure and record the length from one end to the other. You also need to know the size of the wire itself. While this might seem difficult to comprehend, measuring the garage door spring wire size is actually as easy as running a tape measure along the distance between 10 and 20 coils. The two measurements are then correlated to a standardized wire size chart which we’ve provided below.
A lot of people would assume that wire size would more accurately be determined with the use of calipers or micrometers, but this is not the case. For instance, if a coil has a kink, a micrometer will give you an inaccurate reading. Likewise, if the coils are coated with paint along the outside, it could cause a slight swelling in the circumference of the spring, which would also render a caliper measurement inaccurate.
How to Measure If the Spring Is Intact
If you’re replacing a garage door torsion spring that’s faulty yet intact, it’s relatively easy to determine the wire size:
- Lay the spring down on a table and pull out three scraps of paper.
- Place one scrap between two coils, then place a second scrap exactly ten coils down the spring.
- Measure the distance between the two scraps of paper. This is your 10-coil measurement.
- Place the third scrap exactly ten coils down from the second.
- Measure the distance from first to third scrap, between the 20 coils. This is your 20-coil measurement.
Next, take the 10-coil and 20-coil measurements, and see how they correlate on the wire size chart above. For example, you might get measurements of 1 1/4 inches between the first 10 coils and 2.5 inches between all 20 coils. These numbers will likely correlate to one of the sizes on your manufacturer’s wire chart. If not, round things off to the nearest 16th of an inch.
How to Measure If the Spring Is Broken
When you need to replace a broken overhead door torsion spring, the task of measuring can be a bit trickier:
- Once again, you’ll need to set things down on a table and pull up three scraps of paper.
- If one of the spring halves is long enough, you can probably measure both the 10-coil and 20-coil lengths on that half.
- Place three scraps at 10-coil intervals — you’ll have a scrap at coil 1, 10 and 20. Measure distances between the first and second scrap as well as between the first and third scrap.
Note: you might need to pull both halves of the spring together to get an accurate measurement of the two lengths. For example, on EZ-Set springs, gaps exist between the coils, making it difficult to get a 20-coil measurement from half of a broken spring.
In a situation like this, you’ll want to place the first two scraps on whichever side contains 10 coils, then pull it together with the other half. Then, place the third scrap at the 20th coil and measure both distances.
Garage Door Torsion Spring Size Chart
After you’ve obtained 10 and 20 coils measurements on the garage door torsion spring, find your measurements on the chart below to determine the size of the wire for the spring. Our chart contains measurements for all 40 standardized torsion spring wire sizes outlined and color coded by DASMA.
You can cycle through the full list of sizes by clicking the “Previous” and “Next” buttons at the bottom of the chart.
| Length of 10 coils (in Inches) | Length of 20 Coils (in Inches) | Wire Size |
|---|---|---|
| 1 1/4 | 2 1/2 | .125 |
| 1 3/8 | 2 3/4 | .135 |
| 1 7/16 | 2 7/8 | .142 |
| 1 1/2 | 3 | .148 |
| 1 9/16 | 3 1/8 | .156 |
| 1 5/8 | 3 1/4 | .162 |
| 1 1/16 | 3 3/8 | .170 |
| 1 3/4 | 3 1/2 | .177 |
| 1 7/8 | 3 3/4 | .187 |
| 1 15/16 | 3 7/8 | .192 |
| 2 1/16 | 4 1/8 | .207 |
| 2 3/16 | 4 3/8 | .218 |
| 2 1/4 | 4 1/2 | .225 |
| 2 5/16 | 4 5/8 | .234 |
| 2 7/16 | 4 7/8 | .243 |
| 2 1/2 | 5 | .250 |
| 2 5/8 | 5 1/4 | .262 |
| 2 3/4 | 5 1/2 | .273 |
| 2 13/16 | 5 5/8 | .283 |
| 2 7/8 | 5 3/4 | .289 |
| 2 15/16 | 5 7/8 | .295 |
| 3 1/16 | 6 1/8 | .306 |
| 3 1/8 | 6 1/4 | .312 |
| 3 3/16 | 6 3/8 | .319 |
| 3 5/16 | 6 5/8 | .331 |
| 3 7/16 | 6 7/8 | .343 |
| 3 5/8 | 7 1/8 | .362 |
| 3 3/4 | 7 1/2 | .375 |
| 3 15/16 | 7 7/8 | .393 |
| 4 1/16 | 8 1/8 | .406 |
| 4 7/32 | 8 7/16 | .421 |
| 4 5/16 | 8 5/8 | .430 |
| 4 3/8 | 8 3/4 | .437 |
| 4 17/32 | 9 1/16 | .453 |
| 4 11/16 | 9 3/8 | .468 |
| 4 7/8 | 9 3/4 | .490 |
| 5 | 10 | .500 |
| 5 5/16 | 10 5/8 | .531 |
| 5 5/8 | 11 1/4 | .562 |
| 6 1/4 | 12 1/2 | .625 |
Garage Door Torsion Wire Size Tips
- Avoid measuring wire size using a caliper or micrometer. Rust can cause wires to expand and then shrink, which results in an altered size that deviates from DASMA’s standard sizing. When corrosion does occur, however, it tends to be along the outside, rather than in between the winding coils. Therefore, the paper-scrap measuring technique really is the most foolproof method for measuring garage door spring wire size.
- As a standard act of precaution, no coils should be touched while the torsion spring is still on the bars above a garage door. Safely remove the spring or spring halves that need to be replaced, and do all handling on a flat surface. Also, don’t directly touch the set screws or any of the bolts to the stationary cone.
How to Determine the Inside Diameter (ID) of a Torsion Spring
Before you contact an overhead door torsion spring manufacturer for replacement springs, you’ll need to know the diameter of the springs that currently need to be replaced.
On most garage door spring sets print these measurements on the winding and/or stationary cone of the spring. If you check the winding or stationary cone, you might see a number like 1.75 or 2.0. In the case of the former, the spring would have a 1 3/4-inch diameter. With the latter, the spring would have a two-inch diameter.
If no such number appears to be listed on the spring components, you’ll need to take a simple measurement by hand. With the spring placed down on a flat surface, run a ruler or measuring tape along the inside diameter of the spring. The resulting measurement is the diameter of the spring. For example, if the ruler reads 1 3/4″ across the hole within the coils, the wire has a diameter of 1 3/4 inches.
How to Measure Torsion Spring Length
The task of measuring the length of a torsion spring is perhaps the easiest of all the tasks discussed here, because it involves no special tricks or unique understandings. Basically, you run a tape measure along the length of a spring, and take down the number of inches. Therefore, if your tape measure indicates that a torsion spring is 36 inches from one end to the other, that’s a 36-inch — or three foot — torsion spring.
How to Measure If the Spring Is Intact
If you have a torsion spring that’s intact yet faulty, lay it down on a table and run a tape measure from one end to the other. Start at the first coil on one end and extend the measuring device to the final coil. Don’t include the end cone itself, but do include any coils contained with the cone. Write down the number of inches and provide this information to a trusty garage door torsion spring manufacturer.
How to Measure If the Spring Is Broken
When a garage door torsion spring breaks in half, both parts must be pulled together on a flat surface to get a proper measurement of the length. Simply place the two broken ends into place with one another, then pull a tape measure across the full length. If you have trouble holding the spring halves together during this task, shove one of the far ends of the spring against a wall while running the tape measure.
It’s not advisable to measure the individual lengths of partial springs and add the total measurements together. While it might seem like an easier method, you could actually end up more confused — or with an inaccurate sum — by trying to add partial measurements together. There could always be a quarter–inch that’s missed in one of the measurements, or a faulty measurement of the coil length at the points where the wire has broken.
Other Length Information to Know
Torsion springs cannot be measured while active. When a garage door is in motion, for instance, each spring grows by a single coil in length for every turn. Therefore, a spring on an open garage door — even if just partially open — will not lend itself to accurate measurements.
Information to Have on Hand When Ordering New Springs
When you contact a garage door torsion spring manufacturer to order new springs, it’s important to have all the accurate info on hand to ensure your new springs will match the ones needing to be replaced.
Information Needed:
- Length
- Inside Diameter
- Wire Size
- Wind Direction
You need to have proper measurements of the length, diameter, wire size and wind direction of each spring that needs to be changed out. That way, the torsion spring sales representative can assist you in finding springs that will perfectly fit your garage door system.
Get New Garage Torsion Springs From IDC Spring
In the time you occupy a given household, you’re bound to need repairs at some point to the mechanisms of your garage door. Whether you need to replace the left spring, right spring or both, it’s important to know how to gather useful information so you can find the right replacements. Even if you’ve never handled tasks like this before, the learning experience can be invaluable because it prepares you for problems that might arise in the future with your garage door torsion system.
At IDC Spring, we help occupants of residential and commercial properties find suitable torsion springs for garages of various sizes. Our commitment to customer satisfaction has been recognized by 17 of the top 25 manufacturers in the garage door industry, who now use us as their vendor. To learn more about what we can offer for your garage door, take a look at our torsion springs product pages and contact us today.
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