Long Life Extension Springs - DDM Garage Doors Blog

Garage door extension springs stretch as the door closes and contract as the door opens. Also designated as “stretch springs,” these usually mount above the horizontal tracks, but sometimes they extend beside the vertical tracks.

Over the years, there have been requests for better extension springs because customers’ existing springs have not lasted as long as they had hoped. Because of this, we have begun offering longer life extension springs, which last about three times longer than the standard springs.

We achieve longer life in our design by using bigger wire and larger inside diameters engineered to maintain the same pull. We also use clipped ends to extend the life, instead of heating the open loops and double loops before bending the ends. This often fatigues the metal, causing the spring to break prematurely on one end.

One additional factor in producing longer life extension springs is that we have the springs produced in the U.S.A. and only with American made steel. Because of inconsistent quality control standards in China, springs made there will often work for a while. However, before long the extension springs don’t contract as they should. This makes the door harder to lift, and often the cables come loose and prevent the door from closing. The metal doesn’t fatigue; it simply loses its tension.

In addition, beware of Chinese manufacturing companies that offer long life. Be wary even of regular 25,000 cycle springs based on what a supplier may say about their extension springs. A while back, I ordered some of the springs from a supplier. I was surprised to discover they were the same standard cycle extension springs as offered by other suppliers.

We always recommend installing extension spring safety cables, in case your cables snap from metal fatigue. You can also get four-spring systems with extension springs as well.

All of the springs come in 10-pound increments, and they are in stock for same or next day shipping. If you have any questions, please contact us.

We also offer long-life torsion springs, if you have a torsion spring system.

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