Is an Extension Spring Color Chart All You Really Need?

Your garage door spring is broken, and a color chart looks like an easy fix. But relying only on color can lead to choosing the wrong spring, creating a serious safety hazard for your family.

An extension spring color chart is a guide that links your garage door's weight to a specific spring strength, identified by color. This system helps you find a replacement that will properly balance the door, but it's only accurate if you know your door's true weight.

I've been manufacturing springs for over 14 years, and I can tell you that a color chart is a tool, not a solution. I once worked with a garage door installation company that was getting constant complaints about doors not closing properly. It turned out their technicians were just matching the color of the old spring when they did replacements. They weren't weighing the doors. After years of exposure to the elements and a few new coats of paint, many of the doors were 20-30 pounds heavier than when they were new. The old springs were already failing under the strain, and replacing them with the same "color" was just repeating the problem. That's why you have to look beyond the color and start with the facts.

Why Is Your Door's Weight More Important Than the Color Code?

You found the color on your old spring, but what if it was already wrong? Simply matching that color means you could be installing an undersized spring, leading to another failure and an unsafe door.

The color code is just a label for a spring's lifting power, which must match your door's actual weight. Doors get heavier over time. Weighing your door is the only way to guarantee you select the correct spring for safe and balanced operation.

In our factory, every spring we produce is calibrated to a precise force specification, which is then represented by a color. But that color is meaningless without the correct starting number: the door's weight. People often skip the weighing step because it seems like a hassle. They assume the last person did it right. But I've seen homeowners add heavy insulation panels or even decorative hardware, adding significant weight to a door. The original springs were never designed for that load. Without weighing the door, you are flying blind. Taking 15 minutes to get an accurate weight is the single most important step in ensuring the repair is done safely and correctly. It removes all guesswork and is the foundation of a properly balanced system.

The Correct Weighing Procedure

This is a safety-critical process that must be done carefully.

• Step 1: Disconnect Power. The very first step is to unplug your garage door opener from the electrical outlet.
• Step 2: Disengage the Door. Pull the red emergency release cord to disconnect the opener from the door.
• Step 3: Weigh the Door. With the door fully closed, place a standard bathroom scale under the left side and another under the right side. You may need small blocks of wood to lift the scales up to the door's bottom seal. The combined reading of both scales is the true weight of your garage door. This is the number you will use with the color chart.

How Do You Actually Read a Garage Door Spring Color Chart?

You have your door's weight, but the chart shows a dozen colors. Choosing one that's "close enough" will leave your door unbalanced, straining the opener and causing premature wear on rollers and hinges.

You match your door's accurate weight to the corresponding color on the chart. It's crucial to understand that the weight listed is for a pair of springs. A 140-pound door requires two 140-pound rated springs (Yellow), as each spring is designed to lift half the total load.

Tá an color code[^1] system was created to make identification simple for professionals. The colors advance in 10-pound increments, allowing for very precise balancing. A perfectly balanced door should feel almost weightless when you lift it manually. You should be able to stop it halfway open and have it stay there. If it wants to fall down, your springs are too weak. If it wants to fly open, your springs are too strong. Even a 10-pound difference can create an imbalance that forces your electric opener to work much harder than it should, shortening its lifespan. This is why you should never "round up" or "round down." Use the exact weight of your door to find the exact color match.

Standard Color Chart for 7-Foot Doors

This is a typical chart used in the industry.

• The 10-Pound System: Each color represents an additional 10 pounds of lifting capacity. This standardization makes it easy to find the right part.
• Always Replace in Pairs: Extension springs work together. When one fails, the other has been subjected to the same number of cycles and stresses and is likely near failure itself. Replacing only one spring will create an immediate and dangerous imbalance.

Does a Taller Door Use a Different Color Chart?

You have an 8-foot tall garage door, but you used a standard chart. Now the new springs are stretched too far when the door is open, ag déanamh torann ard agus cumhacht a chailleadh go tapa.

Tá, teastaíonn spriongaí éagsúla agus cairt dhifriúil do dhoirse níos airde. Úsáideann doras caighdeánach 7 troigh ar fad earrach 25-orlach. Tá gá le doras 8 troigh níos faide, 27-earrach orlach chun an t-achar taistil breise a láimhseáil gan a bheith róshínte. Tá an color code[^1]s do na spriongaí níos faide seo difriúil.

Seo ceann de na botúin is coitianta a fheicim. Caithfidh doras 8-troigh taisteal breise 12 orlach. Má úsáideann tú earrach caighdeánach 25-orlach, tá tú ag síneadh é i bhfad thar a theorainn deartha gach uair a osclaíonn tú an doras. Déanfaidh sé seo damáiste buan don earrach, rud a fhágann go gcaillfidh sé a fhórsa ardaithe in achar an-ghearr ama. Cuireann sé an t-earrach i mbaol ard go tobann freisin, teip tubaisteach. Mar mhonaróir, cuirimid na faid earraigh éagsúla seo ar fáil ar an gcúis bheacht seo. Tá trastomhas na sreinge agus líon na gcornaí difriúil, rud a chiallaíonn go bhfuil a n-airíonna fórsa difriúil. Ní féidir leat glacadh le "Gorm" earrach le haghaidh doras 7-chos mar an gcéanna le "Gorm" earrach le haghaidh doras 8-troigh. You must use a chart specific to your door's height.

An Tábhacht a bhaineann le Fad an Earraigh a Mheaitseáil le hAirde an Doras

It's a simple rule: the spring's length must match the door's height.

• Fad Taistil: The distance a spring has to stretch is determined by the door's height. Ciallaíonn doirse níos airde níos mó taistil.
• Innealtóireacht le haghaidh Sínte Sonrach: Tá earrach 25-orlach deartha chun síneadh go sábháilte go dtí 42 orlach (le haghaidh doras 7-troigh). Tá earrach 27-orlach deartha chun síneadh go sábháilte go dtí 48 orlach (le haghaidh doras 8-troigh).
• Theipeann ar an Teaglaim Mícheart: Má úsáidtear an fad mícheart beidh teip i gcónaí. Ní osclóidh/dúnfaidh an doras i gceart, nó caithfidh na spriongaí amach i gceann míonna seachas blianta.

Conclúid

Is treoir úsáideach í cairt dhathanna, ach ní leor é. Caithfidh tú do dhoras a mheá agus airde a dheimhniú chun na spriongaí sínte ceart agus sábháilte a roghnú do do gharáiste.

[^1]: Foghlaim conas a bhaineann an cód datha le neart an earraigh agus meáchan an dorais.