From: Duane Bozarth 
Newsgroups: alt.home.repair ba.consumers misc.consumers.house misc.consumers.frugal-living alt.tools.repair+advice
Subject: Re: Why would a garage door torsion spring break & is two better than 
 one?
Date: Sun, 22 Feb 2004 09:23:19 -0600

DIY Klutz wrote:
> 
> (By the way, I always thought the GARAGE DOOR OPENER is what opened the
> door. I never realized it was the torsion spring that opened the door. Duh!)
>

Actually, it's .  Disconnect the GDO and the door still stays put
(assuming the spring is wound correctly).  The spring simply balances
 of the load to keep from having to have such a large GDO (or for
you from having to work out so much if you don't have a GDO)

...
 
> Q: CAN SOMEONE HELP ME UNFUDDLE THE INFORMATION RELAYED BELOW?
> 
> This site http://diygaragerepair.com/sectionalsprings.htm provides a
> table of suggested torsion springs to use with various sized doors:
..snip...
> 
>  Q1: What does the color mean here (where's the cross reference)?
>      (Does the color indicate the wire thickness?)

Almost certainly...I'm not positive whether there's a uniform color code
across all manufacturers' or not (as for resistors, eg.), but I would
assume so.  There may be a trade association that has it published
somewhere.

>  Q2: Can it be this simple? (where's the actual door weight)?
>      (Although the weight is inherent in the size & insulation; but,
>       don't materials, e.g., steel vs wood make a huge difference?)

I'm sure this table was put together for a  door design--from
what you've shown there's no way to know for sure what it was done for,
so it is basically useless as is.

As for calculating the actual spring size(s), there are certainly
engineering techniques to do so.

> Is there a better location on the web for DETERMINING THE CORRECT SPRING?

I'm sure there is, but I don't know if offhand.  You might consider
calling the manufacturer of the door in question (or an overhead door
supplier/installer near you).  :)