Many people ask us why we use the “dirty & black springs” with our door installs and service repairs. The answer is simple. Oil tempered springs (black ones) outperform the galvanized ones (silver ones) you may be seeing out there today. Galvanized springs were very popular about 10 years ago and started to become more frequently used than oil tempered. Since that time a few things have changed. Oil tempered springs are now painted most of the time which eliminates the dirtiness of them and makes them more presentable. The biggest reason to use them is for better performance. When springs are wound up they will “relax” after so many cycles up and down which causes a reduction in its lifting power.
Oil tempered springs will relax about 3-5% which is manageable.
Galvanized springs, in contrast, relax 7-10%.
This dramatic change as the springs “relax” may cause the doors not to run as well and may even be not enough tension to keep the door from falling down. If galvanized springs relax too much we have to add turns to the springs and it can take away from the life of the spring. This creates recall for us and a bad running door for you.
Remember that springs are very dangerous and should only be installed and serviced by an experienced garage door technician. If you have a broken spring or a spring that needs to be adjusted give us a call and we will have you up and running in no time!