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How long will your garage door springs last?

Springs are rated in cycles, not years. Standard springs are rated for 10,000. Put in how often your door goes up and down, and you’ll get the years, how many are left, and whether the warranty runs out first.

Updated · How we check our numbers

These are example numbers. Put in yours.

The spring

Spring cycle rating

10,000 is the standard rating in door makers’ specs. A spring replacement invoice usually gives it.

Your door

a day

One open and one close is one cycle. Leave for work and come home: 2. Count every car and every trip.

years

Since the door went in, or since they were last replaced.

years

Often 3 years on home doors. It’s on the door maker’s warranty sheet.

Expected spring life

6.8 years

A 10,000-cycle spring at 4 cycles a day (1,460 a year). About 0.8 years of rated use left.

Cycles a year
1,460
Rated cycles
10,000
Used so far
8,76088% of the rating
Left
0.8 years
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Estimate for planning only, not professional advice. Check the manufacturer’s instructions, your local code and a licensed professional before you buy, build or install. Use at your own risk. Terms.

cycles a year = 4 × 365 = 1,460

life = 10,000 ÷ 1,460 = 6.8 years

Every rating at your use

4 a day
  • 10,000-cycle springsStandard (C.H.I., Haas)
    6.8 years
  • 20,000-cycle springsClopay Gold Bar
    14 years
  • 25,000-cycle springsHigh-cycle option
    17 years
  • 50,000-cycle springsHigh-cycle option
    34 years
  • 100,000-cycle springsHigh-cycle option
    68 years

One cycle is closed to fully open and back to closed (ANSI/DASMA 102).

Near the end of its rating

About 10 months of rated cycles left. Plan for a replacement, and replace both springs together if there are two.

Against the warranty

The rating outlasts a 3-year warranty: the warranty ends first, after about 4,380 cycles. Home door warranties run by years, not cycles.

A rating, not a promise

A cycle rating is what the spring is designed for. DASMA says spring life may not match door life: rust, poor lubrication, cold and a badly balanced door all shorten it.

How we work it out

One cycle is the door going from closed to fully open and back to closed (ANSI/DASMA 102). Leave in the morning and come home at night, and that's 2 cycles. Two drivers making a couple of trips each is about 4.

spring life in years = rated cycles ÷ (cycles a day × 365)

10,000 cycles is the standard rating in C.H.I.'s and Haas's specs, with 25,000, 50,000 and 100,000 as options. Clopay's Gold Bar doors use 20,000-cycle springs. If your springs were replaced, the invoice usually gives the rating.

Home door warranties count years, not cycles: 3 years on springs for most Clopay, C.H.I. and Raynor doors, 5 on some Clopay lines, and lifetime on a few. Cycle-based warranties are for commercial doors, like Clopay's Extreme Series at "2 years or 50K cycles".

A rating is a design target. DASMA notes that spring life may not match door life: rust, poor lubrication and a badly balanced door all shorten it. Springs hold enough tension to injure, so have a trained technician replace them.

Where the numbers come from

The door

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