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i have googled this to death an i havent found the answer so resorting to my terrible description and the stw hive.
My garage door appears to be busted. It is an up and over canopy door and it seems the mechanism on one side has failed. Now using google it seems this type of door has a visible spring mech but mine doesn’t, there is no spring visible at all. There is a cable at each side of the door that runs from a roller towards the bottom edge straight up to a metal pulley/drum that is about the size of a small plate and about an inch thick that the cable winds round. I suspect that there must be some sort of spring or something in this pulley that aids with the opening/closing of the door, anybody know what system this is as i cant find one anywhere on the net? I cant take it apart as it looks like its all pop rivets so likely not a serviceable part. The cable that is attached to it now has no tension as the pulley is just spinning and not holding the tension.
I suspect that there must be some sort of spring or something in this pulley that aids with the opening/closing of the door,
The coil springs that would be at the side of the door are across the top of the frame instead and are pulling the cables you can see
Have a look at the instructions on this page. The spring is in a covered channel along the top.
I changed a wire on mine. I'd get a professional in next time - the energy in the spring is incredible, I've never been so nervous trying to sort out a DIY issue.
https://www.weatherstop.co.uk/cones-cables-garador-mk3c-compatible.html
Yeap- they’re pretty nasty finger-mashing traps even if they are working as they are supposed to. If something has gone wrong then putting it right is quite a struggle.
there should be a tab on the frame that allows to keep the spring in tension while the cable is disconnected. If it’s there then the trick to try and get the spring stretched back and clipped onto that tab- that means it stays put while you reattach the cable you can then pull on the cable to ease it back off the tab. You might want to get both springs sitting on the tabs so that you’re not fighting with the door while you work
reslly think about where your fingers are though anything that goes wrong happens very violently. Goggles /safety glasses are worth while too as stuff can whip about or fling crud out at you
There is no spring visible or hidden in a channel. The pulley/drum wheel at the top must house a coiled spring like a watch inside the main body. The working pulley is impossible to move but the broken one you can spin freely,clearly something inside it has broken and now wont hold the cable taught. The cable is actually attatched the pulley so the pulley must have some resistance in it to hold the cable. I just dont know what this system is.
Which photo hosting site works on here so i can attempt to post a picture (currently on my iphonej.
flickr's probably easiest
i managed to set up flickr but still not managed to get them to stw, will look for how to thread.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/158427131@N07/40519029520/in/dateposted/
Sorry about the size. This is the pulley/drum which i think houses a coiled spring or something that keeps the tension on the cable.
Just an update on this as i know there were thousands interested in this. I have been able to identify the garage mech as a cardale mk1 spring drum unit. My chances of finding another one apparently are close to zero. They stopped making them over 20 years ago and even then they were considered to be rubbish. Expert i spoke to says that its not financially viable to try and fit a modern mech and probably better just to install a whole new door and opener.
can anyone recommend a company to install an automated system (Leeds area)?
Bloke with garadoor..
What you do to pull the springs out is is tie some nylon string around the wire string, tie a loop in the nylon, put you foot in the loop and push the string down. You will find the springs extend pretty easy.
Comes from spending every day for 40 years in a garage with garadoor doors I have replaced strings loads of times.
That drum looks interesting, I must look up how it works.