Safety Guide Garage Door System Safety - An Automatic Decision
A garage door is the largest moving object in the home. They are often operated by electric door openers. Proper installation, operation, and maintenance and testing are necessary to provide safe, trouble-free operation. An improperly adjusted garage door or automatic opener can exert deadly force when the door closes. This could lead to serious injury or death from being hit by a closing garage door or from being trapped under the door.
Safety is Everyone's Business
A few simple precautions can protect your family and friends from potential harm. Please take a few minutes to read the following safety and maintenance tips. Refer to your garage door and opener's manual for details specific to the model you own. Then check the operation of your garage door and automatic opener.
Garage Door and Opener Safety Garage door openers are not toys. Careless operation and allowing children to play with or use garage door opener controls can lead to tragic results. Discuss garage door safety with your children. Explain the danger of being trapped under the door.
The pushbutton wall control should be out of the reach of children (at least 5 feet from the floor) and away from all moving parts. Mount and use the button where you can clearly see the moving garage door.
When using the pushbutton or transmitter, keep the door in sight until it completely stops moving. Teach children never to play under or near an open garage door.
Keep hands and fingers clear of section joints, hinges, tracks, springs and other door parts. Contact with a moving door or its hardware could cause serious injury. These injuries can also happen with garage doors that don't have automatic openers.
If you ever need to open the door when the power is out, use the red emergency cord to release the locking mechanism. Do not use the red emergency cord to pull the door open. The cord or release may break under load.
Use caution when using the manual release as the door may fall rapidly due to weak or broken springs or an imbalanced door.
Routine Maintenance Can Prevent Tragedies Take a few minutes to inspect and test your complete garage door system. Make monthly inspection and testing a part of your regular routine. Safety is everyone's business. Make garage door and garage door opener safety automatic in your home.
Monthly Maintenance Checklist
Ensure that the door and automatic opener are clean and free of dirt and grit at all time.
Automatic opener
Reversal Test
Additional Safety Devices
Garage Door
Visual Inspection - Springs, Rollers, Pulleys, Cables, and Track
Lubrication
Door Balance
Automatic opener Reversal Test A faulty or improperly adjusted reversing mechanism on your garage door opener could cause damage to your car or even injure a child or pet that inadvertently gets caught in the way of the closing door. Most Merlin Garage Door openers can be installed by the do-it-yourselfer. However, Merlin recommends that you have your garage door opener professionally installed, and that it be checked periodically to ensure that the reversing mechanism is in proper working order. Reversing mechanisms activated by contact can prevent most potential damage or injuries caused by a garage door closing automatically.
Again, Merlin recommends that you have your garage door opener professionally installed and tested periodically to ensure that it is working properly.
Test the reversing feature every month.
First, test the balance of the door (see "Door Balance." below). If the door is properly balanced, then proceed.
With the door fully open, place a 40mm (50mm UK) thick piece of wood on the flooring the center of the door.
Push the transmitter or wall button to close the door. The door must reverse when it strikes the wood. (Note that the bottom part of "one piece doors" must be rigid so that the door will not close without reversing.)
If the door does not reverse, have it repaired or replaced. Have a qualified individual adjust, repair or replace the opener or door.
Additional Safety Devices Merlin highly recommends the use of safety beam sensors. Properly working "safety beams" offer an added safety guard. Safety beams are connected to the bottom of the track and reverse the door when an infrared beam is broken. Safety is improved because nothing actually has to make contact with the door before it reverses. Consider adding a Safety beam as an extra measure of safety to prevent against entrapment.
Make sure the additional safety devices, such as safety beams sensors, are properly installed and adjusted (see owner's manual).
Garage Door Visual Inspection Look at the garage door springs, cables, rollers, pulleys, and other door hardware for signs of wear. If you suspect problems, have a qualified person make repairs.
Warning - Springs are under high tension. Only qualified persons should adjust them Garage door springs, cables, brackets, and other hardware attached to the springs, are under very high tension and, if handled improperly, can cause serious injury. Only a qualified professional or a mechanically experienced person carefully following the manufacturer's instructions should adjust them. The torsion springs (the springs above the door) should only be adjusted by a professional. Do not attempt to repair or adjust the torsion springs yourself.
A restraining cable or other device should be installed on the extension spring (the spring along the side of the door) to help contain the spring if it breaks.
Never remove, adjust or loosen the screws on the bottom brackets of the door. These brackets are connected to the spring by the lift cable and are under extreme tension.
Lubrication Regularly lubricate the moving parts of the door. However, do not lubricate plastic parts such as plastic rollers and plastic idler bearings. Consult the door owner's manual for the manufacturer's recommendation.
Door Balance
A garage door that does not go up and down smoothly when manually operated probably has a spring system that is out of balance and could cause premature wear and tear on your doors hardware. Depending how worn the spring is, it may need to be adjusted or replaced for greater safety and operating performance .
Periodically test the balance of your door.
Start with the door closed
If you have a garage door opener, use the release mechanism so you can operate the door by hand when doing this test
You should be able to lift the door smoothly and with little resistance. It should stay open around three or four feet above the floor. If it does not, it is out of adjustment. Have it adjusted by a qualified service person.
With periodic inspections and maintenance the average garage door can safely provide many years of trouble free performance.
