Comment on Is there a way I can force my garage open from the outside?
4am@lemmy.world 1 year agoThis isn’t usually true, as a power-outage could trap a vehicle inside without a manual release. This is usually a little rope hanging from the connecting latch on the motor chain or screw-traveler.
If there wasn’t a spring to help lift the door open then the manual release would at best do very little to help you open the door, or at worst send it crashing down uncontrollably if you released it while the door was open.
Trust me, it’s got a spring.
I've come across plenty without a manual release. No rope.
And yes, without a manual release you can't easily open it manually while the power's off. You need to overcome gravity and the motor. Forklift or a jack is the easiest way.
Direct drive stops it falling down uncontrollably.
Buddahriffic@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Yeah, there’s a spring. Those motors don’t have the power to lift it without the spring, at least the one at my dad’s place didn’t have enough power when that spring went.
Hyperreality@kbin.social 1 year ago
Here's an example of a small and relatively affordable motor you can buy:
https://hurricaneshutters.com/100nm-roll-shutter-motor
Max carrying capacity is 400lbs/200kg.
Some of the more powerful ones, you can basically hang on to the door as it's opening.
Heavy duty industrial ones? Metro stations where I live automatically open. On more than one occassion a homeless person makes the mistake of tampering with the metal roll down shutters come opening time. They get caught, motor keeps going, drags them into the mechanism and partially crushes them.