High lift conversion

I am replacing my old 9X9 door with a more modern one.My old wooden door is just a little heavy,it even has an entry door built into it.I have a new 9X9 steel insulated door I would like to use.I have always had to be careful because when the door is up I have to watch while putting a car on my lift.If I can raise this door vertically for about three feet before I hit the track radius I would feel much better.I only open it a couple times a week,but as I'm getting older I have come close to forgetting to watch a couple of times.I can handle any fabrication I might need,but I need to find what I need to do about the spring(s),and drums.The new door has a single spring,will I need to go to two?Will I need cone,or semi cone drums?Thanks.

Yes the spring will change since it will be lifting the door further. You'll also need longer vertical tracks and possibly cables. The cable drums may change depending on the ones you have. I suggest that you contact your local garage door company for the new spring size. Most companies will have a program that will be able to compute what springs should be on the door if you give them the door size, door weight and cable length. Or you could contact the manufacturer with the door model you have and what you plan on doing & they could tell you exactly what you need.

Thanks,The tracks,torsion bar mounts,and cables are no problem.What I need to find out is do I need to go to a cone or semi-cone drum to make a 9X9 foot door lift three feet before it goes back.It is a very light door,the panels and hardware weigh 93 pounds.With that kind of weight I'm not sure if I will have to go to two springs or not.I bought this door from a fellow that went out of business years ago.He used to assemble his doors from components.I think I paid $12.for it at his auction,it was complete,still boxed and banded.The door guys I know around here now are installers.They do no engineering,they take your specs,send them in,and the door is sent to them.I have a new Manaris jackshaft opener,it is kind of overkill but it is something I have.It is the same one I have on a 12X14 commercial door.

Yes there are special cable drums for hi-lift doors. The drums have a few grooves that step down then the grooves go straight across like a standard lift drum. Cable drums that look like a "cone" are vertical lift drums where the door would go straight up the wall (9' in your case).

I don't have the software to compute the spring for you so I would suggest searching online for someone that may sell torsion springs that may be able to do a conversion for you. The door could use two springs or one...it will depend on the size of the spring wire, the length of the spring(s) and how many cycles you want. Standard is 10,000 cycles. If you go with a 15,000 or 20,000 cycle spring would use a larger wire size and the length of the spring would be longer. It all depends.