Cycle

A cycle is one complete sequence of a garage door traveling from closed to fully open and then returning to fully closed. Every spring, cable, drum, roller, and opener component is rated for a specified number of cycles rather than a number of years, because usage frequency varies enormously between installations.

A typical residential household opens and closes the garage door four times per day, which produces about 1,460 cycles per year. At that rate, a standard torsion spring rated for 10,000 cycles lasts approximately 7 years. A high-cycle spring rated for 25,000 cycles would last about 17 years at the same usage rate.

Commercial applications cycle far more frequently. A dock door at a busy distribution center may complete 50-100 cycles per day. At 75 cycles per day, a 10,000-cycle spring lasts about 133 days. Commercial installations therefore use heavy-duty springs and components rated for 100,000 cycles or more.

The cycle count is also used to schedule maintenance. Many opener manufacturers recommend lubrication and hardware inspection every 500-1,000 cycles, regardless of time elapsed.

For high-performance doors in industrial settings, cycle life of major components is the most important specification. A fast-cycling door used in a cold-storage warehouse may accumulate a million cycles over its service life.

Spring cycle life is the specific rating applied to torsion and extension springs. When a spring exceeds its rated cycle count, the wire fatigues and fracture risk increases, even if the spring appears intact.