I locked myself out of my detached garage. The remote to open it no longer works.

It’s a really old garage and the opener is from 1999.

Trying to lift it obviously doesnt work. There’s an emergency release you can activate with a key, but the keyhole is crammed full of old hard metallic paint that I can’t get out.

Anything else I can do? Or do I have do smash the thing down?

  • DannyMac@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Hold up, that may not be always the case. My garage door has a spring wound under tension to help the motor lift the door and it is a one-car wide garage door. If that has a catastrophic, uncontrolled release and no one gets hurt, consider yourself lucky.

    • Hyperreality@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      Oh, absolutely. Not saying it’s not possible. So check to be sure.

      Mine doesn’t. Used to work maintenance, plenty of electric doors, rolldown stormshutters and theft prevention shutters I encountered didn’t have a spring.

      On a manual door it’s almost certain to use a spring.

      Electric not always the case. Motors are apparently powerful enough.