Both of these garage door springs materials are made out of the same basic raw material – a steel rod that is high in carbon and “drawn” down to a wire diameter that is very specific.

Galvanized Wire

The process of applying and bonding zinc coating to the surface of a wire is called galvanizing. For garage door springs, this is done before the drawing process. Sivaco, a company that manufactures galvanized wire, has a lead-patented galvanized wire and thanks to this, galvanized wire is great for garage door springs.

Oil Tempered Wire

Oil tempering is an additional step in the process. Oil is used to heat-treat the wire and that gives it certain properties. After being heated to a temperature exceeding 1500 degrees Fahrenheit and then quenched in oil, it is then reheated to a high temperature.

The garage door industry usually used oil tempered wire because it is excellent for performance as garage door torsion springs. These types of wires have oil on them left over from the tempering process, so anyone who is installing these has to be careful after the installation is complete to not leave oily handprints on walls and doors. These types of springs are also known to rust relatively easily.

In the end, though, oil tempered wire wins. Galvanized wire’s raw material inventory was tough to manage and the company that sold them could not convince enough of its customers to make a move to galvanized wire over oil tempered.

For more information on garage door springs in Mendota Heights, call Premium Garage Door Service at (952) 513-4849 (South Metro), (612) 234-4812 (Minneapolis), (651) 344-0489 (St. Paul) or (763) 607-3402 (North Metro) or contact us and Request Service.