Seann12 wrote:
I don't know what you're really asking about "help"...tension builds as you wind on more turns...
By “help” I mean that the roll wants to unroll under spring pressure so it stops fighting against you winding it up. If it’s building tension, how could the roll not want to roll up the awning to relieve the tension?
If you are working to wind the spring CCW on the front arm (presumably by rotating the end of the internal shaft with a vice-grip) this should make the roll want to also turn CCW to “chase after” the shaft you are winding up. If the awning is wrapped over the top, this should make it roll up not unroll.
Put another way: When you tension the springs you are essentially just rolling up the awning, but with a spring in between you and the roll. You are winding them in the same direction as the roll needs to wind up. Im struggling to see how that can possibly create tension that wants to unwind it.
I know you said you tensioned the front CCW and the rear CW and even tried them the opposite with the same result. The only way I can imaging that happening is if you wound one end correctly and the other backward. That would result in an awning that just sits there until you force roll it up. Once you do that, the “backward” wound spring would certainly be tighter and try to unroll it again. Make sure on each end that you’re turning the shaft in the direction that would want to roll up the fabric.
