Garage Door Openers?

[~JM~]

Seeking advice on new garage door openers for a two car residential garage with insulated panel door.

Currently have a 1/2HP chain drive Craftsman that is dying.

Plan on a HP upgrade. Saw a few belt drive models. I feel like a chain would have more long term reliability in Arizona. I've not installed one before. Doesn't look very complicated. Any tricks I should know?

Thank you.

 

[TimeBandit]

I just fixed a 30 year old opener, gear kit was $15. on amazon

YouTube how to:

Chain drive Chamberlin, most likely the same as your Craftsman, the link below:

Amazon.com

 

[yz450mm]

Seeking advice on new garage door openers for a two car residential garage with insulated panel door.

Currently have a 1/2HP chain drive Craftsman that is dying.

Plan on a HP upgrade. Saw a few belt drive models. I feel like a chain would have more long term reliability in Arizona. I've not installed one before. Doesn't look very complicated. Any tricks I should know?

Thank you.

I like the belt drive units, haven't had any problems with heat and the belts before. I'd go up to 1 hp since yours is a heavier door.

 

[Bobby V]

Seeking advice on new garage door openers for a two car residential garage with insulated panel door.

Currently have a 1/2HP chain drive Craftsman that is dying.

Plan on a HP upgrade. Saw a few belt drive models. I feel like a chain would have more long term reliability in Arizona. I've not installed one before. Doesn't look very complicated. Any tricks I should know?

Thank you.

I have the lift master side mount opener. Works great

 

[Pebo]

I just installed this belt drive for Havasu. Easy install and so far so good. It came with all the goodies. Old one was a chain.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Genie-1-25...LzFxM3uW0ijH6d-eBxRoCUj4QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[Angler]

I have the lift master side mount opener. Works great

This, plus it is very quiet compared to the chain style.

 

[BabyRay]

I have Liftmaster ceiling-mounted belt driven DC units, and they’re super quiet. The installer said that’s mainly due to the DC motor, but I think it also has a lot to do with the belt-drive, and time has proven the need to keep the rollers silicon-lubed.

 

[Albert]

Just an opinion but the belt is better than the chain and side mount jackshaft operators a supposivley better now . The initial side mount ones sucked . Make sure the tension on the door is set properly before adding an operator. In the manual mode you should be able to lift the door and the door should not drift into the opening at all. I agree get the 1 hp being that your door is heavier as well.

 

[rivermobster]

I have the lift master side mount opener. Works great

These are the best.

But, I also have a newer overhead belt drive one that has an app for my phone. I can open and close the door from anywhere and the app shows me if it's currently open or closed.

I can also have it alert me if someone else opens or closes it.

It's called the MyQ app. I can't remember the opener brand, but I bought it at home Depot and had a garage door opener guy install it, replace a broken spring and lube and tune everything.

When he was done, you could operate the door with one finger, so that means the opener hardly has any load on it.

Super quiet. Hopefully will outlast me.

 

[Icky]

These are the best.

But, I also have a newer overhead belt drive one that has an app for my phone. I can open and close the door from anywhere and the app shows me if it's currently open or closed.

I can also have it alert me if someone else opens or closes it.

It's called the MyQ app. I can't remember the opener brand, but I bought it at home Depot and had a garage door opener guy install it, replace a broken spring and lube and tune everything.

When he was done, you could operate the door with one finger, so that means the opener hardly has any load on it.

Super quiet. Hopefully will outlast me.

The lift master wall mount uses the same app. Chamberlain and Liftmaster are the same.

Another for the wall mount

 

[steamin rice]

Just an opinion but the belt is better than the chain and side mount jackshaft operators a supposivley better now . The initial side mount ones sucked . Make sure the tension on the door is set properly before adding an operator. In the manual mode you should be able to lift the door and the door should not drift into the opening at all. I agree get the 1 hp being that your door is heavier as well.

I agree with these comments on the side mount/jackshaft garage door openers. On my RV garage, I have a 14' tall door with 16' ceilings and a commercial liftmaster side mount opener. It works well now, but it took a few rounds of fine tuning the setup to make it reliable. I learned that the side mount openers don't actively push the door down to close, but they rely on tension/weight for the door to pull itself closed as the opener unspools the cables to lower the door. In my setup, it's a tricky balance to have the correct amount of tension so that the door closes but doesn't have too much tension on it. In hindsight, I would have just gone for a traditional ceiling mount opener for this door.

 

[Mikes56]

Go with a side mount, I just installed three of them. I’d never installed any type of garage door opener before. There’s lots of YouTube videos to help. I got the Genie 6070h‘s, but they are probably all good.

It’s nice not having the big opener rail and motor hanging from the ceiling. You may have to adjust your spring tension and lift the back of your tracks so the door falls slightly on its own.

 

[obnoxious001]

When he was done, you could operate the door with one finger, so that means the opener hardly has any load on it.

I worked for a company installing and servicing mostly garage door openers, although I was supposedly there to learn about doing electric gates. I learned quickly and was soon teaching the new guys.

The door should always be very well balanced before installing an opener, basically one finger as you said, and back then we were dealing mostly with heavy wooden door. Releasing the door at any point in it's travel and it should stay in place.

 

[stonehenge]

100% win for liftmaster/chamberline side mount!

Did all my rental townhomes with these.

And recently replaced the 2 car with one, and currently remodeling the rv garage and doing both front and rear doors with these side mounts.
No ugly, noisy, outdated pos taking up space on your ceiling. And the costs have come waaaay down on the side mounts.

 

[stonehenge]

Now I just need to find or have made some fancier support struts to replace those 1942 erector set looking things. (thinking billet would be nice)

Amazes me nobody makes a better looking piece.

 

[Racer56]

Now I just need to find or have made some fancier support struts to replace those 1942 erector set looking things. (thinking billet would be nice)

Amazes me nobody makes a better looking piece.


View attachment 1463632

When you make them I will take 6.

 

[SFV2RVR]

100% win for liftmaster/chamberline side mount!

Did all my rental townhomes with these.

And recently replaced the 2 car with one, and currently remodeling the rv garage and doing both front and rear doors with these side mounts.
No ugly, noisy, outdated pos taking up space on your ceiling. And the costs have come waaaay down on the side mounts.

View attachment 1463630 View attachment 1463631

I have 3 liftmaster side mounts for sale that were used for about 1 year if anyone is interested. Located in Havasu

 

[stonehenge]

When you make them I will take 6.

The only problem I have thus far, and the reason the industry uses the current "crap" is the adjustability of them. Oh and cost, duh, right.

I cut mine down to the minimum size where they still hit studs and served the proper purpose of adding support for the guide tracks. Then gave them to my fabricator with only the mounting holes marked. He is making me 2 billet brackets with the holes predrilled. I will post pictures of the process, perhaps in another thread not to hijack this one.

 

[CoolCruzin]

I have two side mounts .
Looks clean , no motor hanging down .
Worth every dollar.