Garage door openers?

[Phil Thien]

My almost 20 year old Chamberlain garage door opener has died.

What brand do you guys like for garage door openers? I was thinking of trying a Genie. I'd like to pickup something in town and install it myself.

The Chamberlain was chain drive. The garage is detached, so noise isn't an issue. What works better, chain or belt? Or something else?

[Jim O'Dell]

The last 3 I've bought were Genies. I think I got all of them from HD. The current one is the only one that has given me any issues, and it is usually with the light...won't come on at times. Unscrew the light for a couple days, screw it back in, and it works for months. The opener part has worked flawlessly for almost 8 years now. It came with two remotes for the visor, and one key chain type remote, like a car remote. This is used on an 18' wide wooden door with two coil springs above the door. Jim.

[Brian Elfert]

I have a Genie and so do my parents. They both work fine and are chain drive. My parents paid a little more for one that opens the door faster. Is anyone really doing screw drive anymore?

Home Depot was selling Genie, but they switch brands so often I don't know anymore.

[Brian Libby]

I have 2 Chamberlain garage door openers-have worked fine.

[Jim Matthews]

The Chamberlain "Liftmaster" (http://www.liftmaster.com/lmcv2/pages/productmodeldetail.aspx?modelId=8186)series is built to last.

Single rails are quieter, and the belts don't stretch .
No chain to lubricate, either.

I bought one for each bay in my garage, to replace the originals as they fail.
The version I have is equipped with a battery back up.

Our power went out in the last storm, so that was handy.

I bought mine at Sears and they gave me a smokin' deal to buy two.

PS - If you choose one with the same size rail as your current opener, it can be mounted to the same hardpoints.

[Joe Kieve]

I have a Liftmaster belt drive and I love it. It's super quiet as compared to my old chain drive. Has a motion sensor which cuts on the light when I enter the garage from the house or from the yard. And....the belt comes with a lifetime warranty.
Technician said to spray the wind-up spring with WD40 about every 6 months to extend its life.

joe

[Curt Harms]

We have a Stanley screw drive. About 16 years and no problems. It's not quiet, the neighbor has I think a belt drive and it's nearly silent.

[Jerome Stanek]

I have a Stanely in the shop about 21 years old and a sears in our garage about 10 years old both work good.

[Phil Thien]

Well, I guess I'll get another Chamberlain.

I wonder what the chances are that the new one will compatible enough with the existing one that I'd be able to reuse the little safety sensors that go either side of the door? It was 4-degrees F here when I woke up, and I'm going to do this in a detached garage today. So it would be pretty awesome if I could just reuse all the brackets and other parts and pop the new unit in place.

[Phil Thien]

Well, I wasn't able to reuse the header bracket. I'm a bit surprised that manufacturers haven't at least standardized on spacing for the header bracket lag screws. You'd think that even if they didn't all use the same spacing, at least one manufacturer would keep the same spacing. I realize the brackets themselves may change, but being able to remove one bracket and replace with another, and reuse the same lag screw holes, makes some sense to me.

I was able, however, to reuse everything else, including the safety sensors, and the open/close pushbutton. So it went in pretty fast.

It had warmed up to about 20F when I was doing this. I actually think it was nicer doing the job in 20F than last time I did it (when it was about 80F).

[David Weaver]

I've been in the same boat as you, phil. My garage door is an old double wide wooden door, it's a bit heavy and I'm giving the springs a break by leaving them where they are and putting the pressure on the opener (it's just cheaper to do that).

Last chamberlain I got five years ago has pulled the heavy door fine, and it was $150 on amazon. It's the same 3/4 unit that sears has branded for $260. Like you, I left what I could in place. The new design arm was tube steel and the old design was an i beam design in place. It made little sense to pull it out.

If they only last 5 years, I'll still be fine with it with the work they do pulling up my door. I couldn't get a garage door service guy to come out here for that and there's a chance the springs wouldn't tolerate much extra tension so I'll gladly put the strain on the opener instead as long as I can physically lift the door when the power is out (and I still can).

[Charlie Jones]

When mine quit I got a rebuild kit off the net and replaced the plastic gears. it was easy and cost 25. Chamberlain makes most of the other brands.

[Stew Hagerty]

Liftmaster makes a great product. I used them professionally as a general contractor for 20 years and I have had 2 of their 1/2hp Screw-Drive lifts in my own home for almost 15 years. They work quickly & quietly with plenty of power even with a heavy load of snow and/or ice on the face of the door.

[Phil Thien]

When mine quit I got a rebuild kit off the net and replaced the plastic gears. it was easy and cost 25. Chamberlain makes most of the other brands.

I saw those. I already knew the gears where shredded, as I could hear the motor running but no chain a-driving. Doing some research, I found the kits to replace the gears, but, I had two car remotes that were beginning to experience problems, as well. And I liked the motion detection feature of the newer units (to keep the lights on as long as you are moving around). So I figured I'd spring for the new one.

So after removing the old one, I did an autopsy and found the bad gears. It looks sort of like a PITA to replace them, though. How difficult was it? Were any instructions provided?

[Chris Padilla]

Wayne-Dalton I-Drive for me. It sits right on the torsion bar (header above the garage door) so there is nothing overhead to bang plywood sheets into. LOVE IT.