It never fails

[Shawn Pixley]

I will be leaving for a business trip soon, so yesterday my electric garage door opener completely failed. Now I am scrambling to repair or replace it quickly. It doesn't help that I am incredibly busy at work (I know that beats the alternative). Any preferences of brands / models? The door is double wide and very heavy (glass / aluminum). I had a Marantec Q7900 belt drive. It seemed a bit underpowered.

[Phil Thien]

How long did the Marantec last? Aren't they supposed to be pretty good?

The spring should make the weight of the door somewhat irrelevant, to a point.

If you have trouble lifting the door, I'd suggest having someone check the spring(s).

Otherwise, for expediency's sake, I'd see whether Marantec sells a replacement unit that will use all the same bracketing. Having to switch-out brackets on the door or header is a PITA.

[Jamie Buxton]

What? The door to your shop needs to operate when you're not there?

[Myk Rian]

Like Phil said, have the springs checked.
The door gets very heavy if one breaks, and could trip the pressure adjustment of the opener.

[Shawn Pixley]

The spring is fine. Disconnected from the opener it will hold in any position. The garage is used as a garage (two cars) during the week. On the weekends it is a shop. I hear mixed opinions on the Marantec. It lasted 11 years. The literature never states what HP the motor is (only expresses the lifting force in Newtons).

Thanks!

[David Weaver]

Presume the whole thing might be made in the UK? Does it state the power of the motor in KW? Just guessing.

I like Phil's suggestion because I've gone that route before - I also have a heavy door. The springs need to be adjusted but the door is 50 years old, and I'll take my odds putting a $150 opener on the old mounts and let it wear itself out every 7-10 years rather than pay someone to adjust the springs and possibly break them (my wife and I can still open the door manually if the power goes out, but it's at her limit to do it).

Haven't got a clue where you get a marantec opener, though, is it one of the brands that's sold only to contractors? It doesn't do anyone favors when they do that. Except garage door contractors.

[Erik Loza]

No opinion on what size might be appropriate for your application but we recently went from a chain-drive to a screw-drive opener and what a world of difference. Much quieter and more "sure" actuation.

Best of luck with it.

Erik Loza
Minimax USA

[Art Mulder]

I put a sears unit on my double door... (new insulated metal, well balanced spring) Works fine, probably 3-4 yrs old by now.

You could always just disconnect the opener and run the door manually for a week or two while you sort out your options. But if you door is like mine, there is no handle on the outside, which makes opening it a bit of a challenge! :eek:

[Chris Padilla]

Wayne-Dalton I-Drive is what I have. If you have the space, it can mount on the header above the garage door and bolts directly to the torsion spring.

No more GDO hanging out in the middle of the garage to bang sheets of plywood into. :)

[Shawn Pixley]

I replaced it with a 1/2 HP Liftmaster today. It is also belt drive. So far, so good.

The Marantec is designed in Germany. But with a simple search, I couldn't find out where manufactured. There really isn't a great translation from Newtons (peak) to HP. The springs were adjusted well. It can be opened an adult reasonably easily, though there is no handle on the outside.