Any garage door opener gurus here?

Man I battled that on my door for years but only certain times of the year and at specific times of the day when the sun was setting. I adjusted the damn lasers a million times but must have finally found the ultra precise spot that works now as it's been flawless for a few weeks. If one of my kids bumps the laser and knocks it out of alignment again it won't be pretty lol.

 

Bumping this thread up. One of the three bays in my garage no longer works (was flashing and I couldn't figure out WTF was the matter with it), and this morning the wife complained that the middle bay wouldn't close right. I got it to work eventually but I'm thinking it's probably about time to replace all three.

So what do I need to know? Chain vs belt vs shaft mounted, what brands, etc. Don't much care for wifi and other bells and whistles, just want something that opens quietly and predictably when I need it to.

 

Same here. 20+ year. Only regular maintenance.

 

You may not think you want the bells and whistles but good god they’re handy. I have a chamberlain with WiFi and I get a message any time my garage door opens, makes it real handy to know if someone has opened your door who isn’t supposed to be there. Can also open or close it from your smart phone. Finally, there’s no more “did I remember to shut the door when I left” because your phone will tell you if the door is open or closed.

 

Chamberlain belt drive. Shaft drive sucks.

 

What makes the Chamberlain worth 2X the cost of something like a Genie? To my eye they look identical (and I'd guess are made in the same factory overseas).

Something like this:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Genie-Q...h-Automatic-Battery-Backup-1055B-KV/313906770

Vs. something like this:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Chamber...elt-Drive-Garage-Door-Opener-B4505T/316307827

 

Contractor with some experience. Call any garage door specific company and ask them what companies they deal with.

 

You might be able to buy new sensor send/receive devices as parts. If the Opener is working well and is solid, it may be worth it to just change out the sensors and not have the hassle of installing a whole new opener.

 

I had a Chamberlin that went bad and I got up in there and found the problem and fixed it. Plastic gears, in them since 1984. https://www.amazon.com/Replacement-...ocphy=9030965&hvtargid=pla-570011674949&psc=1

I later decided I wanted one with Homelink, to work with the car provided factory remote, so I replaced it with a belt drive lower priced brand....I think Craftsman.

 

I just installed this lift-master 8500 and so far it works great. (bought a 2 pack off amazon) I made my own chain extension vs buying theirs. This is because the spring shaft (not sure what else to call it) sits too close to the wall and I could not mount the opener directly to it. Lift-master makes one but its $150 and for less than that I was able to buy parts for 2 from McMaster Carr and make my own.

This is on a single bay heavy wood door. Its quiet and I do like the dead bolt lock feature.

The only issue and I think its the car not the opener, is the HomeLink in our Acura is finicky. The clicker that comes with it works just fine though at a good distance but the Acura button can be hit or miss on opening.

I do not use the wireless home network feature and did not buy that option.

One negative, they are stupid expensive.

 

Everyone I had called recommended Chamberlin. One said he would not install it if it was a Genie.

Home Depot had only charged $99 to install it. The installer was a young kid who was meh though. You get what you pay for, but overall it was fine.

 

When was the last time you did any maintenance on the doors or openers?

Probably just needs some adjustments and lubrication.

Flashing light means the sensors aren't lined up. Someone probably bumped one, go check. They're the black boxes near the bottom of the track. They need to point at each other.

Door not going all the way down may be a limit switch, or the door needs a tune up.
Disconnect the opener and run the door up and down by hand. Smooth and easy, or choppy and hard. Check the rollers. Metal with a bearing you can lubricate, or plastic junk, loose on the shaft? Oil the former, replace the latter.
If the door is heavy, call the door guy to reset the springs.

I find it amazing that guys who raced motorcycles don't understand that these doors need a tune up after a few years.

 

Some day I want to buy one of those for my stall with a single door. I have an attic cutout and the regular opener makes it hard to get up there.

 

So the Chamberlain belt drive are nice and quiet (had 3 in the garage I just sold). I did not use the internet stuff as there was not a connection there. They also had a auto close on time feature that was nice, could be disabled or temporarily locked. In process of installing a shaft Chamberlain on a 14' door. It comes with the option of installing a electronic dead bolt. Has the wifi built in. And they added a cable tension sensor for safety. My brother had one installed at his shop and loves it so far.

As to tuneups his doors were horrible but even before the opener was installed made it so his wife could open it.

 

LS with a turbo, th400 with a gear vendors OD if you have a heavy door.

 

I just bought the first one but haven't installed. It's for the single door- the double door already has a Liftmaster belt drive that's been flawless and crazy quiet.

 

Have you tried unplugging it then plugging it back in?

 

We did 2 of em, yea pricey but once you have nice *quiet* side mounts, you'll never go back

 

They do really clean up the garage ceiling without a traditional opener in the way.

 

that's a good point. when i change the door, i'll have to add that to the list.