Need a garage door opener. Belt, chain or side-mount? | GTAMotorcycle.com

Need a garage door opener. Belt, chain or side-mount?

DJM

DJM

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After 18 years my Craftsman chain-drive is only working sporadically. Standard 18x7 ft garage door. Don't care about the price, just don't want to deal with it again for a long time like the last one. My Craftsman was noisy and jerky as all hell though. Saw Chamberlain at CTC and Atom on Amazon. Thoughts?
 
Side mounts are nice. Has an extra security lock too. The supplied light can be mounted anywhere.
 
I'm praying for the day my garage door openers break so I can replace them with a belt driven system. The quiet factor is key!
 
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I am going to be replacing a chain drive with a side mount next year. I need to free up the space where the opener currently sits to be able to lift a car up. The shaft drive costs a hell of a lot more than an equivalent chain but in my case it frees up quite a lot of usable volume in the garage so it's worth it. Technically you are supposed to install an outlet close to the sidemount which most garages will not have.
 
I replaced a Sears with a Chamberlain about ten years ago. The belt drive can still be noisy, as the wheels in the tracks and any joints in the garage door contribute to the noise. I ended up getting a really good deal at Home Hardware with extra off for getting their credit card. The door open sensors are nice, but only if you're going to use them. I like the red laser pointer that helps you position your vehicle, it beats a tennis ball on a string. I haven't hooked up any of the plugs that are supposed to turn on with the garage opening, as I don't see a need.
 
Imo chain slip less than belts. However how much slippage would you get with a door opener? Not much would be my guess.
 
It's a toothed belt, so, no slipping. Good thing too, no more limit switches. The smarts in the drive keep track of the position and you program the open and closed position.
I installed a Chamberlain a few years ago. Belt drive.
Switching the rollers to urethane with much better bearings made more improvement to the noise.

The Chamberlain has a web interface, sends email alerts and integrates with the controller built into my car.
Also, "There's an App for that". I can check if the door is open or closed, and open or close it remotely on my phone.
 
I had to replace one of my traditional chain drive openers with a side-mounted Liftmaster 8500 when I had a high-lift door installed. Love it. I plan on eventually replacing my other door opener with one as well, even though it won't be high-lift.
 
Door is really heavy to lift, is this normal? Thought it should be a lot easier or I need to get my weak old ass to a gym.
 
Hack said:
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I remember that guy from the BMW forums. Utter ABS-hypochondriac. Probably had 2 thousand of the same posts condemning it on his bike yet would never trade it in. Wanker.
 
DJM said:
Door is really heavy to lift, is this normal? Thought it should be a lot easier or I need to get my weak old ass to a gym.
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Door should not be heavy. Springs get tired over time and need tightened a bit. Be careful.
 
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Side mounts are really nice and ultra smooth.

Re the springs, unless you know what you're doing, leave that to the pros - they can mess you up.
 
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DJM said:
Door is really heavy to lift, is this normal? Thought it should be a lot easier or I need to get my weak old ass to a gym.
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Counter balance spring(s) might be broken... Yeah, call a pro.
I just have mine done... The guy was in and out in 45 min. and I didn't lose any fingers.
 
If I had the space, I would definitely get a side mount opener. And as was said earlier, if the door is heavy, the spring(s) aren't doing their job. If you do decide to change or adjust the spring yourself, be very careful, there is a lot of tension on it and it will shoot your wrench clear across the garage.
 
DJM said:
Door is really heavy to lift, is this normal? Thought it should be a lot easier or I need to get my weak old ass to a gym.
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So, back on the original topic....are you sure it's the opener that's crapped out, and not the fact that the spring popped?

An opener won't be able to reliably lift a door without the proper level of spring tension assisting things. It'll just try and then usually fail and go back down again. If there's still *some* tension left on the spring it may struggle and lift the door sometimes, but other times, just overload and go back down again.

It's quite possible the spring has partly or completely blown up and your only real issue is exactly that - the spring...not the opener.
 
I guess side-mount is out. Got about 13 inches clearance but the missus is rolling her eyes at the "Probably $850, needs an outlet in the corner, and may as well put recessed led's in the ceiling while I'm up there." I know when I'm pushing my luck...

Spring looks intact, had a new door and hardware installed about 4 years ago so maybe it's weakened. I'll call a door company and get the spring set properly first, not in the mood for getting my face peeled off by a pinch bar.

Maybe the door company will give me a good deal on a belt drive. From what I've read here belt drive Chamberlain sounds good.

Cheers mates, thanks again.
 
DJM said:
I guess side-mount is out. Got about 13 inches clearance but the missus is rolling her eyes at the "Probably $850, needs an outlet in the corner, and may as well put recessed led's in the ceiling while I'm up there." I know when I'm pushing my luck...

Spring looks intact, had a new door and hardware installed about 4 years ago so maybe it's weakened. I'll call a door company and get the spring set properly first, not in the mood for getting my face peeled off by a pinch bar.

Maybe the door company will give me a good deal on a belt drive. From what I've read here belt drive Chamberlain sounds good.

Cheers mates, thanks again.
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If you do it yourself, you should be able to get an 8500 for ~500, if you want wifi and some other doodads, 8500w is ~100 more. Although an outlet should be installed close to the opener, many openers have been run on extension cords for decades with no issues. It is in an area where the cord is not subject to physical damage.
 
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