Quiet garage door opener

[Mr__Bill]

I need to replace the opener in one of the garages in our duplex. The opener in question is used by a tenant that likes to leave early and return late. It's driving the other tenant crazy. The garages are under the now crazy tenant's side and I can sympathize with them, so have decided to replace it with a quieter one.

Anyone know of ones that are quieter than others, or just too noisy and should be avoided?

How about ways to mount them to minimize sound transfer? Ideas for what rubber mounts to use would be very helpful, as would what not to use. The opener has to be rather tight to the ceiling as the ceiling is at 7' and the door only about 1 1/2" shorter, it's a single panel door of the swing up variety.

I know stuffing sound deadening material in the ceiling would help but that would entail redoing the ceiling and I just don't have time for that this trip as there is a whole lot that should be done when the sheet rock comes down.

Bill, on the Sunny Oregon Coast

[Tom Slick]

I have a DC motor belt drive from Overhead Door. It is quiet enough that when I'm on the other side of the wall (inside the house) I cannot hear it. Even in the garage it is quieter than the door's rollers.

[softop41]

I, too, use a rubber belt drive opener. I use the Chamberlain. It is almost totally silent in the adjoining room.
Jerry

[LCHIEN]

the opening force is applied to header over the door being openend through the bar connecting the motor drive to the header.
You should be able to use isolating rubber washers for the connection from the motor drive unit to the ceiling suspending brackets effectively, I would think.

This in addition to a quiet unit with a belt drive as suggested above.

[Jim Frye]

Quiet Running...

We have a Phantom opener by Overhead Door Company. It uses a toothed kevlar reinforced drive belt (think Harley) and it is unbelievably quiet. The walls between the garage and the house are insulated and you can not hear the door open. The door also has urethane covered rollers that also help quiet the whole operation.

[Mr__Bill]

I, too, use a rubber belt drive opener. I use the Chamberlain. It is almost totally silent in the adjoining room.
Jerry

Chamberlain (about $200) is one that I have been looking at, is it able to be mounted flush to the ceiling and if so, how far below the ceiling is the bottom of the bar?

the opening force is applied to header over the door being openend through the bar connecting the motor drive to the header.
You should be able to use isolating rubber washers for the connection from the motor drive unit to the ceiling suspending brackets effectively, I would think.

This in addition to a quiet unit with a belt drive as suggested above.

I'm thinking of a firm rubber pad between the bar and header and then some rubber or perhaps a big bead of RTV along the top of the bar to isolate it from the ceiling and the motor unit isolated with rubber grommets. Or something along that line of thought. This would be easier if I could hang it from the ceiling, but alas, that is not possible.

Bill, over here on the other ocean.