Garage door opener

[poolhound]

A week or so ago my garage door opener started making some funny noises but still seemed to work fine. I have been away for a week but got back yesterday and took a closer look.

It would seem that the support at one end of one of the "axles" that attached it to the sheet metal housing had sheared. The axle is still roatating OK but is now loose and rubbing on the sheet metal casing. Bottom line is that I think its time for a new opener. This old one is truely ancient. I have lived in my house for 10 years and it was built in the 80s and its my guess the garage door opener is the original so thats not bad service.

My question is what do I replace it with? I Have seen chain, screw and belt drives and also many different manufacturers. Does anybody have any positive or negative first hand experience. I just got the latest craftsman club flyer and see they have 3 on offer anybody own and/or installed any of these?

As always all advise warmly appreciated.

[Uncle Cracker]

Much will depend on the weight of the door you are lifting, coupled with the amount of help the counter-spring is providing. If you can disconnect your opener and lift the door easily by hand, then a lower (standard) power opener will work. If you have to really horse it up, then you will want to use a higher-HP model (or have a pro come and check your springs and your preload force... not a job for an amateur, although many do, and somebody gets killed doing it every year). Chain, screw and belt drives all do the same thing, and a better quality model of one type is usually better than a cheap model of another type.

[Ed62]

Is the part that is broken just a bracket? If so, you should be able to get another, and simply attach it to the door.

Ed

[toolguy1000]

i would get a 1/2hp screw drive. powerful enough for a regular double wooden door and the scew drive in usually extremely quiet. both craftsman and chamberlains have performed very well for me at reasonable prices. if buying at sears, only buy on sale.

[Jim Frye]

Beltin' it out...

A couple of years ago, we replaced the Genie screw drive opener with a belt drive opener from the local Overhead Door shop. The new drive is so much quieter than the old one, it is pretty amazing. Another aspect is that you don't have to lube the belt drive as much as the screw drive.

[jackellis]

I'll second the caution. We had a one piece door and I decided to replace the bearing in one of the pivots when it failed. Very carefully. I'm sure the spring would have left a trail of destroyed bone, muscle and skin had it gotten loose under tension. Bad news was the time and effort to find a replacement part. Good news was putting off the $1800 expense of a new door for 13 years and a lot of satisfaction.

[vaking]

I have a 2 car garage and I replaced both door openers. It's not that hard. There are 2-3 major makers for this stuff, Genie and Chamberlain names come to mind. I would take either of these, I have Chamberlain simply because there was a sale on those when I was looking.
1/2 hp is the standard power rating and it is sufficient for most installations. Chain-drive is usually the cheapest. Theoretically chain drive provides jerky motion while screw drive is smoother, but in reality you don't see any real difference between chain and screw. I have never dealt with belt-driven door openers. I replaced 2 Sears units, both were chain drives and worked fine for about 30 years. I replaced them with 2 also chain drives and they also work fine. I replaced both at once simply because I thought it was time - Home-depot was running a clearance, I grabbed 2 units and replaced both in 1 day. After 30 years of service they simply deserved retirement.
I suggest you start by looking at your existing unit and match it at least in power rating.
I do suggest that when replacing the door opener you also replace springs and cables. If door opener is 30 years old - likely springs and cables also need to be replaced.

[twistsol]

I'm a huge fan of the Wayne Dalton iDrive. It turns the torsion spring bar rather than pulling the door. it mounts on the wall right above the garage door and takes up no ceiling space and is really quiet except for the security foot that locks the door when it closes. I've had two installed for five years with absolutely no problems and installed three more in various in law's garages.

[poolhound]

Thanks folks.

I know that my spring is OK as it was replaced only about 4 months ago. My door is really heavy but it can be lifted by hand (with the aid of the spring).

I will take a look at the motor in the existing one and see what it is, that should provide a clue.

[JimD]

I think my screw drive is by Genie. It is 10 years old and has required one replacement of the zinc screw follower piece. Maybe it was because I didn't lube the screw enough. It was about a $25 part so not a big deal. I've also had chain drive which worked fine. I might go to belt drive if this one fails because there is a bedroom over the garage.

Jim

[Mr__Bill]

I just installed a Chamberlain belt drive opener. The version I got came from Home Depot and I have to say that while I am happy with the power head the track is another matter. The HD version comes in a small box and the track is light weight and in many pieces. It flexes a lot! So much so that the next time I am up there I shall put a piece of box steel inside it for strength.

If you can find an opener with a solid one piece track I would go for it. Having all three types I find the screw drive the loudest and the belt drive the quietest. The old chain drive made noise from the motor, can't fault the chain but have no idea of how a new one sounds.

I now have a nice motor with a chain drive on it and am looking for something to do with it before I break it down to the motor. Any ideas as to what your old opener will become?

Bill.
The best way to recycle is to use it again yourself. This does not apply to ex-wives.

[sscherin]

I'm a huge fan of the Wayne Dalton iDrive. It turns the torsion spring bar rather than pulling the door. it mounts on the wall right above the garage door and takes up no ceiling space and is really quiet except for the security foot that locks the door when it closes. I've had two installed for five years with absolutely no problems and installed three more in various in law's garages.

I loved my I drive.. (wish I'd kept it when I sold the house)

See the little white box in the upper right corner.. that's the whole unit..
Fast quiet and smooth! It works by driving the spring rod so it's not putting any stress on the door or taking up ceiling space. A good thing in my old garage because the stupid builder put the attic access right where a standard door motor would sit.

[poolhound]

I ended up going with this sears model.

It appears to be identical to Chamberlain's belt drive version so it must be made by them. Other than an issue on my part when I got two of the brakets mixed up the it installed pretty easily.

Sears list price is $199. With craftsman club discount and using my sears card it was $175 OTD. I would rather of spent the money on new tools but oh well these things have to be done.

[Uncle Cracker]

Coincidentally, I had to work on my GDO this morning, too. The light stopped working, and I discovered that the socket for the bulb had toasted and needed replaced. It's kind of a weird snap-in type that the hdwe. stores won't have, so I called the Genie CS line, and they gave me the name of a local garage door company that has a parts inventory (Genie would also have shipped me the part if I wanted to wait for shipping). Called the local place, they had one, so $4 later, we're good to go, and no wait time. I love it when the system works like it's supposed to...