Our garage has two lightweight aluminum doors, each with a 1/2-HP Craftsman opener, I believe from around 1995. Both openers have their share of problems & need replaced.
With our local Sears closed, what brand/model should I look for? FYI I’m not interested in any major door/opener remodels, just looking to replace these cheaply, but also don’t want junk that won’t last.
I’ve had good luck with liftmaster brand stuff
The most common brands, at least around here, are Chamberlain and Liftmaster. Chamberlain is the DIY brand, Liftmaster is the pro brand (I think there is another one, maybe Ranor). Both the same company. The Craftsman, if they still make them, are just rebranded Chamberlains.
I think the biggest functional difference between any of them are the rail system--I think the DIY's (probably yours) have a split rail; the pro units are a solid rail.
I like my Liftmaster. I especially like my Liftmaster gate opener and using the same remote for both. Makes me feel fancy.
Liftmaster, belt drive. Last a long time. My door springs have failed due to number of times door opened while the opener keeps going.
I put in a Chamberlain about 6-7 years ago, it's been rock solid so far. Last year I added the fancy sensor unit thing that lets me open and close the door with an app on my phone.
I've got 2 Liftmaster Professional by Chamberlain 1/2 HP units that have seen daily use since 2001. I put a logic board in one of them, and replaced one of the door springs that exploded (an interesting event). Both are still chugging along.
Great, thanks! I’ll check both those out. If the Chamberlain uses the same track I have now I’m guessing that might make installation easier.
If you have the budget, check out the new Ryobi opener. It has a plug in spot for their rechargeable battery, so it in essence has battery backup to open / close it if the power goes out, a huge LED light panel, and a plug in bluetooth speaker for streaming from your phone, etc. Pretty slick piece.
In reply to einy :
I’ve seen them in the store & they’re very intriguing, but I’m not I’d want/need their extra features & options enough to justify the cost.
Bubbal said:Liftmaster, belt drive. Last a long time. My door springs have failed due to number of times door opened while the opener keeps going.
The Liftmaster 8500 is better than belt drive, it mounts to the wall and turns the jackshaft directly. Very quiet and it doesn't hang in the middle of your garage so it's not in the way of engine hoists and the like.
In reply to codrus :
Those are beautiful, but way nicer than I need. I discovered Lowe’s has the Chamberlain 1/2-hp units in stock for $128, which with tax is only $5 more than ordering them online - and if I drag SWMBO to the store with me, we can use her military discount to save 10%. Of course she’ll probably more than make up for that discount with everything else she finds...
I installed one of those Chamberlains yesterday (C205, price is the same but mine came from Home Depot). Some things:
The rail is 5 pieces and they press together. It seems solid but my old one was 3 pieces and it bolted together (Genie screw drive that failed).
It has a single bulb. My old one had 2. I have overhead flourescents so not a big deal.
It won't work without the safety sensors correctly installed.
They say 2 hours to install, I started at 10 and finished at 6 (minus about an hour for lunch and a break). That said, I am a hack.
My hints for install: When you go to tension the chain, make sure the chain is on the back sprocket and carrier is not all the way towards the motor. Mine was like that and it was too far back to connect to the door. I had to untension the chain and then move the carrier (and then the chain came off the sprocket and I didn't notice and had to do it a second time, but that was my own fault). Also, when you hook up the sensors and the indicator LEDs don't light up, make sure the outlet you plugged the opener in to actually has power. I spent 30 minutes redoing wiring before I noticed that. Again, my own fault.
I was kind of limited as to what I could get because the pull down door to my garage attic is right next to the opener. So one of the wider ones would interfere with that. Also, as a side note, those Ryobi openers are not being sold right now. I read something about a patent issue. No clue if they will come back or not.
In reply to slowride :
Thanks for the tips!
I installed one decades ago & it seemed to go relatively quick, but I figure installing 2 might be best suited by doing 1-per day.
No problem. This was the first one I have installed, and part of it was that I had to work on the header before being able to attach the bracket for the track (my old one was poorly installed and broke bolts off in the wood that I couldn't get out, requiring me to attach a new 2x4 over the old). I would imagine that experience and/or having someone to help would've made it go significantly faster.
Getting ready to install the liftmaster 8500 in my dad's shop soon. Will give thoughts/post pictures when it happens
When I worked at the pro desk at HD, I had several contractors who did garage doors. One of them bought whatever the customer wanted because he could mark it up more. All of the rest (probably 4 or 5 of them) always bought Chamberlain.
I've never bought one, just relaying that (at least around here) contractors buy Chamberlain. They claim that they can install them and (as one of them told me) "never get a call from the customer except 15 years later when they want another one."
I dunno. There's a 4 year old Chamberlain at the new house, and it's E36 M3. Total E36 M3. That door is manual up and down only since it went from trying to way over open to smashing into the floor so hard that it shattered a pulley.
I put this one in my shop which has a stupid heavy hurricane rated 16' door.
It has been flawless and it is silent. I also like the soft start and stop so it doesn't jerk open and closed.
Genie 1.25-HP Backup battery, ultra quiet, StealthDrive Belt Drive Garage Door Opener
It is DC and with the battery backup it will work even if the power is out.
This thread definitely has me thinking. My house has a pair of Genies that might be from the mid 90s but have an overripe-avocado color that suggests earlier. They're not wired great and installed even less so. All I know about garage doors is that the springs can kill you. Are you all saying that replacing the opener part of the equation is less of an intense, failure-prone scenario than I'm making it out to be?
Because if so, I'm getting rid of these rickety chain drive units immediately.
In reply to ebelements :
Mine took about an hour to install and program. They are pretty simple.
codrus said:Bubbal said:Liftmaster, belt drive. Last a long time. My door springs have failed due to number of times door opened while the opener keeps going.
The Liftmaster 8500 is better than belt drive, it mounts to the wall and turns the jackshaft directly. Very quiet and it doesn't hang in the middle of your garage so it's not in the way of engine hoists and the like.
This looks amazing. My second garage doesn't have an opener and they put a light socket exactly where a traditional opener would be. I could just move the socket, but I'm pretty lazy.
My old house had a craftsman opener of about the same vintage. I was able to keep it going for several years buying parts on amazon and replacing individual components for around $20-25 at a time, much better than a whole new opener.
ryobi makes a pretty cool one that has attachments - so you can do cool stuff like plug in a power tool battery to open the door during a power outage or plug in other stuff like extension cord reels or drop lights, etc.
Neat idea. but both of my openers are currently working... so I have no need to replace right now.
Liftmaster Jackshaft Drive is the Bee's Knees.
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