The class is now in session….
There are many types of garage door openers, so which one is right for you? The first thing to keep in mind is that garage door openers are not a one-size-fits-all app. Garage door openers are made to work best if they are on the correct door type, most of our repairs are done on machines that are installed incorrectly or the opener is on the wrong door type and in many cases just a low quality opener.
So far, I’ve used the words “opener” and “machine”, they both have the same meaning, they refer to the entire mechanized operation, so when I say “opener” I’m not referring to the handheld device in your car… that’s called a “remote control” or just “remote”. Having said that, there are several types of garage door openers on the market… there are screw drives, chain drives, belt drives, and last but not least, direct drives commonly known as “Jackshafts”. But let’s take them one at a time and start with…
screw drives
These machines have been popular (not necessarily good) on all types of doors for the better part of 45 years, but… due to their design, they require regular maintenance. In the late 1960’s, 1970’s and early 1980’s, Genie used a very durable steel in the “cart” or “cart” and the machines were tough! Even with no grease on the bolt they would run for what seemed like forever then they switched to a lighter grade steel and that was all downhill the openers would still last as long as any as long as you regularly greased the bolt but who does that! So the average life of the Genie screw drive carriage was about 4-5 years and that’s generous, Liftmaster or Chamberlain or Craftsman all made by the same manufacturer… (Chamberlain) also has a screw drive and has the same problem to counter that they use a plastic inner carriage and a self-lubricating housing around the screw to keep heat and wear in, but the self-lubricating housing really only lasts about a year… or the equivalent of their warranty, then it’s back to the same forever soul ol,”fat-fat-fat.” My official take on screwdrivers is… stay away from them, they’re old technology with a new look.
chain drives
This type of machine has been around for as long as screwdrivers 5 years or so and they have come a long way. Chain drives have always been very durable machines but they got a bit of a bad rap when Sears started selling a Chamberlain DIY model called the Craftsman, now this machine although called a “chain drive” was driven by a chain on one side and a cable on the other and there seemed to be nothing you could do to silence this thing because the cable would stretch until it broke in the loop. So from that point on, chain drives started to get a bad rap as a “coffee grinder” or noisy machine, even though it wasn’t a true chain drive.
The Liftmaster 1300 series of chain drives…dollar for dollar is the best machine you can get, they are versatile as they can handle any type of door from heavy wood to light steel, one piece or sectional and are powerful and inexpensive and relatively speaking…low maintenance but to get to this point they have had many nice upgrades along the way. Chamberlain added a chain spacer that prevents the chain from hitting the rail, swapped out the front sprocket for a pulley to drastically reduce chain noise, swapped out the steel worm gear for a nylon worm gear inside the case to reduce heat on the worm gear and removed the two inner carriage tension springs to reduce gate bounce and it’s a solid one piece rail with a full wraparound chain.
The components of this machine can handle what the engine produces, so in most cases it does not need 1/2 HP to lift the door, and in regards to the maintenance of routine … there are practically none, only lubricate the two nylon gears inside the engine box every 7 years and that is all, in the strange case you have a house on the beach and only use the starter in the summer, you can spray the chain with a good silicone Chain links. My two favorite models that have been true workhorses for us for the past two decades are currently called #1346=1/3 hp and #1356=1/2 hp.
belt drives
Several manufacturers make belt drives these days but I like to stick with the most reliable brand which for me is Liftmaster, we have the most brands but we prefer to deal with the brand with the fewest problems so let’s focus on Liftmaster belt drives for now. Please note that belt drive openers are a VERY door specific machine, they DO NOT work very well on 1 piece doors or for long periods of time and should NOT be installed on a 1 piece door. For simplicity, there are two types of belt drives…AC and DC.
The Belt Drive Model AC, known as Formula I, is one of the earliest belt drive model designs and is essentially a chain drive motor that drives a belt instead of a chain. It’s minutely quieter than a chain drive minus the power and to me…not a good machine but it’s an easy sell because it’s cheaper than a DC model and the general public doesn’t know the difference, they just know that belt drives are supposed to be top of the line and this is a belt drive so they don’t know the tricks, dealers can buy these types of machines much cheaper than their DC motor counterparts and sell them for (premium) belt drive price. What makes a “DC motor” belt drive quiet is the motor! Otherwise why would they offer it in CC? Also, the other benefit is being able to have a backup battery attached so it will work even with the power off.
In its simplest form, a DC motor generates more torque than an AC motor, and power for DC is rated in “Newtons” rather than HP, but DC motors also have a “slow start/slow stop” feature that helps maintain quiet operation. When an AC motor machine kicks in it goes to O-60 or it should say “O full speed” all at once…the moment you push the button but the door on the other hand is not on the same page and wants to resist the sudden force and that’s where a lot of the noise is coming from…basically it’s the door jolt resisting the opener while the slow start of the DC machines acts as a softer motivator for the door to start without all the jolt and it does. the same as it stops, so for the first two inches and the last two inches it slows down, greatly reducing the clunk of the entire operation.
DC machines also electronically calibrate the pressure needed to operate a door based on its resistance and weight,
which leaves little room for installer error, in other words, the installer can’t set the machine for the hood of your car or your jack, AC motors are at the mercy of the installer, if you set the force setting too high you crush, if you set it too low the door will bounce on a cold or wet morning as you happily drive to work not knowing that your garage door will be open all day and that new Craftsman toolbox you just bought for your birthday crush is about to sell out it for a fraction of the price it costs. It pays off at the local swap meet…all because she thought she had a belt drive garage door opener at a bargain price! Final Thoughts… AC Motor Belt Drives = Not Good (better with a chain drive) DC Motor Belt Drives = Very good, very quiet, but very door specific. (Only works on a sectional door)
secondary tree (Direct management)
This section is simple because there is literally only one available and that is a Liftmaster #3800, and it will only work on sectional doors. So for those of you looking for a machine that doesn’t mount to the roof like a traditional machine does, the Liftmaster #3800 might be just what you’re looking for, it’s quiet, it has (800 Newtons) or the equivalent of 3/4 hp, and it mounts to either end of the torque tube as long as you have at least 10 inches of lateral clearance, so the idea behind this opener is that if you have a room above the garage, it completely eliminates…the vibration of a typical opener that would it hangs from the ceiling, or if you have a low beam in the garage supporting the second story of your house or have installed a loft or storage shelving where a typical opener would mount, you could still automate your door using this type of machine.
It can also be used in applications where you simply don’t want an opener hanging in the middle of your garage — 9 or 10 foot tall opening that is becoming more common in newer homes. The Liftmaster #3800 has been a very reliable alternative for us since 2004.
Everyone loves choice, but given the fact that when it comes to garage door openers there are really so many options that it also makes it very easy to make the wrong choice for your particular garage door, which could lead to many service calls and repairs down the road, so I hope this can clear some things up for you when it comes to choosing the right machine and you’ll have a lot of “good” ups and downs with the right system.