Garage Door Opener Recomendations?

Angus

Angus

AspiringProductSpecialist
Woke up this morning to find one of my garage doors wide open and the Genie door opener kaput. I'm guessing last night's thunder storms played a role in it's demise.

My questions are:
a) has anyone else had their door opener decide to open up on it's own and then die?
b) brands & models you'd recommend/avoid?
​
I'm leaning towards another Genie since I believe it will be an easier job to replace it using the same brand.

Thanks for your feedback!!
 

I have replaced 2 or 3.

I agree and lean towards Genie / Wanye Dalton. (The mgft plant is local to me and they make a few different brands. WD makes Genie.) Personal preference for me is to convert to Direct Drive (Screw drive) as is it quieter and safer IMO. You don't have a chain that can snap and less stress on the springs as well. I have had 2 different springs snap. But if you are just replacing the motor just get the best one you can with the most options you want.
 
Angus -
Sorry this had to happen to you..

Are you sure the opener is dead ? Does it have a Reset Button anywhere on the unit?
Did you take off the plastic cover/s and look?

What did the instruction manual say about a Reset Button ?

Dan F
 
TroyScherer said:

I have replaced 2 or 3.

I agree and lean towards Genie / Wanye Dalton. (The mgft plant is local to me and they make a few different brands. WD makes Genie.) Personal preference for me is to convert to Direct Drive (Screw drive) as is it quieter and safer IMO. You don't have a chain that can snap and less stress on the springs as well. I have had 2 different springs snap. But if you are just replacing the motor just get the best one you can with the most options you want.
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Thanks for the input, Troy. I didn't know WD made Genie. Unfortunately if it is dead, i don't think it's going to be as simple as replacing the motor - the unit is quite old and appears out of production.

Good points on the screw drives vs chain. Genie's PowerMax 1200 gets fairly good reviews and is only slightly more $ then the belt driven one I was just looking at.

Stokdgs said:
Angus -
Sorry this had to happen to you..

Are you sure the opener is dead ? Does it have a Reset Button anywhere on the unit?
Did you take off the plastic cover/s and look?

What did the instruction manual say about a Reset Button ?

Dan F
Click to expand...

Thanks, Dan. I'm not 100% sure it's dead yet, and will look for a reset button tonight. I'll also play around with the opener button itself to see if maybe thats the culprit. Gotta say finding a wide open garage this morning on my way out to work was slightly alarming. Thankfully I live in safe area!
 
Used all the popular styles, including a jack shaft style on an inclined door. It follows a vaulted ceiling and the drive is mounted on the wall. I own 3 Lift Master's at the present time. They've been trouble free for 8 years now. For a regular door, belt drive is something that you won't be disappointed owning, can't fault a screw drive either but usually a bit more cost. I wouldn't buy a standard chain drive again. Too dirty and noisy. Most of these drives are quite similar, if you have to replace the motor and the track don't be too concerned about staying with the same brand.
 
GearHead_1 said:
Used all the popular styles, including a jack shaft style on an inclined door. It follows a vaulted ceiling and the drive is mounted on the wall. I own 3 Lift Master's at the present time. They've been trouble free for 8 years now. For a regular door, belt drive is something that you won't be disappointed owning, can't fault a screw drive either but usually a bit more cost. I wouldn't buy a standard chain drive again. Too dirty and noisy. Most of these drives are quite similar, if you have to replace the motor and the track don't be too concerned about staying with the same brand.
Click to expand...

Cool, thanks GearHead.
 
Could be a sensor is out also which are usually located on the lower part of the garage door track. I've seen this happen before and it won't let you close the door. However, you should still see the light come on and usually flash when a sensor is bad.

I usually lean towards craftsman. I have a screw drive on my main door. Quiet and no chain to worry about. Not overpriced either. Most openers have the same mounting specs (in my experience) so changing brands shouldn't be that big of an issue from an install standpoint.
 
wdmaccord said:
Could be a sensor is out also which are usually located on the lower part of the garage door track. I've seen this happen before and it won't let you close the door. However, you should still see the light come on and usually flash when a sensor is bad.

I usually lean towards craftsman. I have a screw drive on my main door. Quiet and no chain to worry about. Not overpriced either. Most openers have the same mounting specs (in my experience) so changing brands shouldn't be that big of an issue from an install standpoint.
Click to expand...

I could be mistaken, but I do believe the senors were working this morning and showing steady red/green indicator lights. And yeah, the light on the door open should have still turned on even if there was an object breaking the sensors path. Which didn't happen and is leading me to believe the unit is dead...

You and Troy have peaked my interest in a new screw drive model. If after all of my testing tonight the opener is truly kaput I'll probably go in the direct drive option.
 
Stokdgs said:
Angus -
If you are really wanting to get an absolutely quiet, fast, opener, then you might want to look at this one - Marantec America Garage Door Openers and Accessories

My sister has 3 of these in her house and (yes, a really big man-garage), and you never hear them or feel them opening or closing...

Good luck with this -
Dan F
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Thanks, Dan!

Never heard of Marantec before. After watching the video - wow those are very nice - I want one!!
 
Angus said:
I could be mistaken, but I do believe the senors were working this morning and showing steady red/green indicator lights. And yeah, the light on the door open should have still turned on even if there was an object breaking the sensors path. Which didn't happen and is leading me to believe the unit is dead...

You and Troy have peaked my interest in a new screw drive model. If after all of my testing tonight the opener is truly kaput I'll probably go in the direct drive option.
Click to expand...

check the wiring to the opener unit also. As well as the breaker box. Sorry, I realize these are pretty obvious...don't take as insulting your intelligence. :inspector: Oh, and a GFI could be tripped as well.
 
I have a Genie and once in a while it just goes dead. I have to disconnect the breaker and let it some charge drain down and then it starts to work.

I also have a wireless headset that does that same thing after some power interruptions. There may be a crowbar circuit that latches and you have to remove power to let the caps discharge.
 
Belt drives isolate noise and vibration. Plastic wheels make doors quiet but they don't stand the test of time.
 
Bunky said:
I have a Genie and once in a while it just goes dead. I have to disconnect the breaker and let it some charge drain down and then it starts to work.

I also have a wireless headset that does that same thing after some power interruptions. There may be a crowbar circuit that latches and you have to remove power to let the caps discharge.
Click to expand...

Dude!!! That's all it was!!!! After trying everything I could think of/ was suggest, I followed Bunky's advice and unplugged the garage door opener, waited 5 minutes, plugged it back in and boom! Back in business!! Thank you, BUNKY!!
 
Just always remember to pull in the garage - not the living room and you'll be all good.

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Angus said:
Dude!!! That's all it was!!!! After trying everything I could think of/ was suggest, I followed Bunky's advice and unplugged the garage door opener, waited 5 minutes, plugged it back in and boom! Back in business!! Thank you, BUNKY!!
Click to expand...

Glad to help.
 
Just for future reference if/when the unit goes bad for real...
The best overall units are made by Liftmaster. Liftmaster is the "professional" line of the main company Chamberlain (which can be bought at some home-improvement stores). The low-level of this same brand is Craftsman. Chamberlain and Craftsman branded units are considered "retail" units. They are packaged with a 3-piece rail to fit into the retail-box and into the trunk of your car. Liftmaster uses a 1-piece, solid rail. A solid rail with no splices is much sturdier and less prone to failure from flexing. Go to LiftMaster to see everything they have to offer. They are also about the most advanced units today.

Genie is made by Overhead Door. Genie and Overhead branded units are both available in "retail" and "professional" version with the rail differences as mentioned above. Genie makes a good, and popular opener, but they are not built quite as well as the Liftmaster (and some people will certainly disagree with me).

Marantec is a foreign based company and they do make a very nice unit. Their units are known to be hard to program, they operate much slower that the others, but they are very smooth and quite. I`ve had customer have new Marantec units removed to install one of the above units because the Marantec moved so slowly that they didn`t like it. It`s just something to get used to.

Wayne-Dalton branded openers are complete junk...plain and simply. We have a failure rate of more than 50% and do everything we can to talk people out of buying one. But some people want what they want.

There are a few other brands, but since they aren`t mentioned (and they are no better), there`s no reason to mention them.

Final consideration is that many brands sell units with AC motors or DC motors. They sell chain drive, belt drive, screw drive, and direct-shaft drive.
The overall most-popular and well liked unites are the DC MOTOR, BELT DRIVEN units. Worry free, smooth, and very quite. As easy (or hard) to install as any other type of opener. Of course there`s tons of other options and setups, but any DC, belt drive will serve you very, very well.

Just my 0.02 from being in the door/opener industry for many years.
 
Thanks! Good to know. Is there a DC Motor - belt driven - Chamberlain model you like/ recommend? I`ll probably need to replace the garage door opener sooner then later.
 
GearHead_1 said:
I own 3 Lift Master`s at the present time. They`ve been trouble free for 8 years now. For a regular door, belt drive is something that you won`t be disappointed owning, can`t fault a screw drive either but usually a bit more cost.
Click to expand...

Another vote for the LiftMaster Belt Drive opener. I also have the nylon rollers and both units have been trouble free for 12+ years running.
 
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