Garage door openers

Hey guys whats a good one?

The Genie, Chamberlain or Sears Craftsman?

Last year when I almost got one I had a conversation with a fella and I think he said the Genie wasn't very good, He did say one of them wasn't very good but I think it was the Genie.

anyway I got two doors at 9 x 7 One for the wife side and one for the Me side :lol:

I obviously looked at the 1/2 horse power(cheaper) and is it just as good.

those that have one any gadgets I should get if any? I have never had one :?

Last I knew Craftsman were chain-drive, I believe the Genies are worm. I'd prefer a worm over chain. Compare HP, warranty, and cost & go from there.

ST

SlimeTime said:

Last I knew Craftsman were chain-drive, I believe the Genies are worm. I'd prefer a worm over chain. Compare HP, warranty, and cost & go from there.

ST

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Whats a Worm drive? That something like a belt or a rod drive?

After this why do you like them better? stronger? Less maintenance?

I'm serious-I have no clue on comparing here, never owned one-just used old fashion elbow grease

My house came with one. Not sure of the brand...What I don't like is that it has no safety closure feature. If something blocks the garage door it tries to stay there instead of sensing a blockage and re-opening.

Learned this info from an installer after my purchase--- Craftsman is manufactured by Chamberlin. He suggested that in the future ( I needed additional openers) to buy the Craftsman, more bang for the buck as far as features. Same durability. Most residential doors,unless unusually heavy, only require a chain or belt drive. The belt drive is much more quiet during operation but of course the chain is much more durable. By the way he too said forget the Genie.

paulk said:

Learned this info from an installer after my purchase--- Craftsman is manufactured by Chamberlin. He suggested that in the future ( I needed additional openers) to buy the Craftsman, more bang for the buck as far as features. Same durability. Most residential doors,unless unusually heavy, only require a chain or belt drive. The belt drive is much more quiet during operation but of course the chain is much more durable. By the way he too said forget the Genie.

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Hmm, One thing I didn't know on a belt and or chain drive. Craftsman's are good as for what they make, I still got a Craftsman chainsaw I bought back in 1996 with an 18" bar-been using it this last month since the storm, and it had been not used for the last two years-purrs like a kitten 8)

as for the horse power I guess a 1/2 horse should be fine for a thin ol steel door?

Thanks paulk

paulk said:

Learned this info from an installer after my purchase--- Craftsman is manufactured by Chamberlin. He suggested that in the future ( I needed additional openers) to buy the Craftsman, more bang for the buck as far as features. Same durability. Most residential doors,unless unusually heavy, only require a chain or belt drive. The belt drive is much more quiet during operation but of course the chain is much more durable. By the way he too said forget the Genie.

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You beat me to it. The Craftsman that I replaced this year (14 yrs old) was virtually identical to the one that replaced it.. a Chamberlain from Lowe's.

I put up a 1/2hp for a 2 car garage door as that is what was installed previously. No problems raising or closing the door. By the time it was said and done, I would have been better off buying the 3/4 hp purely from a cost standpoint. I need 3 remotes and the 1/2 hp only came with one. By the time I bought 2 more remotes, I could have been out less money for the 3/4hp (came with 2) and one extra. I didn't think about that until after I went back to buy extra remotes and already had the opener installed. #-o

FishingBuds said:

Whats a Worm drive? That something like a belt or a rod drive?

After this why do you like them better? stronger? Less maintenance?

I'm serious-I have no clue on comparing here, never owned one-just used old fashion elbow grease

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Worm drive is basically a long "screw" which turns to drive the door up & down as opposed to a chain & sprockets.

As a rule, they're quieter & used more in commercial applications (unless it's a roller door).

For your situation (smaller doors), you're probably looking at $125-150 per opener (you could get by fine with 1/4 or 1/3 HP), so it's not going to matter much, if you get 10 years form one, you couldn't complain. You'd have gotten your moneys worth.

ST

Since you have 2 separate doors, the 1/2 hp will be enough. If you can get the screw drive, that's a better buy. You don't have to worry about the chain breaking...

I just installed 2 Chamberlain brand Whisperdrive's I got at Costco for $139 each. I have 2- 9x7 doors and it's now been almost a year since I put them in and have had no problems.

The 3/4hp are really for a double door

almost forgot... Home Depot carries Genie brand and they are pretty good too. A lot of time you can find them having them marked down.

Don't go lower than a 1/2 hp... The hp has a lot to do with how long it takes to raise and lower your door. The lower the hp, the more time it takes. I just timed mine and it takes 10sec to raise, 10 sec to lower with 1/2hp.

What horsepower garage door opener do I need with my door?


Generally a 1/4 horsepower opener is sufficient for any single car door and a 1/3 or 1/2 horsepower opener for heavier double car door. Every Holmes door includes an additional reinforcement bracket that must be added to the top section to distribute the stress applied to the section by the automatic garage door opener.


https://www.holmesgaragedoor.com/faq_choose.htm


lol...you can always go get a 500 cu in engine put in your car too.... :wink:

ST

well, i've put a 350 chevy engine in a 4x4 suzuki side kick, lifted it 12" suspension and 3" body, and put 35" swampers on it

ran better than the 4cyl that came in it.... and it's lasted longer too :lol:

I have 2 garage doors (9'x7' metal) but only one has an opener. We went with the 1/2hp Genie screw-drive and have had no mechanical problems in two years. The only problem I had was that the door buckled (bent) at the top where the bracket attaches. From what I understand, that is sometimes a common problem with the metal doors. Ended-up having a piece of perforated angle across the entire top for re-inforcement by a garage door company when I needed some adjustments done. If I ever get an opener for the other door, I'll install the angle across the top as the first step.

Thanks guys, they will be the cheap thin doors, so I'll look into all the pros & cons from ya all, even the re-forced one there WW

FishingBuds said:

Thanks guys, they will be the cheap thin doors, so I'll look into all the pros & cons from ya all, even the re-forced one there WW

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Go ahead and plan on it :wink: . It'll save you some work later.

Might be a little pricey for those with two doors, but these are hands down the best operators I have ever used. I've got one and it's going with me when we sell this house. I'll switch it out with a Genie or Craftsman before we hit the market. :mrgreen:

They use DC motors, and chain drive. You'd be surprised how little noise a chain drive will make with a DC motor. Mine still amazes me. Good stuff!

https://www.marantecamerica.com/customers/

I installed a Craftsman 1/2 HP opener (chain drive) for my wife so she wouldn't have to lift the old, heavy, wooden garage door on our house back in 1988. I've greased it once over the last 20 years and it still works just fine.

The Crafstman opener at the old house stripped a gear. The unit was frm the 80's. I went online and ordered a new gear kit and fixed it myself. That is the coolthing about Craftsman, you can almost always get replacement parts.

A lot of time the noise a door makes when opening has nothing to do with whether it is AC or DC or chain or worm drive. The door itself makes most of the noise. A door that has the springs properly balanced and adjusted can be controlled with a 1/2 HP unit pretty much regardless of actual door weight. Clean lubrication helps the door move up and down more easily and more quietly too. Which reminds me I need to go to my mother's and clean her rails and regrease the rollers before it gets too cold.

Well i picked up two 1/2 horse Chamberlain's, I haven't installed them yet.

I did install two Colan garage doors and an entry door also. between the garage project and cutting the firewood and taking my son bow hunting on the weekends I haven't had much time to browse the TinBoat site, should slow down after Thanksgiving :shock: :lol:

Thanks for the tips guys and WW I reinforced :wink:

Thanks for the tips guys and WW I reinforced

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Good to hear! . IT'll save you some heartache and money in the long run.