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quote:
Originally posted by Ronin1069:
Morning Para,

Ours died a few months ago. I had this installed:

Chamberlain 1.25 Whisper Drive Belt Drive Garage Door Opener with Built-In WiFi Battery Back-Up

Most noticeable differences are how quiet this is (best fed vs. chain) and that the door slows just before closing so that it touches the ground vs. crashing into it.

Door and install were under $500. When I did my research I found my installers will offer a special if you buy the opener from them. A few thoughts...

Literally everyone I have spoken to about this says don't use anything but Chamberlin.

The installers may recommend that you replace the guides that your door goes up/down on and possibly both springs. If you've not replaced them in 20 years, you might as well do that now too. They will fail eventually, and you can probably negotiate a good price if you let them do 'everything'.

Whichever installer you choose, consider taking a look at their ratings on Yelp.

Good luck!


I have one of these that's about 2 years old. A year ago the circuit board went bad and they sent it to me free of charge and walked me through diagnosing and replacing it. It's a good opening and quiet. If the garage door has never been serviced do yourself a huge favor and have the door installer change your springs, cables, and rollers and use the nylon rollers if it's attached to the house. Garage doors seem to be the most neglected part on any house.
 
Posts: 21335 | Registered: June 12, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Para,

I installed a Liftmaster 8550W about 9 months ago and it is one of the best purchases I've made. It is whisper quiet, closes itself if I forget to close it, battery backup, wifi control, etc.

A bit spendy but worth it after using it for awhile.


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Posts: 4986 | Location: Phoenix, AZ | Registered: September 23, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Thanks for all the recommendations. Beyond being quieter, is there any advantage to belt drive over chain drive? I spoke to someone locally who said they felt that belt drive doesn't last as long.

Quiet, I don't really care about with this. Durability, I care about.


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Posts: 107260 | Registered: January 20, 2000Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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While getting one installed it would be a good time to replace coiled door springs if not already included. They minimize wear on the opener and when one breaks, it's a pain.

I have a basic chain Liftmaster. Parts are readily available when they break. I've only had to replace a plastic gear on top so far.
 
Posts: 17871 | Location: SE Michigan | Registered: February 10, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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quote:
Originally posted by parabellum:
Thanks for all the recommendations. Beyond being quieter, is there any advantage to belt drive over chain drive? I spoke to someone locally who said they felt that belt drive doesn't last as long.

Quiet, I don't really care about with this. Durability, I care about.


If you keep up with the tension on the chain they can be just about as quiet as a belt. Chamberlain or Liftmaster all day long.
I work for a regional big box as a Department Manger in Millwork. All of our doors are Liftmaster and all my local contractors use the Chamberlains or order in liftmasters.


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Posts: 1355 | Location: Bemidji, MN | Registered: March 06, 2010Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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quote:
Originally posted by parabellum:
Thanks for all the recommendations. Beyond being quieter, is there any advantage to belt drive over chain drive? I spoke to someone locally who said they felt that belt drive doesn't last as long.

Quiet, I don't really care about with this. Durability, I care about.


I've had my belt drive Chamberlain for 14 years - no issues with it at all.
 
Posts: 1799 | Location: MN | Registered: March 29, 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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I had one that was closer to 30 years old. It was so old it wasn't compatible with the current crop of remotes, '96 onward. The double door was a mess. One of the steel panels was cracked at a attachment point and the rails, pulleys and wires were just about done. I replaced all of it installed for $1300. They used a Liftmaster belt drive that's very quite and nice. The original was a Liftmeaster. As said shop for Liftmaster, they're about as good as it gets.


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Posts: 4306 | Location: DFW | Registered: May 21, 2012Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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I just had a Guardian opener installed a few months ago, but so far, so good. My garage door needed new springs, cable, and rollers, as it was over 25 years old. Now, I have a basically new system that works 100%.
 
Posts: 6601 | Location: Az | Registered: May 27, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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who sells liftmaster?

HK Ag
 
Posts: 3496 | Location: Tomball, Texas | Registered: August 09, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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quote:
Originally posted by doublesharp:
Chamberlain/Liftmaster is the Waste Kang of the industry and the price starts at about $150 for a basic chain drive. If your garage is attached to your house a belt drive is quieter. The independent company I use charges $100 to replace an opener and a little more if it's a new install. If you call Overhead Door Co it will be about $350 so by hustling around you can save maybe $100.


Great Advice. I usually replace my own if it is just a simple switch out. Chamberlain is a very good brand. Menards carries them.

When I had one put on my pole barn I had a guy come out who does it on the side. He told me to buy the door opener I wanted at Menards and he put it up for $70. That door had to have an extension.
When You just switch them out, it is a pretty easy job. If you lived close enough I would help do it.


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Posts: 2794 | Location: Ohio | Registered: December 18, 2014Reply With QuoteReport This Post
W07VH5
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quote:
Originally posted by HK Ag:
who sells liftmaster?
I bought mine on Amazon.

I got the jackshaft lift. Liftmaster 8500. It frees up the space above the garage door. Because it attaches to the side. I'm very pleased with it.

Sorry, I can't speak to the price installed because I installed it myself.
 
Posts: 45331 | Location: Pennsyltucky | Registered: December 05, 2001Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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quote:
Originally posted by parabellum:
Durability, I care about.


A local garage door installer I trust told me adding a surge protector to the outlet that powers the opener will extend the life of the circuit boards. I bought this one:

https://www.amazon.com/Chamber...+garage+door+openers

Our belt drive has been great, and lasted longer than the springs on the door.
 
Posts: 6273 | Registered: March 24, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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The belt is easier on the motor as it absorbs some of the shock as the door is going up or down. Chamberlain offers a lifetime warranty on the belt. I think liftmaster is owned by chamberlain and one is the professional brand (liftmaster) and chamberlain sold through retail stores.
 
Posts: 21335 | Registered: June 12, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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quote:
Originally posted by maladat:
quote:
Originally posted by P250UA5:
We have Marantec in our house (3 units).
They're not as fast as some others I've seen/used, but they are amazingly quiet.

The unit (don't recall brand) we had in our previous house was right below our daughters' rooms & had a lot of noise/vibration.

A quick Google shows the unit on one of our doors (single car width) at just sub-$400.


When we moved into our current house, it came with a Marantec.

I agree they're super quiet.

They're also super adjustable for things like opening speed, how high the door opens, how close to closed the door gets before it slows down, how much it slows down right before it closes, etc.

There are several downsides:

1. It is a huge pain in the ass to adjust all that stuff (of course, you only have to do it once).

2. Marantec uses their own system to secure the remote-to-opener connection (e.g., with the old flip-tiny-switches method, someone could sit down the street in a car and record the signal from your remote and then copy it and open your garage door).

I have no idea how secure the system actually is (they, of course, claim it's better than everyone else's), but it means you have to use expensive Marantec remotes rather than cheap generic ones. Some of the built-in remote systems in some cars also are not compatible (like in my 2011 GMC Yukon XL).

It also is a pain to program the remotes. With other systems you can just get a new remote and link it to the opener. With Marantec, you have to connect the new remote to an existing one with a tiny jumper pin block and push buttons in a specific order to copy the settings from the existing remote to the new one.

If a remote goes missing somewhere and you want to reset the opener's list of remotes that will open it, you have to, first, reset one remote to a fresh random setting, link that one remote with the opener, and then copy that one remote, individually, to all the other remotes.

I was going to suggest this too, and see others have. House we just moved into has these (about 5 years old) and they are far quieter than anything I'd ever heard of. Interesting that you can supposedly adjust for speed, I'll have to look at that, it's my only complaint.
Marantec residential



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Posts: 12350 | Location: Madison, MS | Registered: December 10, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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I'm reading some issues with the MyQ controller. Failure is one thing but it sounds like it opens the door upon failure with is doubly bad.

Anyone know the scoop on this? Resolved? Or still an issue? MyQ like this is a deal killer for me.




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Posts: 12683 | Location: In the gilded cage | Registered: December 09, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Originally posted by caglio:
I have a Sommer. It's pretty quiet. The chain in the rail is fixed. The motor/arm attaches to the door and the gear rides the chain.
It's a little slow up/down, but that doesn't bother me.


I've installed three Sommers so I'm suggesting that I count as three thumbs up for the brand.

Easily one of the most satisfying purchases I've made as a homeowner. Great design, only one moving part and so quiet the dogs won't know you've come home until you step into the house proper.


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Posts: 1589 | Location: Stamford, CT | Registered: July 14, 2010Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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quote:
Originally posted by konata88:
I'm reading some issues with the MyQ controller. Failure is one thing but it sounds like it opens the door upon failure with is doubly bad.

Anyone know the scoop on this? Resolved? Or still an issue? MyQ like this is a deal killer for me.


I'd not heard this, and had the MyQ for a year on prior two doors. Haven't installed in new location, but planned to.

Any cites for this??



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Posts: 12350 | Location: Madison, MS | Registered: December 10, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by parabellum:
Thanks for all the recommendations. Beyond being quieter, is there any advantage to belt drive over chain drive? I spoke to someone locally who said they felt that belt drive doesn't last as long.

Quiet, I don't really care about with this. Durability, I care about.


I've replaced a few garage door openers. Some belt some chain. It was always the motor or control board that went bad and all were at least 10 years old. Never seen the belt or chain on one go bad.

I talked to some people that think the belt is not as strong as a chain. It may not be but I've never seen the problem related to the belt itself.


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Posts: 16378 | Registered: March 27, 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by Georgeair:
quote:
Originally posted by konata88:
I'm reading some issues with the MyQ controller. Failure is one thing but it sounds like it opens the door upon failure with is doubly bad.

Anyone know the scoop on this? Resolved? Or still an issue? MyQ like this is a deal killer for me.


I'd not heard this, and had the MyQ for a year on prior two doors. Haven't installed in new location, but planned to.

Any cites for this??


The user reviews on the product webpage....

https://www.liftmaster.com/for...te-series/model-8500

For example:

Only 3 stars due to garage door automatically opening and remaining open after the MyQ controller fails. Should deduct another star for banging me in the head.


More.....?

https://myqcommunity.liftmaste...being-pushed-to-open

https://myqcommunity.chamberla...or-opening-by-itself




"Wrong does not cease to be wrong because the majority share in it." L.Tolstoy
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Posts: 12683 | Location: In the gilded cage | Registered: December 09, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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quote:
Originally posted by mttaylor1066:
quote:
Originally posted by caglio:
I have a Sommer. It's pretty quiet. The chain in the rail is fixed. The motor/arm attaches to the door and the gear rides the chain.
It's a little slow up/down, but that doesn't bother me.


I've installed three Sommers so I'm suggesting that I count as three thumbs up for the brand.

Easily one of the most satisfying purchases I've made as a homeowner. Great design, only one moving part and so quiet the dogs won't know you've come home until you step into the house proper.


I don't understand the basis of the reliability.


Extremely durable and long lasting due to only one moving part.
The motor of the garage door opener is located at the door instead of the back of the garage door opener, maximizing power and minimizing wear and tear.


I've been looking at the Sommer as well but not sure I understand the value proposition.

Compared to a typical garage door opening (belt or chain), how many more moving parts are there? The motor/gear and the chain. So, in the Sommer, it's just the 'gear/motor' as the chain is stationary. Is this material?

Is there really any inherent, practical difference in function, reliability, wear/life with this design vs the typical belt/chain design? And how does the Sommer design 'maximize power' -- is this all just marketing is there an inherent design benefit?

I was leaning toward Chamberlain/Liftmaster and may still opt for them if I can find a non-MyQ model. I'm getting a little averse to MyQ in the absence of any response from the company to these issues. (ie - have the determined the cause and implemented a fix).




"Wrong does not cease to be wrong because the majority share in it." L.Tolstoy
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Posts: 12683 | Location: In the gilded cage | Registered: December 09, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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