Garage door opener question

[Jack S]

I've got an Overhead (brand) door opener that has failed after 4 years of light use.

Any opinions on the best and most durable brand(s) of garage door opener?

Thanks

[John H]

I just had my spring replaced and the guy told me that LiftMaster brand are the best. They are supposed to be very quiet.

[Joseph Meehan]

What failed? Most any brand should have lasted longer than that. I would suggest you either had a defective unit or the install was defective.

[Jack S]

Some weeks ago, it started reversing before completely opening or closing. A few tries were needed to get it to function right. I made sure the door was balanced and lubed everything, to no effect.

Then it quit working - the motor would run, but no door rail movement.

I opened things up and found the main screw drive housing was broken and kept the drive gears from engaging right.

I bought a new housing and installed it, and it worked., for a couple weeks.

Now it's f***ed again and I'm not going to pay $80/hr to have the Overhead maintenance guy come out and mess with it.

Unless somebody can diagnose it from this info, I think I'll either install, or have instaled, a new set up. I'm not inclined to just buy another Overhead motor drive and set it in, having seen how flimsy their drive housing is.

[Smarty]

I posted a similar question just a day or two ago here, and quite a few replies took place with excellent info. You might want to look at that also Jack. The subject line is:

"Best" garage door opener?

Smarty

[professorpaul]

I had a couple of Sears units that as far as I know, are still in use after 15 years. I have a Genie screw drive type now in a new home. The Sears units were chain drive. The screw drive is MUCH more quiet, and I don't have to deal with chain wear/tension issues. Just grease it up good once a year, and that is all that is necessary.

My son got about 10 years out of a Genie chain drive, then replaced it with a screw drive model a year or so ago.

I think a lot depends on just how much use they get, single versus double door, etc., etc. Figure a morning's work to replace one, and price less than $250 usually, so 10 years would be more than sufficient, IMHO.

[peter]

Garage door openers have safety mechanism that reverses direction when it senses resistance.

Perhaps this is a clue that something is binding?

I assume you are able to opena and close the door manually with little effort and with no binding?

Try running the opener with the door disengaged and see if there is any noticeable kinks in the movement.

Even if it passes both test, there could still be something binding when the door and the opener are linked. Perhaps next time you see this problem try to "help" the door by hand as it opens/closes and see if it reduces the reversal. You may also sense a kink in the door as it opens/closes. Unfortunately, to do this test you have to repair the broken part again.

Could the part be broken due to excessive opening/closing force? If so, it reinforces the clue that something is binding.

[Steve B]

With mine, at certain times of the year, the early morning sun shines on one of the sensors, causing it to reverse itself. You have to go outside the garage door and stand so that your shadow blocks the sun from the sensor.

The thing about drove me crazy before I figured it out.

Steve

[Jack S]

No, the door is fine, and the malfunction occurs with the door disconnected from the "runner".

It might be the logic board, which means the whole thing is shot.

[Steve Barker]

you need(ed) to reverse the two sensors. I don't remember which is which, but one color or the other is not supposed to be in the sun if possible. That's another reason they work great mounted on the ceiling above the unit a foot apart.

[Dave Martindale]

Though that placement doesn't do a very good job of detecting objects blocking the doorway, which is the whole point of having those sensors.

Dave

[Steve Barker]

Ya, but I can push the button and walk out the doors without having to perform a gymnast act to do it.

[Steve B]

Can you explain that? I do not see the reasoning of putting them on the ceiling if they can't sense something blocking the door opening.

Steve

[trader4]

His reasoning, which I don't agree with, is to defeat the safety sensor and render it useless by putting it in that location. On my Sears unit, not only does it function as a safety, but it also turns the lights in the opener on when you break the beam by walking by. Which is nice if you have the garage door open and walk in from the outside at night.

[Steve Barker]

One of our rental houses has that feature. I must admit, it is handy.

[Jack S]

That feature was designed to avoid injuring children by the door lowering on them. Disabling it could set the owner up for a law suit.

[Rich]

Some people just won't learn until the $#!+ hits the fan.

Rich

[mm]

Either that or reverse the sun.

It's good at detecting bats.