have never had a problem with any garage door opener. My other house had one in use for 10 yrs or more from a local garage door company. The one in This house has been in use almost 8 yrs from Sears.
Checked or not there is some thing wrong with the door, it's installation or the installation of the openers. Of course it is possible all those openers were defective, but it is also possible they were all hit by lightning. You just have not yet found the problem.
How would a lightning strike cause it to open part way or close part way, and then reverse? How would a lightning strike only cause the problem in cold weather? ALL the openers do the same thing, sense an overload and reverses. Raise the opening and closing force and it works for a short time. Raise the force to max and it still does this! I am ready for a new opener with service support to come and deal with the situation if it arises again. I'll let THEM deal with it. Hence the original question regarding Chamberlain LiftMaster versus the Allstar. Any comments on the question instead your lack of suggestions?
And neither have the pros! Therefore I am ready to get something better than the DIY openers found in the stores and have someone else do the install AND the service.
I was using the lightning strike as an example of how un-likely it is that the units were all bad. Not that they were all actually hit by lightning.
I suggest that replacing openers is not going to help. There is no reason why the ones you have tried be fore would all be bad. It is almost certain that there is something there that you have not replaced that is causing the problem. You would only be putting in a more expensive non-fix.
I'm still using a Genie opener I installed in the early 70's and it's on a door that's a bear to open and close with the opener - one piece door with out enough overhead to really get the opener geometry right. The screw bar bends slightly every time it starts the close cycle but it keeps on working year after year. I've had nothing but good luck with the Genie Brand openers.
I had a problem with a Chamberlain a few years ago. I am trying to remember just what the symptoms were. I think it would only close part way. Maybe only move a few inches and then reverse. I came to the conclusion that it was quite likely the RPM sensor.
Something like this unit:
THey made much better openers back then, with a FULL chain, not the stupid chain and light cable combo in today's openers, even the 3/4hp openers. I had a Genie like yours at another house that was manufactured in the early
80's and it worked fine, just a plain opener without all the fancy junk on today's openers that are causing the problem. I should have kept it!
Okay, then give me some ideas instead of saying to fix it and say noting to look at! I have had several professional door people look at it and THEY find nothing wrong with the setup except to say it is a very heavy door. The only other thing to replace is the whole door!
Since you said it had rollers I will assume it is a roll down sectional door. I just remembered a big slab door in California where I was helping a friend install an opener. The top of the door did not follow a continuous line in the up direction.
That is about half way up it actually went into reverse for a short distance. The door would get almost open and then the bottom would move out away from the garage while the door was moving to a horizontal position. One more or less level it would then move into the garage.
We had to play with the door mechanism for quite a while before we got it to where an opener could handle it.
And you were talking about old time openers. My first one was a Heathkit. The "safety mechanism" was a spring loaded trolley. It the door became stalled it had to push hard enough to pull the door bracket out of the trolley. With a big heavy slab that spring had to be so tight that most anything that got under the door would be crushed before it would release.
The reverse mechanism consisted of two nuts riding on a threaded shaft. The nuts were kept from turning by a metal plate. Between the two nuts was toggle switch. When the door reached one extreme the nut was supposed to flip the toggle switch to reverse the motor.
...
It means going by the numbers again. Something is there. I can't see it but there is something. I can say that it appears the professional(s) you have had out, have missed it, maybe it is time to try someone else.
And how many more others do you suggest I contact before recognizing that a store-bought unit just is not built well enough for my door? I want something that works BEFORE springtime.
Mike Dobony wrote: ...
You certainly free to do as you like and you should follow your own decision not mine. I am only saying that to me, the more logical plan would be to find out what the problem is before trying to solve it by throwing new expensive openers at it when it would appear it is not an opener problem.
Even the cheap openers are not known for the kind of problem you are having when properly installed on a properly functioning door. I really think you are missing something and I hope to save you some money. It might even be something with the power supply, maybe as simple as a floating neutral.
I do wish you the best of luck and I hope that if you replace the opener again, that it works for you.
I have an 18 foot wide, 8 foot high cedar insulated door. It weighs IIRC
800lbs. I have a screw type store bought opener. It has no problem.It would have this mysterious symptom. close almost all the way down, then stop reverse and open. Drove me nuts. turned out it was the stupid rope getting in the way of the sensors. Happened again last week, after not having it happen for more than a year. Rope wasn't in the way[tied a knot in it] Looking looking, checking switches.......there was a tiny leaf, suspended on a spider web on the door, dangling in front of the sensor.
My neighbors door faces a bit more west than mine, and clearer in front of it. wouldn't work in the afternoon. The sun glitched the sensors.
duct tape the sensors together and try the door.
Wasn't it sherlock holmes? When you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the answer.
"yourname"> wrote
Heh, reminds me of a little thing I encountered with my 16'x7' Wayne Dalton. The door would open fine, but would not close with the vehicle remote or wall switch, at exactly 7:15 in the morning. Hmmm.....took me a little while to figure it out. Turns out the rising sun in the east (my house faces north) would shine right into the lens of the sensor. A 2" piece of garden hose slipped over the sensor stopped that issue. BTW: This would only happen at a certain time of the year when the sun was at just the right angle.
Problem is all day and all night when it happens. Door is facing north. Checked the sensors first and they are clear and the indicator light is on. It only does this in cold weather. It does it no matter what the opener is. When the opener is brand new it doesn't happen often. Next season it happens to the point it is impossible for the opener to open or close the door EVER. I end up having ot disconnect the opener and open and close by hand. I am getting a NEW commercial grade opener from someone who will do the servicing. I am tired of spending 15 winters with this problem and having various garage door companies telling me the same exact thing, the door is fine.
My small, light, metal door opens/closes fine by hand, but binds when the opener closes it. The top panel of the door has just enough deflection to cause the mechanism to bind.
Perhaps trying to manually open/close the door while only touching the door where the opener touches the door will reveal some binding that does not occur when force is put on the door in a different place.
In networking, this is the "be the packet" approach, so here I guess its the "be the opener" approach.
Dave
Just curious as to exactly what happens. Does the door try to open? Does it open part way and then reverse?
I too think those tape units are cheap. For a heavy door I would want a screw drive. I presently use a Chamberlain chain drive but it is a very light weight door.
I lean a bit towards Genie products over Chamberlain.
Ok, what would cause a floating neitral only in cold weather? I have had several professionals out to check the door and the onliy comment they ever make is that it is a heavy door. The door operates smoothly and stays open at the 4-5 foot mark, as directed by all the recommendations. Fresh lubrication improves the situation, but only for a few days and only on a few openings. I have tried several types of lubricants, motor oil, gear lube, several spray lubes, etc. Each time I use brake cleaner to clean off the old oil and dirt. The only other option I have is to have a new, lighter door installed. The opener is much cheaper and the installer can deal with any problems. I have already spend several hundred $$$$$ on openers. The existing door already has the largest spring available for residential doors. The
If it doesn't it will be the installer's problem this time.
I have been following this thread, wondering like everyone else on what is really causing your problem. While I will agree w/ you that the professional openers are built better/stronger as in more durable then some DYI openers I would have to agree that a new opener is not going to solve the problem.
Issues that I can see:
You've had a number of professionals out that can't figure out the problem but you are going to have one of them put in a new opener so it will now be their problem. If they can't figure out the problem now, how are they going to figure it out after you have bought & paid for a new opener? (I don't believe a new opener will solve your problem no matter what one you buy as many others have stated.) Also most installers only give a one year guarantee on labor so after one year it will once again be your problem, will it not?
You said everyone comments on how heavy the door is, but then you say it works smooth & stays open at 4-5 feet. To me this sounds like a contradiction. If the door is balanced properly it should not be heavy off of the floor & the door should pretty much stay at any point you let go of the door (slight drifting is normal) including 2 feet off of the floor. If it drops like a rock from 2 feet the door isn't balanced properly. If the door isn't heavy off of the floor why does everyone comment on how heavy the door is?
You stated that the existing door already has the largest spring available for residential doors. Where did this statement come from because it makes no sense at all to me? The size of the spring is determined by the size of the drums, the weight of the door, the height of the door, & how much room is available on the shaft. So whether the door is a residential door or a commercial door makes no difference & the goal is not to have the largest springs but to have ones that are properly balanced for the weight.
I am totally guessing & going out on a limb, but I would guess that your door feels like a ton of bricks as it comes off of the floor & it is this excessive weight that has been causing your problems & will continue to do so until the door is balanced properly.
Doordoc
I wonder how balanced it is throughout the entire movement range? Hard to tell from here. I might ask if you have only use the el-cheep-o ¼ HP openers? You can get more powerful consumer grade openers. How much does that door weigh? Why is it so heavy?
I suspect that the problem may be alignment of the opener and the door. But it is difficult to tell from here.
.... I seem to remember something . You mentioned you had used an IDrive unit. Have all the failed units been IDrive units? If so I would suggest that it might be something with that specific model or design and your heavy door. Do they specify a max door weight? Is your door under that weight. Remember that in many areas wood doors are heavier in the winter do to picking up moisture.
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