I have a 2-car garage with a single 16' x 7' overhead door. It's a heavy door. The opener is a Genie Pro 98, about 14 years old, with a screw drive. Very noisy. Sounds like it's on its last leg, and lately I find that the door occasionally opens by itself.
I need to have my entire opener assembly replaced. A LiftMaster belt drive was suggested, but I'm not sure what to get. The LiftMaster web site state that their chain drive is the most popular. I would appreciate any suggestions as to make and type of opener to get. I'm very big on quality and security. Thanks in advance.
I just replaced a chain drive with a belt drive from Home Depot about
3 months ago, and it's whisper quite. Couldn't be happier. The newer openers have some cool features, like a motion sensor light. Mine also has the temp and time on the control, and came with a remote opener that can be programmed with a code, so you could open your garage from the outside.
I thought (I could be wrong) that the screw drive's claim to fame was its lifting power. If you have a heavy door, make sure that a chain or belt drive opener can lift as much as the Genie you are replacing.
Any puny little opener can open any hugh assed door if the door is balanced like it should be anyway. It shouldn't take more than two fingers to lift any overhead garage door, regardless of size.
The Craftsman 1/2 hp belt drive is on closeout sale right now at $180, and you get $10 off with the Craftsman Club, so $170. I bought mine this past weekend, & replaced an ancient Craftsman 1/3 hp unit.
The belt drive is as quiet as advertised, and there are many more features for creature convenience & security. Very handy stuff, well thought-out.
People will tell you that the belts are very expensive. They are, if you buy them from the maker or Sears -- about seventy bucks. Maybe a little less. BUT they're all over ebay for about $15 - $20 shipped, OEM, and that's IF you're nervous about the belt's longevity. I'm not.
These openers STILL use the nylon worm/driven gear sets, and they will require lubrication probably every year or so, or they eat themselves. I disassembled my brand new unit to apply lithium grease to the gears, before I even installed it. Otherwise they're good units. Occasional hard luck story -- usually electronic -- but generally durable.
The instructions that come with the Sears unit are admirably clear & easy to follow, if you feel like saving yourself the cost of installation labor.
What's most important is the balance of your garage door. If it's difficult to open manually, it needs attention.
I like our Wayne-Dalton iDrive for torsion springs that we bought a couple years ago. It "wraps around" the shaft and is pretty quiet. I don't recall whether there's a model for doors with extension springs. It was a little fiddly to install and to get working right, and we ended up with a replacement controller board of a different design under warranty. Since then, I understand, the design has been revised further
-- to the extent that they were off the market for a while.
Ours came from Menards. Lowe's does not seem to sell them. I have no idea about HD.
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