Garage Door Opener?

03-12-2006, 10:59 AM

Ok guys, hit me with your expertise. I have a two-car side and a one-car side. The one-car side is for my motorcycle.

What I need/want:

Reliable units that can open a two-car door, and a one-car door. I'd prefer quiet ones, since there are bedrooms above the garage. From what I have read, according to Consumer Reports, whose last garage door opener roundup was in 2002, there are two manufacturers. Genie is made by Overhead Door, and Chamberlain makes the rest.

In the 2002 testing, the quietest units were DC-motor driven and used belt drive. Is this still accurate?

And as far as options, I need a keypad to tie into the alarm system, as well as two remotes for the big door, and a keyfob-size remote for the motorcycle side.

I also want to install these myself. Any advice on that?

CRyan · 03-12-2006, 11:40 AM

Screw Drive I believe is the quietest. That is what I now have. My family has always used Sears (not sure who makes them). They have all lasted forever except for one that took a lightning hit. Anyway, I cannot imagine anything being wuiter than the screw drive unit I have. You barely hear the motor - The door itself is louder.

Hmmm Might be wrong about that. Belt might be quieter, but I cannot imagine one being quieter than what I have. Can't hear it. Either way, you should be fine.

03-12-2006, 11:57 AM

Chamberlain makes Craftsman, and the one they tout as the quietest is a belt drive 1/2 HP unit with a DC motor and battery backup. Home Depot just put that one on sale today.

Hope I can install it with the garage door down. It is cold and windy today.

DougR · 03-12-2006, 01:00 PM

Quote:

Hope I can install it with the garage door down. It is cold and windy today

That's the Recommended way !!

DaveF · 03-12-2006, 06:58 PM

I can't speak about quiet, but I have this two-car door opener and recommend it based on price and features. There may be a screw version that would then meet all your needs.
Craftsman garage door opener

The two-light fixture is nice for extra illumination. The fuller-featured opener is handy with a light switch as well.

And external keypad opener is very handy -- it lets me leave the house for biking or a walk without taking my keys. It also enables me to let friends or service-people in without me being home. I highly recommend this feature.

**HTF Ads**

Paul D G · 03-13-2006, 02:18 AM

As far as quiet goes, in my experience it's the door where the noise comes from. In both this house and my last one we had your basic aluminnum door with no insulation, etc. Lots of creaking and groaning from the door.

I replaced the one in the first house myself. Screw drive and as far as I could tell it was very quiet. I was helped in this installation by the fact that I was replacing an older opener so I didn't have to go thru the whole support bracing for the motor. Took me about 6 hours - and I didn't know what I was doing

Manual said it would take about that long so I was quite proud.

New house didn't have an opener already and I wasn't going thru that again so I paid to have it done. Paid an extra $50 for the belt drive, which I was told was the quietest. The guy installed it in, like, 20 minutes.

Your remote should have two or three buttons on it and you can program one remote to operate both openers.

The external keypad is a useful feature.

And make sure you get one with a light you can turn on and off (unless you already have one in the garage). The opener I bought for the first house didn't have one (thought it did and didn't realize until it was installed) and it was a major pain every time I had to do work in there. It had a timer light and I had to continually trip the sensor to get the light to come on.

Both our openers were Chamberlin.

-paul

Mort Corey · 03-13-2006, 05:11 PM

It's been a while since I bought mine (Genie screw drive) but having a "rolling code" was important to me.....they may all be that now for all I know. Anyway, being slightly paranoid, the rolling code made the deal over all other concerns and a hundred and fifty bucks to have it installed was worth it IMO.

Mort

Paul D G · 03-14-2006, 02:27 AM

Rolling code, yeah. Also the Chamberlin keypads have single use features so you can give someone one time access to your garage.

-paul

Eric Peterson · 03-14-2006, 07:37 AM

Well, I'm an engineer for Chamberlain, and by the numbers our most quiet opener is the Belt-Drive DC Motor unit.

If you specific questions about any particular unit, let me know and I'll see what I can do.

Eric Peterson · 03-14-2006, 08:16 AM

Let me second Paul's opinion from above.

The door is the primary source of noise in most installations because the door's are not properly maintained. The wheel's go bad, the rails bend, they aren't lubricated properly. You should open and close the door by hand, and try to investigate the sources of noise. Sometimes, a can of oil can cure a lot. If there is still a lot of noise, I would recommend calling in a door professional. Whatever you do, do not mess with the springs on the door. These are very dangerous.

03-14-2006, 09:55 AM

Yeah, I've seen someone try to mess with a spring...not a problem there.

The house is new, so it isn't like there is a lot of noise, though the main dor doesn't go up and down as smoothly as I'd like. Of course, it is way heavier than the small door.

I did buy a Chamberlain unit that was on sale at Home Depot. DC motor, belt drive, and battery backup. I bought a second unit, the same but wth no battery backup, for $20 less, but I am going to return it and pay the difference. It is going on the small door, which is for the motorcycle. Seems stupid to have a battery backup on the big door for the cars, but not for the bike.