fjpls@mtuxn.UUCP (P.STEVENS) (06/06/85)
Thanks to all of you who replied to my request for garage door opener information. I bought a Sears 1/2 HP model with 19,000 codes. Installation was not too difficult and it seems to be working fine (Knock on Wood!). A summary of the responses is contained below. Paul mtuxn!fjpls ************************************************************************** Basically I think garage door openers are great. The two openers I've had were both from Sears - just because I happen to like their products. There is some debate as to whether chain drive is better than screw drive, but from what I've seen both seem to work ok. My only advice would be to get as much horsepower as possible (within reason - I have a 1/3 hp on a single door) and to get a brand you are comfortable with. As I've said, I've had two Sears models (I left the first one when I moved, although it is possible to take them with you) and have been very pleased. A couple things you might consider when you install the unit. My first house had a large double garage, so I put one control button in the back by the door to the kitchen and a second button in the front by the door (for closing the door behind you - push the button and zip under the door). The opener only came with one button, but you can add as many as you want, they are just contact closures. I'm a bit of a fanitic about well lit garages, so I tied the opener into the lighting circuit for the garage. I removed the light bulb from the door opener and wired the circuit to the coil of a DPDT 120v relay. I used the relay to transfer the hot leads for the eight flourescent tubes (four per parking bay) from the normal light switch on the wall to a permanent hot lead. The net effect was that when I opened the garage door the whole garage lit up for about five minutes. If your interested I'll send you a sketch with a little more detail. ************************************************************************** I recommend the top of the line SEARS model. It lifts my 18 Ft wood door without any problem. Sears puts it on sale every 3-4 months. My cost was between $140 and $170 ( I can't recall ). ************************************************************************** I can recommend the Sears 1/3 hp unit. I've used one for almost two years with no troubles yet. They are user-installable, and user-servicable, though installation and service are also available from Sears. No false-starts, no interference from other peoples cordless phones and other things. ************************************************************************** I can recommend NOT getting the Sears opener. A couple months ago I solicited help from the net concerning a problem I was having. About a dozen people replied that they were having similar problems. That large a number is too big for chance. The product was defective. Also, this year's models are significantly changed from previous ones. Some of the safety features have been removed, and the overall construction has been cheapened. Now the features are no better than anyone else's. As an owner of a Sears opener, my next one will probably be a Stanley. To comment on the article which recommended Sears: if you get one with 3000 or so codes, you won't get false starts or interference. Sears gives you as many as 19K, but that's overkill. And as far as Sears service is concerned, I would consider that to be a strong sales tool for everyone else. They come quickly, but they never get it right the first time - if ever. And other brands are as easy or easier to install or service. ************************************************************************** I recently installed a Sears 1/3 HP garage door opener. It was straight forward to install, has >19,000 codes, has 4 minute delay on the light, and has worked flawlessly. ************************************************************************** Last November my father and I installed two Genie garage door openers for my double car two door garage. It took us several days and many several trips to the hardware store. Several things too look out for or problems that we encountered: * DO read all the directions which come with the opener. At least several times. * DON'T touch the spring on the door! There's a lot of energy stored in those springs. Call in a profesisonal to play with this. * Do consider getting a professional to install the openers. We did it ourselves, but it was a hassle. You'll need a stepladder, some kind of hardware or material to hold the opener to the cieling of the garage (or to the studs if you don't have a cieling). You also may need a stud finder, a drill, and various other pieces of hardware which you'll run out to the hardware store and buy. * Watch out for space between the highest point of the garage door as it opens and closes and the cieling. Typically you will put a rail which contains a chain or a track drive which will open and close the garage door in that space. If you don't have enough space there you may not be able to put up your opener. I barely had enough room. A friend did not. I believe that the genie requires 2.5 in. of room, but I don't have the instructions to refer to, and so this may be wrong. * Watch out for other obstructions, such as heating vents or support beams, on the cieling behind where your garage door opens; that's where the motor for the opener will go. If you don't have the room, again you may have problems. A second friend has a support beam for his house in his garage which prohibits him from installing an opener. Because of this and the previuos problem, you might want to make sure you can return the opener if you buy it, read the instructions, and decide it won't fit in your garage. * Power. You'll need to provide power for your opener. Make sure you have enough spare power on your circuit. Maybe your washer/dryer shares the same circuit, and maybe you will pop your breaker/blow a fuse when the opener and washer/dryer run. * If you have a double door garage with two separate doors, get two openers. I've seen arrangements which involve a bracket or additional hardware to open two such doors at the same time. This tended to warp both doors. That's why I put in two openers on my garage. Yes, this doubles your cost and installation effort. But look on the bright side: if you install both openers you'll have no problem installing the second one because of your experience putting up the first. :-) * Here in Oregon it's really nice not to have to get out in the rain and open the garage door to put the car away. ************************************************************************** 3 years ago when I was searching for a grage door opener, I chose Genie because of the safety features. It had a better reversing mechanism. The prices are all about the same, but if I had to pick again, I would get Genie. **************************************************************************