Garage door opener isn't openering

[Greg]

I installed a couple cheap, 1/2 HP garage door openers not long after we moved into our current home, about 12 yrs ago. I bought Chamberlin openers from Home Depot, they weren't the cheapest ones but probably the low end, coming from a big box store.

Last week one of them would turn on and motor would turn, but do nothing.

Is there a better brand that will last longer? I think 12 years isn't that much time... am I wrong? We have two, 8' garage doors and they're not too heavy, but I may step up to 3/4 HP if it adds longevity.

 

[DAA]

My pretty crappy Craftsman is almost 20 years old now. I've had to replace parts. But the parts have been pretty cheap. When it was doing what you describe it just needed a new gear set. I don't remember exactly how much it was, but pretty cheap and easy.

I'd just put new parts in it. Is what I guess I am saying.

- DAA

 

[Greg]

My pretty crappy Craftsman is almost 20 years old now. I've had to replace parts. But the parts have been pretty cheap. When it was doing what you describe it just needed a new gear set. I don't remember exactly how much it was, but pretty cheap and easy.

I'd just put new parts in it. Is what I guess I am saying.

- DAA

Good call, I'll dig into it!

 

[anderson750]

My house garage has Genie Pro Max that at 20 years old now. I am not sure on the HP of them, but I have never had an issue with the opener itself, just a broken spring a couple times. Those doors area 16w x10h and one that is 10w x 12h.

When there fail I will probably go with a couple lift master drive units like the one I put on my small door in my detached garage.

 

[Spork]

I did the 3/4 Chamberlin belt drive last time I replaced mine. It's been good, mine has their myQ app so I can open/close it even if I'm not home. I also use the auto close option after 10 minutes so the door doesn't stay open all night when the kids don't close it. I think I'm coming up on 10 years on mine and haven't done any repairs since I put it up.

 

[Gravy]

*Laughs in 1970s baby crusher screw drive*

But I would like to know what brand to get for a roll up door.

 

[Really Old Guy]

Any liftmaster opener with an AC motor will have the gear and sprocket set that usually only last 8-10 year. Less if you run it with a broken spring on your door. If you buy a lift master with the DC motor it is direct drive and the gear and sprocket failure is gone.

 

[Really Old Guy]

*Laughs in 1970s baby crusher screw drive*

But I would like to know what brand to get for a roll up door.

Liftmaster makes a couple of residential side mount openers that work well. If it’s a commercial sized door they have a ton of side mount models from pretty cheap to ultra beefy
No I don’t work for Liftmaster, but was in the door business for almost 50 years. Hard to go wrong with Liftmaster.

 

[Greg]

Any liftmaster opener with an AC motor will have the gear and sprocket set that usually only last 8-10 year. Less if you run it with a broken spring on your door. If you buy a lift master with the DC motor it is direct drive and the gear and sprocket failure is gone.

Good insight, thanks! Springs are good, guess 12 years is better than average. I might look into a DC motor Lift master.

 

[N-Smooth]

mine has their myQ app so I can open/close it even if I'm not home. I also use the auto close option after 10 minutes so the door doesn't stay open all night when the kids don't close it.

All liftmaster/chamberlain units should come with MyQ IIRC but don’t let that stop you from getting a different brand because you can add MyQ functionality to any door. It is a nice feature that I can’t imagine not having at this point.