How to Buy a Garage-Door Opener

Sure you could operate a garage door manually, but why would you? Each year 3 million of us buy a remote opener. Beyond dependability, compare cost, safety, security and noise--important for garages that contain workshops or have bedrooms or offices overhead.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Compare mechanisms. * Chain drives ($130 to $180) are noisy because they use a metal chain along a metal trolley. * Screw drives ($150 to $250) lift the door with a threaded steel rod. Look for the latest models that use a plastic-lined track to reduce noisy metal-to-metal contact and to increase opening speed. * Belt drives ($170 to $350) are the quietest. Their flexible rubber belts dampen vibrations and eliminate the noisy metal-to-metal contact of chain or screw drives.

2. Evaluate the openers' motors. * Some high-quality, efficient openers use a direct current (DC) motor instead of standard alternating current (AC) motor. A DC motor uses less electricity and its speed can easily be controlled, allowing a simpler drive mechanism to be used for reliability and less noise. It also allows for a soft start and stop cycle to eliminate loud clank sounds. The door starts closing slowly, reaches full speed and then slows down again just before it touches the floor. * Select a 1/2- or 3/4-horsepower opener instead of the basic 1/3 if you have a large or heavy door. * Compare models' lift speed, typically 7 inches (18 cm) per second.

3. Take safety concerns into account. An automatic reverse feature stops and reverses the door if it touches something--a child playing underneath, for example. For heightened security, get a remote control that uses rolling codes to transmit a different opening signal each time. Models with multifunctional controls may have one button for opening the door, another that switches on just the garage light, and a third that can switch on lights or appliances inside the house. Some wall panels let you turn the opener off if you're going to be gone for an extended period of time. (See How to Buy a Home Automation System.)

4. Buy an opener at a store or from a dealer and put it in yourself, or pay $125 to $175 plus for the unit for professional installation. Most openers include two remotes; a third adds about $30. A wireless outdoor keypad comes in handy if you forget the remote or its battery is dead. An indoor keypad adds convenience.

Tips & Warnings

• If you often forget whether you've closed the door, get the Chamberlain Garage Door Monitor (chamberlaindiy. com), which shows the garage door's status from anywhere inside the house.
• Only two manufacturers make most garage-door openers, which explains why models sold under different brand names may look similar.
• Look for a model with magnetic stop sensors for precise opening and closing.
• Mechanisms with fewer parts require less maintenance.

[truserv]

on 11/6/2008 Thank-you this article has been helpful.

on 11/22/2005 Select a 1/2 or 3/4 horsepower opener instead of the basic 1/3 if you have a large or heavy door. Horsepower may affect the rate at which a door opens and closes, but the weight of the door itself has no bearing. Garage doors almost always employ tension springs to balance the door's weight as it's going up and down. For heavier doors, you tighten the springs. If the springs are balanced properly, a heavy door should be just as easy for a person to lift as a light one. The automatic opener's motor similarly does not care.