What's the Best
Garage Door Opener for you?
"When it comes to power, go with at least the one-half horsepower
motor,
three-quarter horsepower if you have a heavy carriage-style
door."
 Selecting the best
garage door opener depends on your specific needs. Chain
drive, screw drive, belt drive or torsion drive? Sears, Chamberlain, Genie, Wayne-Dalton? Do your homework
and choosing becomes much easier.
Because different openers have different qualities, their usefulness
to you depends on your personal tastes, method of installation,
garage type, budget, etc. The best garage door opener is the one that works the best for you.
Does that sound like a cop-out? Don't give up reading just yet.
If you want all the details, simply click on any of the four options
(below) and you will be taken to an entire page of information on
each. You may also visit our garage door opener reviews page for specific information on brands, models and buying advice. If you just want a broad overview, please read on.
What's the most common and least expensive?
The chain drive garage door opener (although they are the noisiest
choice). Some chain drive models are also the strongest option available
for the heaviest of garage doors. You can find chain drive garage
door openers just about anywhere ... from your local hardware store,
to Sears, The Home Depot, Costco, etc.
What's the easiest to install with high customer satisfaction?
The screw drive garage door opener. Yep, that's the one "Genie" brought to the market so many years ago.
Food For Thought...
OK, maybe you have "Super DIY" emblazoned on your T-shirt and you can install just about anything. For the rest of us, we would rather not spend all day Saturday reading and re-reading the instructions before installing, uninstalling and re-installing the blamed garage door opener just to save a few bucks!
What's the quietest garage door opener?
A belt drive garage door opener or torsion drive garage door opener. Is your garage adjacent to or directly under your living space? Go with the belt drive. Do you have a low garage ceiling or the need for a little extra room "up there?" Or, maybe you just want the latest and greatest thing when it comes on the market? Go with the torsion drive.
Chamberlain 3/4 hp Whisper Drive Plus w/Battery
Back-up, Belt Drive - Model #WD962KD
What about safety?
Just about any garage door opener you buy will have a sensor to
keep the door from closing on someone or something underneath the
garage door. Are they fail-safe? No. My eleven year old, perfectly
healthy cat ("Sam," for those who are interested) was
killed by my sister's garage door in a freak accident. He was sleeping
under a partially opened door, not quite in front of the electric
eye beam, and the garage door was closed. End of story. Not a good
night. In fact, that was not a good week.
Anyway, it's always a good idea to check the door before closing
it, even if you have the best garage door opener in the world. If you have an old door without the safety sensor, that, alone,
may be reason enough to replace it ... especially if you have children
or pets.
When it comes to garage safety, there is one more very important
thing to remember: the "contact obstruction" test. When
garage doors close on top of an object (or cat!), they should automatically
reverse and open. Typically, the adjustment should cause your door
to open if it contacts an obstruction at least 1 1/2" in height.
If your door is not properly adjusted, you may also have a bad cat
experience (or worse). Remember to check your door for proper operation,
or contact a qualified garage professional to help.
What about power?
When it comes to power, go with at least the one-half horsepower
motor, three-quarter horsepower if you have a heavy carriage-style
door. Yes, the spring is supposed to do all the work, but I believe
in overkill. With the extra power you can be assured that lifting
most heavy doors will be a snap, and the opener won't burn out as
fast as an under-powered model.
Do Your Homework
There are many garage door openers out there to choose from. Most
are dependable and will last a long time. Just be sure to do a little
homework to ensure you are buying the best garage door opener for
you, paying close attention to the options.
With so many brands, models and configurations, be certain you
are getting everything you need. One light or two? One control or
two with one button or more? Exterior keypad? Security codes? You
get the idea.
One Final Word on Garage Door Contractors
If you aren't the do-it-yourself type, you will need to hire a
garage door contractor. Be careful! There are a lot of so-called
professionals out there, and you don't want to have someone hack
your job together just to save you a few dollars. Select the best
garage door opener and hire a hack. Not good. Instead, check the
yellow pages, make a few calls and GET REFERENCES! I would even
go so far as to ask your prospective contractor if they or their
employees will be doing the work.
The last time I had a garage door spring replaced (about 10 years
ago), I called one of the "brand name" garage door companies
to have the work done. Much to my surprise, some no-name garage
door repair van showed up in my driveway. It was legit, but the
guy certainly wasn't an expert and I was slightly ticked off.
My favorite garage door contractor?
He isn't in the yellow pages, doesn't advertise, and doesn't work
for one of the "big guys." He came to me by way of a friend's
referral, and he is the best garage door opener (and garage door, for that matter) man I have ever met. His name is Joe if you want
to give him a call (Just kidding. I know he probably doesn't work
in your town).
Do your research. Buy what's right for you (not the sales person),
and enjoy your new garage door opener!
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