The Chamberlain B730 is another excellent belt drive garage door opener. It is equally quiet as the B970, and even though it has a somewhat less powerful motor, it is still more than adequate for the vast majority of garage doors.
The B730 comes with two remote controls, wireless keypad, wall control with auto close timer (but not the digital display) and motion sensing light activation, safety eyes, battery backup, and wifi/smartphone compatibility. Like all new openers, the remotes works with vehicle HomeLink and has the latest security.
Installation is equally easy throughout the Chamberlain product line. All belt and chain openers use the same snap together square tube rail system and use the same programming methods. Wiring is color coded to make installation easy, and it is all low voltage so you don’t need to worry about getting zapped. All current Chamberlain openers (which includes LiftMaster and Craftsman among others) fit neatly into the same place as the old ones, so hanging the motor should be pretty easy and if the wiring is in good shape you can reuse it.
The Chamberlain B730 is basically the equivalent to the LiftMaster 8550W in nearly all respects, except that it comes with a tubular, square shaped “snap together” rail (broken down into segements so that it can fit in a box) instead of the LiftMaster “T” rail. For most doors it makes absolutely no difference, the exception being doors that are so heavy on take off that they flex the opener rail, requiring an additional support(which can attach to the LiftMaster but not Chamberlain).
Most professional garage door companies charge $550 – $750 for the LiftMaster 8550W installed with the same accessories (depending on where you live. A pro installation will cost a good bit more in San Francisco than Wichita). Unless your door is huge with a heavy takeoff from the ground, you can save a nice chunk of change by going with the Chamberlain B730, whether you install it yourself or pay to have it put in for you.