Garage Door Opener Overview

Most people are familiar with the traditional (a.k.a “trolley”) garage door opener that pulls the door by way of an arm sliding along a rail.  This type of opener is available in belt, chain, or screw drive, and can have an A/C or D/C electric motor.  The current trend is that A/C motors are disappearing, as D/C motors are much quieter, can have variable speed for a soft start and stop, and are compatible with backup batteries.  In my opinion there is no longer a reason to go with an A/C motor unless you want the cheapest possible options (and the savings isn’t much anyway).

Traditional Garage Door Opener Pros:

• Less expensive than Side Mount
• Works with all of the common residential track configurations
• The arm firmly presses the top section against the header while pushing down to compress the bottom seal — a big benefit in windy locations
• More reliable when used on a door that has worn parts or otherwise doesn’t run perfectly
• D/C motor chain openers are pretty darn quiet, belts are even better
• A good choice for DIY installation

Side Mount opener Pros:

• Very quiet (only available with D/C motors for residential applications)
• Can be used with “High Lift” track configurations
• Frees up overhead space in the garage
• Sleek, modern design
• All models use a solenoid activated deadbolt lock for extra security

Cons:

• Expensive
• Relies on a perfectly adjusted door to seal at the top
• Can be unreliable when used with garage doors that were not installed well or are not operating smoothly due to worn parts
• Prone to reversing on contact with the ground when used with heavy doors, “carriage” style doors with large windows in the top panel, or doors with springs that are not properly adjusted
• Not compatible with the common Wayne Dalton TorqueMaster spring system
• Not recommended for Low Headroom track
• Not a great choice for DIY unless the garage door is working perfectly and does not require any adjustment

Traditional Opener Drives: Chain, Belt, or Screw?

The type of “drive” a traditional opener uses refers to the mechanism that pulls the trolley and arm along the opener rail.  They are available in chain, belt, and screw drives.  

If you are doing a DIY installation I don’t see much reason to go with anything other than a belt drive.  They are the quietest of the three and, except for being marginally more expensive than a chain, don’t really have a downside. They are just as durable as a chain (and the major manufacturers back their belts with a Lifetime Warranty), and are easier to deal during installation — if you accidentally drop the belt it won’t turn into a tangled mess the way a chain can.

Chain drives are usually sold as a budget friendly option, but from a practical standpoint this has little to do with basic function or reliability. They are usually packaged with fewer remotes and accessories and may lack some high end features.

LiftMaster is a good example of this:  they offer a budget chain drive with a D/C motor that is nearly as quiet as their high end belt options.  But, it only comes out of the box with one remote and uses a single standard light bulb.  By comparison, LiftMaster’s more expensive belt drives have built in LED lights that are extremely bright, built in security camera, battery backup, two remotes, a keypad for outside, and a digital wall control with a diagnostic display.  The additional features and accessories are what really account for the price difference.

As far as I know, the only screwdrive openers on the market are Genie models that are sold for DIY installation.  Because they need to be broken down to fit inside a box, the screw shaft will need to be spliced together with a bunch of little clips — if you loose one during the installation you are…screwed.  The joint between screw shaft sections is also a potential failure point.  Unless you find one at an extremely attractive price, don’t bother.

How Strong of an Opener Do I Need?

Most residential garage doors will work just fine with a 1/2 or 3/4 horsepower motor.  This includes insulated doors as big as 16′ x 8′.  Most of the time, the actually strength of the opener motor is a non-issue (since even a large door will feel very light assuming the springs are adjusted properly).  That being said, manufacturers seem to be moving in the direction of 1 h.p. openers for their base models — my theory is that it has more to do with marketing than function.

*D/C motors are not technically rated in horsepower, they are rated in Newtons.  Anything over 800 will be adequate for all but the heaviest residential doors.

The biggest problem that REALLY heavy doors cause is that they make the opener rail flex downward as the door lifts off of the ground.  This leads to a very “bouncy” action that isn’t good for the opener or door.  More important than the horsepower is the ability to attach an extra support to the opener rail if needed.

Unfortunately, most DIY openers are designed in such a way the the trolley (the part that the arm attaches to) wraps around the top of the rail, making it impossible to add an additional support.  If your door requires a heavy duty opener, you would probably be better off calling a pro.

From my experience, homeowners get way too hung up on the horsepower of their garage door opener.  It is very rare that a heavy duty model is required.  If your door passes the garage door balance test, it should be fine with a standard duty garage door opener.  Decorative wood doors and steel “carriage” style doors with large windows are pretty much the only ones that require heavy duty openers.