Garage door openers, which are best/worst

[hpgilbert]

My Stanley opener for a (16-foot wooden) garage door is 18 years old and needs replacing. Which brands are the cadillacs and which the lemons?

 

[remotewarehouse]

The Chamberlain range of garage remotes are good in all there forms around the world.

 

[cruzn57]

free, working ones are BEST.
costly , over rated ones are worst.

yea, I know, smart a$$.
but I have bought hi $$ and they were no better than
the free ones a friend gave me, (sears)

I'm sure others will speak up about good , better and best.

but to me, free is best.

 

[havasu]

Cruzn is correct. I remember a salesman pushing me towards one particular unit saying it was the greatest. What he failed to tell me was that I also needed to purchase 6 additional remotes for the family and all my cars and bikes, but the remotes cost nearly $50 a piece. Had I selected opener # two, the opener came with 5 remotes and additional remotes were $24 a piece. Big difference.

 

[mustanggarage]

to me there are some other differences. I have chamberlain, genie, and liftmaster garage door openers and I have installed all three. they are all basically the same. having said that I really like the genie screw drive openers. they are easy to install, basically idiot proof. fewer moving parts I.e. no chain. and much quieter than the others I have used. but for large doors like on my shop, you need an industrial strength opener like my liftmasters. the chamberlain ones work fine, and are cheaper than the others so it depends on what you are looking for. most all of them have rolling codes nowadays and are compatible with the built in controls in most newer cars.

 

[havasu]

There is a newer side mount door opener with a built in battery back up. Has anyone heard or know much about them?

 

[mustanggarage]

those are liftmasters but not the kind that I have. I have no experience with them, but they have the advantage of not losing the space where the opener normally mounts, and you can use angled rails to run parallel to the roof line.

http://www.liftmaster.com/lmcv2/productdetail/19724/elite-series-wall-mount-garage-door-opener/

 

[JCaughey]

I like my Liftmaster 8557 garage door opener. It has a 3/4 HP Belt Drive and the belt is steel-reinforced.

I purchased it from Garaga.com/ in Toronto. It was the best purchase I think I've ever made because the installation was great and I also got a lifetime warranty on the motor and belt.

 

[BCI]

best- lift master, worst-sears.
I have a L.M. 8355 over head opener on the house garage door
and a L.M. 8500 shaft drive opener on the shop door (love it)

View attachment IMG_0790.jpg

View attachment IMG_0787.jpg

 

[havasu]

That is a beauty.