Best Garage Door Opener

A garage door opener can make a big difference to your life. No longer will you have to get out of your car in the pouring rain and wrangle with that hefty garage door. Instead, you stay in your car and open it by means of remote control keypad.

Deciding on the best garage door opener for your particular garage comes down to a choice of three different types of opener drive mechanisms which are -

• Chain drive
• Belt drive
• Screw drive

Although less durable than a chain drive, a belt drive opener it is recommended for use where the garage has accommodation above it, due to the quietness of operation.

A chain drive garage door opener or GDO needs more in the way of maintenance because the chain itself can stretch over time. This means that the settings and adjustments will need to be reset every so often. However, it has the advantage over the other two as it has been on the market the longest and has built a good reputation for reliability.

As well as being reliable, a screw drive GDO has fewer moving parts and will require little in the way of servicing. It is recommended for use on up and over garage doors that tilt up in one piece as opposed to the type that roll up along a track. Although slower in operation than a belt or chain drive, it is said to be the longest lasting with a lifespan upwards of eight years. The only recommended maintenance is to lubricate the screw drive every six months or so.

Some of the best garage door opener mechanisms are manufactured by such well known companies as Chamberlain, Genie, Wayne Dalton and Sears.

The worlds largest manufacturer of garage door openers are the German based company Chamberlain. They provide GDO's for homes all over the world with their most popular model being the Liftmaster range. The range includes different levels of horsepower and drive as well various packages of options. You should therefore make a list of what options you require before you shop.

The Chamberlain Power Drive and Whisper Drive line of garage door openers are specifically designed for do-it-yourself installation and are available with a variety of accessories and options. Chamberlain also manufacture garage door openers for commercial applications.

The average opening or closing speed of a garage door opener is about seven inches in per second. However, some GDO's will work twice that speed depending on the model and the weight it has to lift.

All garage door openers are required, by law, to have certain safety features, including a mechanism for reversing the action when the door hits something. The most common horsepower for a GDO is 1/2, although a smaller 1/3 horsepower is adequate for a single garage door.

Whether you choose a garage door opener with a chain drive, a belt drive, or a screw drive will depend upon your needs. The same is true for the power of the GDO that you pick. The larger and heavier your garage door, the higher the horsepower will be needed to lift it.