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need new garage door opener, belt drive?

SAC69

SAC69

Active Member
Donator
My 10 year old Sears 1/2hp chain-drive opener stuck the other day and chewed up a plastic (wth!) drive gear so a new opener is now required. I visited Lowe's and Home Depot and checked Sears online. Is a belt drive the best way to go nowadays? How good is the Chamberlain brand? Lowes and Home Depot have the same 1/2hp Chamerlain unit for $198 or a 3/4 for $238 , Sears has a Craftsman unit 3/4hp belt for $229. It's for a aluminum non-insulated double-door and is spring-balanced ok, SWMBO can raise it w/o a problem if needed.

Any input is appreciated, I'll likely buy it tonight or this weekend at the latest.
 
I recently replaced one of my openers with a Sears 3/4 horse belt drive. It has a battery back up and is by far the quietest, smoothest operating door opener I have ever had. It is also the easiest to adjust and has a feature I have never seen before. As the door is closing and approaching the ground, its slows down and gently comes to a stop. No hard bang at the end. It is a good unit and a great deal when on sale. Below is a link...it even comes with a remote keypad and the battery backup is great if the power goes out....SWMBO can still exit the garage.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1260 ... ockType=G3
 
The belt drives are quieter. I've had no issues with mine, and it's coming up on 10 years...

On your old one... Sears DOES sell a rebuild kit for that (~$20) that includes the gear. Apparently that is always THE failure point. I've seen the kit on Ebay as well. My grand-dad used to snag garage door openers out of peoples' trash, add the $20 kit, then sell then for $50 a shot... He said 9 out of 10 were fixed with a new gear. :shrug
 
"kb3" said:
I recently replaced one of my openers with a Sears 3/4 horse belt drive. It has a battery back up and is by far the quietest, smoothest operating door opener I have ever had. It is also the easiest to adjust and has a feature I have never seen before. As the door is closing and approaching the ground, its slows down and gently comes to a stop. No hard bang at the end. It is a good unit and a great deal when on sale. Below is a link...it even comes with a remote keypad and the battery backup is great if the power goes out....SWMBO can still exit the garage.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1260 ... ockType=G3
Click to expand...

That's the opener I saw online. Is the battery integrated into the opener housing or does it mount elsewhere?
 
"SAC69" said:
That's the opener I saw online. Is the battery integrated into the opener housing or does it mount elsewhere?
Click to expand...

The battery is actually inside the opener housing. It is a sealed battery about the size of a motorcycle battery. I plan on replacing all 4 of my openers with this model as they wear out.

Ken
 
I prefer screw drive models. I bought mine at Costco. Genie iirc.
 
"BobV" said:
The belt drives are quieter. I've had no issues with mine, and it's coming up on 10 years...

On your old one... Sears DOES sell a rebuild kit for that (~$20) that includes the gear. Apparently that is always THE failure point. I've seen the kit on Ebay as well. My grand-dad used to snag garage door openers out of peoples' trash, add the $20 kit, then sell then for $50 a shot... He said 9 out of 10 were fixed with a new gear. :shrug
Click to expand...

I checked ebay and see the needed gear for $10, I may try that as a quick fix.
 
In my last house, I put in a Chamberlain belt drive because I wanted the quietest one I could get since the master bedroom shared a common wall with the garage. It worked flawlessly and was much quieter than any chain driven one I had. My current house has a Craftsman chain drive opener and the plastic gear stripped out. I decided to just buy a new gear instead of replacing the opener. I looked up the part online at Sears.com and the local Sears repair center had one in stock. I don't remember how much it was but it didn't take too long to replace.
 
"70 StangMan" said:
That's what I have, 12 years , no prob's.
Click to expand...

Same here. It was installed when the house was build back in the early 90's and I've never has an issue with it. Just keep the worm gear, door tracks, wheels, and joints all lubed, and it'll run smooth for a while. It certainly isn't the quietest opener out there, but I barely notice it from inside the house.
 
"One_fast67" said:
In my last house, I put in a Chamberlain belt drive because I wanted the quietest one I could get since the master bedroom shared a common wall with the garage. It worked flawlessly and was much quieter than any chain driven one I had. My current house has a Craftsman chain drive opener and the plastic gear stripped out. I decided to just buy a new gear instead of replacing the opener. I looked up the part online at Sears.com and the local Sears repair center had one in stock. I don't remember how much it was but it didn't take too long to replace.
Click to expand...

"BobV" said:
The belt drives are quieter. I've had no issues with mine, and it's coming up on 10 years...

On your old one... Sears DOES sell a rebuild kit for that (~$20) that includes the gear. Apparently that is always THE failure point. I've seen the kit on Ebay as well. My grand-dad used to snag garage door openers out of peoples' trash, add the $20 kit, then sell then for $50 a shot... He said 9 out of 10 were fixed with a new gear. :shrug
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tips, Sears has the gear I need and I saw instructions online. I'm going to pick up the gear and try this tomorrow.
 
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