Help me choose a garage door opener.

[dbias]

I just replaced my 20 some years old Raynor 1/2 hp chain drive with the equivalent Chamberlain 1/2 hp chain drive. The old one’s radio board went out and would not respond to any of the remotes or home links in the cars. The new one’s radio board is way quieter than the old one. And yes if the door is adjusted correctly as mine is the 1/2 hp opens my 16x8 insulated door with no problem

 

[SammyChevelleTypeS3]

Years back I ended up going with Chamberlain belt driven and have not had any issues. Chamberlain are really good at picking up codes when I had to replace one of the openers with a generic. It raises our 16x8 probably ten times a day and some days more with no problem.

 

[mr_boring]

Mine died a couple of weeks ago. 25 year old Craftsman chain. New Craftsman plug and play (supposedly the chain and old sensors will work, I would replace the sensors in any case but my old chain is on a nice solid 1 piece rail that I'd really prefer to keep) runs about $230, I'm going to try it out. If it isn't plug and play I'll swap over to a belt drive.

I can confirm that Craftsman is still made by Chamberlain.

 

[Nukeman7]

Mine died a couple of weeks ago. 25 year old Craftsman chain. New Craftsman plug and play (supposedly the chain and old sensors will work, I would replace the sensors in any case but my old chain is on a nice solid 1 piece rail that I'd really prefer to keep) runs about $230, I'm going to try it out. If it isn't plug and play I'll swap over to a belt drive.

I can confirm that Craftsman is still made by Chamberlain.

Here is a quick inside scoop about the current line of Chamberlain/Liftmaster/Craftsman garage door openers...only buy one with the battery back-up feature. The current iteration of the Chamberlain GDOs without the battery back-up have a fatal flaw in their circuit board that has not been resolved. If the door is open or moving when a power outage (momentary or extended) occurs, the GDO will lose all references to the up/down stopping points. The GDO will refuse to open or close and act as if the optical safety sensors are blocked. You will need to manually re-calibrate both of the up/down stopping points using the detailed process shown below. This is a problem acknowledged on the Chamberlain website and they have not been able to come up with a viable upgraded control board in 3-4 years. The problem does not occur with the Chamberlain units with the battery back-up.

 

[tbm5690]

Here is a quick inside scoop about the current line of Chamberlain/Liftmaster/Craftsman garage door openers...only buy one with the battery back-up feature. The current iteration of the Chamberlain GDOs without the battery back-up have a fatal flaw in their circuit board that has not been resolved. If the door is open or moving when a power outage (momentary or extended) occurs, the GDO will lose all references to the up/down stopping points. The GDO will refuse to open or close and act as if the optical safety sensors are blocked. You will need to manually re-calibrate both of the up/down stopping points using the detailed process shown below. This is a problem acknowledged on the Chamberlain website and they have not been able to come up with a viable upgraded control board in 3-4 years. The problem does not occur with the Chamberlain units with the battery back-up.

Seems like a pretty remote chance that you happen to lose power with the door in transit. Even if you do, the reprogramming of limits takes like 30 seconds. I have no need for battery backup and installed 2 Craftsman (Chamberlain) openers a few years ago and have had zero issues.

IMO their belt drive DC units are the best choice anyone can make.

 

[Nukeman7]

Seems like a pretty remote chance that you happen to lose power with the door in transit.

This happens a few times a year in our neighborhood and sometimes the glitch will happen during the night with the door fully closed if it is a quick momentary outage/surge. Three of my neighbors will ask me for help whenever that happens, so I am well versed in the procedure. Often, it takes several tries before the stop settings will take after a power glitch occurs.

Even if you do, the reprogramming of limits takes like 30 seconds. I have no need for battery backup and installed 2 Craftsman (Chamberlain) openers a few years ago and have had zero issues.

The problem did not exist until Chamberlain redesigned the circuit board to integrate MyQ technology in 2022.

IMO their belt drive DC units are the best choice anyone can make.

I fully agree with you...belt drive is as durable as chain drive with only 25% of the noise.

 

[SammyChevelleTypeS3]

We still have the same Chamberlain opener that was installed when we bought the house in 2006 but it has some new parts. The main drive gear is some sort of polymer and it shredded itself when someone tried to open the door when it was frozen to the floor, so I had to replace it. Then, 4-5 years ago it stopped responding to the remote so I had to replace the circuit board and I was lucky enough to find a used one on eBay or cheap.

My advice is to install a good surge protector for your opener just like you would any other piece of delicate electronics because that's what usually kills them. My dad went through openers like a wino through Boone's Farm and it was never a mechanical issue that killed them. It was always the circuit board getting fried because he was at the end of a poorly-rmodulated supply line. I think it was a near-miss by lightning that zapped mine.

While you're at it, put a surge protector on your refrigerator and any other major appliance that has a circuit board.

Surge protectors! Yes, small investments with big potential "savings" of money and your electronics. Got one for sure on my garage door opener among other things inside and outside.

 

[tblt44]

Chamberlin

 

[tbm5690]

The problem did not exist until Chamberlain redesigned the circuit board to integrate MyQ technology in 2022.

Mine have the MyQ integration.

 

[Nukeman7]

Mine have the MyQ integration.

Here is a post on the Garage Journal forum that describes the exact problem we have experienced several times. It is dated 2015, so it appears to be a longer standing issue than I thought.

Chamberlain Garage Door Opener Loses Settings

 

[mr_boring]

Here is a quick inside scoop about the current line of Chamberlain/Liftmaster/Craftsman garage door openers...only buy one with the battery back-up feature. The current iteration of the Chamberlain GDOs without the battery back-up have a fatal flaw in their circuit board that has not been resolved. If the door is open or moving when a power outage (momentary or extended) occurs, the GDO will lose all references to the up/down stopping points. The GDO will refuse to open or close and act as if the optical safety sensors are blocked. You will need to manually re-calibrate both of the up/down stopping points using the detailed process shown below. This is a problem acknowledged on the Chamberlain website and they have not been able to come up with a viable upgraded control board in 3-4 years. The problem does not occur with the Chamberlain units with the battery back-up.

It took me about 90 seconds to set my up/down limits. It took me a bit to figure it out because the instruction manual is hot useless garbage. It would have taken me a week to figure the darn thing out if I hadn't used all my old stuff. The instructions are terrible and about 30% complete