After spending a long, tiring day at work, all you want to do is come back home, take a shower and sleep. However, things get nasty when you reach the asphalt driveway, stops and press the button on the remote control to open the garage door, which doesn’t respond. Now, you are stuck outside because you want to park at a safe place, but as the garage door is not responding due to a faulty pre-installed garage door opener, you can’t find a safe place for your car.
To avoid this predicament, you will have to invest in the best garage door opener. A good thing about garage door openers is that they are available in abundance, so you just need to scour the web in order to identify the right product. If you doubt your selection because you have no knowledge about this niche, then leave it to experts like me. I have done the tiresome work of identifying the best products and made a list of five best garage door opener consumer reports. Therefore, you just need to go through the reviews of these five products and pick one that you feel suits your garage door.
Reviews Of 5 Best Garage Door Openers
1. Chamberlain B970 Strong Belt Drive Garage Door Opener
If you are specifically looking for a Wi-Fi garage door opener, then invest in Chamberlain B970. This smart garage opener comes with an application by the name of MyQ, which you can download on your cell phone. With this app, you can open and close your garage door with the touch of a button.
You can also customize schedules for your garage door and lighting with the help of the app. Moreover, the garage door opener comes with a battery backup to ensure that its operation remains intact even in power outages. While there are many excellent features in this unit, but I will highlight ‘MAX Lift Power System’, which is equivalent to 1-¼ HP, thus making the unit ideal for heavy doors.
Despite lifting heavy doors, the operation remains super quiet, courtesy of steel reinforced belt drive. Other features of the unit include pre-programmed long-range remote, installation videos, security features, and excellent support. The company offers a lifetime warranty on the belt and motor of the unit, whereas the parts and accessories are covered under a 5-year and 1-year warranty respectively.
2. Chamberlain B550 Strong Belt Drive Garage Door Opener
It is always better to have a garage door opener, which is equipped with cutting-edge technology. Chamberlain B550 comes with a smartphone app, which if installed will keep you updated about the status of your door, plus allowing you to open and close it as well. A battery backup is also provided to ensure that the opener remains running during power outages.
The lifting power of the unit is not as high as the previous model, but it is still sufficient to lift a medium-heavy garage door. The unit incorporates a ½ HP motor along with reinforced belt, which is responsible for the smooth and quiet lifting of the doors.
The garage door opener accompanies a remote that has a range of 1,500 feet, a wireless keypad for easy access to the door and dual-function wall control. The security features of the unit are top-notch, just like its other siblings. When it comes to warranty, then you’ll get a 15-year warranty on belt, 10-year warranty on motor and 1-year warranty on parts and accessories.
3. Chamberlain Group C450 Chain Drive Garage Door Opener
Another excellent product by Chamberlain that you can consider buying. If you love your car and always keep it covered with a high-quality car cover, then you will definitely want to buy a top-quality garage door opener to ensure smooth entry and exit of your car. This unit sports a ½ HP motor, which makes it a medium-lift power system.
The inclusion of Wi-Fi connectivity and a smartphone app by the name of MyQ makes it easier for you to control the operation of the door and get real-time alerts along with garage door status on your mobile device.
Other features of the unit include a wireless keypad, dual-function wall control panel and TriBand Technology for exemplary performance and impregnable security. The garage door opener also includes a couple of 3-button remotes that easily work with three garage door openers or accessories.
4. Genie SilentMax 1200 Garage Door Opener
Just like the name suggests, this garage door opener is one of the quietest units you will ever come across. If you were specifically searching for a quiet garage door opener, then just buy this one, as you may not get a quieter unit on the market. The unit sports a steel-reinforced belt drive system, which ensures quiet and uninterrupted operation.
It also incorporates a ‘Safe-T Beam System’, which emits an infrared beam to detect if there is any object in the way of the door, and if there is, the unit stops the door from closing. The inclusion of ‘Intellicode’ ensures maximum safety because, with each activation of the garage door opener, the access code gets changed. With this unit, you will receive a pair of remotes, a wireless keypad and wall console.
Other features of the unit include a built-in light system, motion detector, and self-diagnosis tool, which puts the machine into self-evaluation in case it is malfunctioning. Last but not least, the company offers a lifetime warranty on the motor and gearbox, so in case, these two things get damaged, you can easily get them repaired or replaced.
5. Genie ChainMax 1000 Garage Door Opener
This is another product by Genie, but there is a difference between ChainMax and SilentMax. Genie ChainMax is a medium-lift power system that sports a ¾ HP motor, which lifts the door at the speed of 7.5 inches per second.
The operation is smooth and quiet just like its sibling, plus it is equipped with many intriguing features such as soft start and stops, reinforced C-channel railing and safety features like Safe T-Beam System, which forces the door to stop in case there is something in the path of it.
With the unit, you will receive a 60-watt LED bulb, two pre-programmed 3-button remotes, wireless keypad, and multi-function wall console. The company also offers a lifetime warranty on motor and 5-year warranty on parts.
Types Of Garage Openers
Not every garage door opener is created in the same fashion. These days, you are going to find three types of drives available for garage door openers. These are; belt drive, screw drive, and chain drive. All these three openers consist of some common features and some unique ones. Apart from these three, there is one more available as well, by the name of torsion drive, though it is not that popular due to its vulnerability especially when the installation is not proper.
The Most Basic Type
Tried and true chain drive is the most basic one. It is just like the bicycle chain. Lubrication plays a major role in this drive, and if the drive is not properly lubricated, then the functioning of the drive will not be proper. Chain driven garage door openers are loud, and I mean really loud. They are the noisiest of all the garage door openers that are available on the market.
The One With Mixed Features
Now comes screw drive door openers. These are considered to be the most reliable ones, as they require minimum or no maintenance. When it comes to the installation process, then it is the same as that of the chain drive systems.
This system doesn’t have that many moving parts when compared to other garage door openers, plus it is not as noisy as well. The price of this opener is a bit expensive than chain drive openers, but that is due to the speed at which it cuts down the door to enter the garage.
The Most Sophisticated One
The third model is the belt driven garage door opener, which is also the quietest of all the three garage door openers. This opener makes use of the steel reinforced rubber belt in order to lift the garage door. You will not see any metal coming in contact with another metal in between the lifting mechanism and drive gear.
You are going to hear some noise, which comes from the door rollers that are within the tracks. With the presence of a motor and a unique driving style, the operation has been much quiet. The price of this type of garage door opener is the most expensive.
The last of the garage door openers are torsion springs. It should not be adjusted by an average homeowner or handyman. You are required to use special tools in order to adjust torsion springs safely. Therefore, a professional with a vast experience should be hired because he can perform the task in the right way.
Six Things To Keep In Mind While Buying A Garage Door Opener
Prior to buying a garage door opener, there are a few important things that you need to make sure that you’ve checked. These are; horsepower, type of motor, type of drive, remote control, warranty, and safety-related features. If you are satisfied with all these aspects, then you can go ahead and buy the garage door opener.
Let us discuss all these things in detail:
1. Horsepower: This is the most basic aspect that you need to check and it is directly proportional to your garage door. If the garage door opener has a good HP, then it will easily lift the door. Before buying a garage door opener, you must check the height, weight, type, and balance of the garage door. If your garage door weighs around 350 lbs, then a garage door opener of about ½ HP would be sufficient to lift it up. For heavier garage doors, ¾ HP garage door opener would be good enough.
2. Type of drive: You can choose between three drives, these are; chain drives, belt drives, and screw drives. If you are running on a low budget, then the chain drive would be good for you. It is noisy but serves the purpose effectively. Then, comes the screw drives, which make use of a metal rod. These aren’t as noisier as chain drives, but yes, you can hear the noise if standing nearby. In order to decrease the noise level, the plastic lined track is used, which also improves the speed. Then, there are belt drives, which are quiet and highly effective. If you want a noise-free operation, then this is the best you got. However, you will have to pay some extra cost in order to have a noise-free operation.
3. Safety Features: Safety is one of those crucial aspects that you can’t afford to compromise on. You will always find top brands incorporating the best-in-class safety features because they know the importance of it.
- There has to be a foolproof security system to bar any unauthorized entry.
- A safety system is a must in order to protect people from accidental closings and break-ins. In the event of entrapment, there needs to be a mechanism to disconnect the garage door from the garage door opener.
- The features don’t end there, as there are many more, which are added by companies to beef up the safety.
4. Remote Controls: Having a remote control to open the garage door makes the operation a lot easier and convenient. You can easily open the garage door and close it without getting out of your car. Moreover, there are many other accessories like the wireless keypads and key remotes, which make opening and closing of the garage door a breeze.
5. Motor (AC or DC): Efficient garage door openers will make use of DC motor rather than AC motor. The electricity consumption of a DC motor is lesser than the AC motor. Moreover, the speed of the DC motor drive can be easily controlled. It will not produce as much noise as the AC motor, thus keeping the whole operation quiet. On the other hand, an AC motor features a soft start and stop motion, which allows the garage door to close slowly at the start with an increase in the speed and then, slowing down at the end.
6. Warranty
It is important that you check the warranty period because it will make you more comfortable regarding the product. Many manufacturers offer warranty for the whole package, whereas some give only for garage door opener parts. Also, a few only give warranty for the motor.
Pay attention to every single detail and then, make a decision as to which garage door opener would you want to go with.
Final Verdict
After going through reviews of the five best garage door opener consumer reports and absorbing the information about different types of garage door openers and things to keep in mind, I guess, you will be in a better position to take the right decision. You just need to make sure that the garage door opener you have chosen from the aforementioned list suits your garage door and has all the features that you were looking for in the first place. If it is, then what else are you looking for, add the product in your cart and make a purchase right away!
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