Liftmaster 3800 questions/concerns

[Darren Thomas]

Hi guys,

I've been reading up on the Liftmaster 3800 and really like what I see. I just have a few concerns. For those of you who have them I'm hoping you can clear a few things up.

1. When the door is closing there doesn't seem to be any possible way the liftmaster can apply a bit of pressure to seal the bottom seal nice and tight since it just allows the door to lower without applying any pressure. How would I get a decent seal? Does it release enough of the tension from the torsion springs so that the door weight seals it nicely? Can I adjust it to allow a decent amount of weight to transfer to the seal? Currently without an opener I can't get it to seal due to the tension holding it neutral.

2. It appears from the video that the dead bolt that comes with it is to be installed 4" or so above a wheel to prevent theft. I really don't want the door to open 4" before it stops. I suppose I can install it just above a wheel and be fine. Any reason that wouldn't be true?

3. Did you install yours yourself? The videos make it look pretty darn easy.


Any thoughts other than the above as well?

Darren

 

[IDASHO]

When closing the LM3800 slows down about 16" before it come in contact with the floor. It is fairly straight forward to adjust just how tight of a seal you want. but with a good quality door bottom seal, it doesnt take much pressure.

My dead bolt is less than 1-1/2" away from the nearest wheel.

 

[ersatzs2]

Like Idasho says, it is programmed to slow in preparation for the end of the travel. The amount of force it applies is also adjustable, and so is the sensitivity if it hits something on the way down. Really good device, the bottom seal is very good.

 

[tatra]

looking at one of these myself in the near future i hope , along with a horman door..............can these be opened and closed by hand in the event of a failure, mechanically or eletrically?..........

 

[ksp]

I have one and like it. If you have an uneven sealing surface you could have an issue but if your door has a quality seal it should be ok. I often install 1" backer rod or round soft foam with the door seal to help make a good seal. The trick is to get the right density of foam. If your door is heavy enough you will get a good seal. Installation is not too hard but the door must work easy and have enough down pressure when up so the cable does not get slack in it. I ended up tilting the horizontal track up in the back to insure down weight.
There is a hand pull on the unit ti allow for manual operation.
The unit is quiet and I like that it does not yank on the door to operate it.
It does require attention to the door to insure that it works properly.

 

[srmofo]

looking at one of these myself in the near future i hope , along with a horman door..............can these be opened and closed by hand in the event of a failure, mechanically or eletrically?..........

yes they have a disconnect just like every other door.

These things are quiet also. I cant hear mine open unless Im in the garage.

To the OP:

The tension applied is adjustable and it will apply excessive force if you want it to but damage will most likely occur

I drilled holes through the track and bolted the deadbolt about .5" above the wheel. The pre fabbed holes were just too high for comfort

Extremely easy to install unless you goof it up like I did. I got the 2 control wires backwards because it was late and cold. I gave up and went in. Figured it out the next morning and all is well

 

[matt60j]

Will this unit work on a 16'x10' insulated door?

 

[IDASHO]

I dont see why not.

I have mine on a fully insulated 18x9

 

[srmofo]

Will this unit work on a 16'x10' insulated door?

Yes mine are on fully insulated (solid inside, no stryofoam showing) 16x10 and 10x10. They shouldnt be lifting much weight if your springs are set correctly

 

[Darren Thomas]

Good info guys. Thanks. I'll order one up shortly.

Any recommendations for on-line retailers or great deals? I found it on Amazon, only installers have it locally.

 

[IDASHO]

I supported my local overhead door company. But I also purchased the door from them. Not cheap, but it is a whole lot of door with one kick *** opener, and I have free maintenance and service calls for 10 years.

 

[Darren Thomas]

I supported my local overhead door company. But I also purchased the door from them. Not cheap, but it is a whole lot of door with one kick *** opener, and I have free maintenance and service calls for 10 years.

I hired a local company to install my R15 foam core doors... they are awesome but wasn't sure what opener I wanted at the time. I'm cool with buying locally for sure. I just don't know if they will sell the opener to me or not and I'm pretty sure it will be a bit more expensive than if I sourced it elsewhere but I'll check it out.

Oh, Amazon.com is local to me! Sort of a joke but true.

 

[rocketpowered_keith]

Don't worry about the location of the lock. It can be installed directly above a wheel. Mine would only move about 1/2 inch before contacting the bolt. No reason to mount it with 4" of clearance as far as I can see.

 

[Jazz]

It is a great opener. A friend of mine built a $500,000 house not far from me and when he came over to see my garage was shocked how quiet and smooth the Liftmaster was compared to the ones his contractor installed, especially considering what his contractor charged him.

 

[38Chevy454]

Will this unit work on a 16'x10' insulated door?

I have mine installed on exactly that size insulated door and it works great. As the others said, it is very quiet, does put down pressure on the seal, and the lock is an added safety feature.

 

[five0jo]

I have two 3800's - one on each of my 16 x 10 fully isulated, top quality garage doors. The overhead door company said that they were the best opener for my application. The problem I have is that I also have two overhead Liftmaster openers on the other garages. When I close the house garage door, occaisonally, one of the 16 x 10 doors will open. Bad problem in that I always had to check to make sure the other doors stayed closed. The company that installed the openers came out and reprogrammed the doors, but the problem continued. They also checked with Liftmaster, and all they can say is that it shouldn't happen. I have ended up just putting the lock on the 16 x 10 doors where they can't be opened with an opener. Kind of inconvenient, but worth it for the security factor. So, I love my 3800's, just be careful getting too many.

 

[bigred292]

I recently got around to installing 2 of them. I had my door co. install the doors and adjust them .
Never installed any kind of door opener before. I'm pretty handy and I thought that these installed very easy. Directions were great as well.
About an 8 beer job.
Got mine on EB - great price and free shipping. I'd highly recommend these so far-hope I didn't jinx myself!