16’ Door opener recommendation

[dtrojcak]

I’m wanting to install openers on my shop doors.
I have two 12x14h and one 16x14h doors.
I’m leaning towards the liftmaster 8500 for the two 12’ doors, but according to the specs, it is too small for the 16’ door.
The specs say up to 14’ high and 180sqft. The 16’ door comes out to 224sqft.
I know someone else has a large door.
What opener do you recommend?

TIA

 

[pattenp]

I can understand the height limit, but the 180sqft has always puzzled me. To me that would translate to weight, but with the proper springs/drums and being properly balanced why would the opener care about the sqft?

 

[dtrojcak]

I can understand the height limit, but the 180sqft has always me puzzled. To me that would translate to weight, but with the proper springs/drums and being properly balanced why would the opener care about the sqft?

That was my thinking as well.
With the torsion bar, the big door doesn’t feel any heavier to me when I lift it now.
It does come down easier than the others though.

As far as the height, all 3 doors are 14’ high.

 

[GTFiero]

I have Liftmaster 8500 on three doors. 10x10' Insulated, 18x10', 16x8' Insulated. The Liftmaster does the job well!! No issues. Easy install. Plenty of power. A guy that installs them said I might have to have the upper rails for the doors slanted slightly to start the doors moving down. My upper rails are horizontal(level) and no issues getting doors to start down. Nice not having opener in the middle of everything. Great opener if you have a lift in your garage.

 

[longez]

I have two 14'W x 14' H doors with Liftmaster 8500's. I called Liftmaster before purchasing them and they said I'd be fine. So far (2 years) no issues.

 

[The_Auto_Tech]

Count me in for the Liftmaster 8500. I've got one on my 9x7 door and love it!

 

[dtrojcak]

I appreciate all the replies, but all of you are using the 8500 on smaller doors.

Is anyone using it on a door larger than recommended by LiftMaster?

 

[gnpenning]

MJ50 series by Liftmaster. Much better.choice for your larger doors and more dependable than the 8500. No wall control issues down the road. Designed to be used with high lift tracks or pusher springs. This is what knowledgeable pros recommended.

Read the thread on the 8500s.

 

[dtrojcak]

MJ50 series by Liftmaster. Much better.choice for your larger doors and more dependable than the 8500. No wall control issues down the road. Designed to be used with high lift tracks or pusher springs. This is what knowledgeable pros recommended.



Read the thread on the 8500s.

What prevents the MJ50/MH50 from unspooling the cable?
The 8500 has a cable tension monitor, but the Mx50s do not.

 

[Bluevista]

I've had an 8500 on a 7x15 insulated steel hi-lift door for over 12 years and not one problem...knock on wood.
Even if it went out tomorrow 12+ years is still a pretty good run.

 

[lakeroadster]

I know someone else has a large door.
What opener do you recommend?

TIA

We used a liftmaster industrial opener on the door at our previous shop. The door was 18' x 12'. Standard overhead style mount.

I can understand the height limit, but the 180sqft has always puzzled me. To me that would translate to weight, but with the proper springs/drums and being properly balanced why would the opener care about the sqft?

Wind loading. Take a 30 mph wind pushing against a 16 ft x 14 ft door... that's substantial.

This is done using the formula F = 1/2 rho x v^2 x A x C where F is the force of the wind load in pounds, rho is the air density, v is the wind velocity, A is the surface area of the door and C is a dimensionless drag coefficient (assumed to be 1.0). The calculation yields 1/2 x 0.075 x 30^2 x 224 x 1.0 or 7,560 pounds of force...

Our 18' x 12' door had oversized rollers and oversized back braces to handle the wind loading.

 

[dtrojcak]

I've had an 8500 on a 7x15 insulated steel hi-lift door for over 12 years and not one problem...knock on wood.
Even if it went out tomorrow 12+ years is still a pretty good run.

I installed 8500s on my two 12x14 doors with no issues so far as well.
I tested one on the 16x14 door. It wouldn't budge it.

My 16x14 door is more than double the size of your 7x15 door.
The door is simply too heavy for the light duty 8500 opener.

 

[dtrojcak]

We used a liftmaster industrial opener on the door at our previous shop. The door was 18' x 12'. Standard overhead style mount.

Wind loading. Take a 30 mph wind pushing against a 16 ft x 14 ft door... that's substantial.

This is done using the formula F = 1/2 rho x v^2 x A x C where F is the force of the wind load in pounds, rho is the air density, v is the wind velocity, A is the surface area of the door and C is a dimensionless drag coefficient (assumed to be 1.0). The calculation yields 1/2 x 0.075 x 30^2 x 224 x 1.0 or 7,560 pounds of force...

Our 18' x 12' door had oversized rollers and oversized back braces to handle the wind loading.

I was preferring a jackshaft(MJ5011) or hoist(MH5011) type of opener, mainly due to ease of installation.
However, now I'm thinking the trolley(MT5011) may be a better choice.

The 8500 model I installed on my other two smaller doors have a cable tension monitor that reverses the door if the cable goes slack on the way down.
The MJ and MH openers do not have that safety feature because they are designed for high lift and vertical lift doors.
My door is standard lift.
If I'm understanding everything correctly, a trolley type of opener would not have the potential problem of cable unspooling and would be a better choice for my application.

Can anyone confirm my thought process?

 

[Hot Rod Grampa]

Yes you are correct. A trolley opener moves the door. A shaft opener moves the shaft that moves the door. Your cables can come off with a trolley if something interferes with the door on one side and the door racks in the jamb. Never leaning shovels, brooms, etc. in the tracks is a good habit to get into as well as checking the opening for obstructions before you hit close.

 

[Hot Rod Grampa]

Although the 8500 can reverse the opener, it monitors only one cable. If by chance the obstruction is under the other side of the door, it may rack the door enough to unwind the cable. Always check the opening before closing the doors.

 

[dtrojcak]

Yes you are correct. A trolley opener moves the door. A shaft opener moves the shaft that moves the door. Your cables can come off with a trolley if something interferes with the door on one side and the door racks in the jamb. Never leaning shovels, brooms, etc. in the tracks is a good habit to get into as well as checking the opening for obstructions before you hit close.

This particular door is only used for my trailer and tractor to enter/exit the building.
It also opens into the area where my cattle are located.
Becuase of the cattle, the door is opened only long enough to hook up trailer or drive the tractor out.
After exiting, the door is immediately closed to prevent the cattle from entering to get to the bags of cubes stored just inside.
This is one of the main reasons I want a remote operator.
I want to be able to simply drive out and have the door close behind me without exiting my truck or tractor.
Because of this, shovels, brooms, etc. in the tracks shouldn't be an issue, but thanks for the tips.

Although the 8500 can reverse the opener, it monitors only one cable. If by chance the obstruction is under the other side of the door, it may rack the door enough to unwind the cable. Always check the opening before closing the doors.

All true, but the MH5011 and MH5011 have zero cable monitors, which makes me a bit leery to use them in my situation.

Now I have to start shopping around to find the lowest price.

 

[gnpenning]

This particular door is only used for my trailer and tractor to enter/exit the building.
It also opens into the area where my cattle are located.
Becuase of the cattle, the door is opened only long enough to hook up trailer or drive the tractor out.
After exiting, the door is immediately closed to prevent the cattle from entering to get to the bags of cubes stored just inside.
This is one of the main reasons I want a remote operator.
I want to be able to simply drive out and have the door close behind me without exiting my truck or tractor.
Because of this, shovels, brooms, etc. in the tracks shouldn't be an issue, but thanks for the tips.


All true, but the MH5011 and MH5011 have zero cable monitors, which makes me a bit leery to use them in my situation.

Now I have to start shopping around to find the lowest price.

You are right about no cable monitors on either model. They both have a clutch assembly that can be adjusted to change down pressure. 8500 uses a different system. If you get the clutch to loose it will slip when trying to open the door.

If you don't have a high lift and choose the MJ be sure and use pusher springs.

Both those models you can use remotes and keyless entries.

I really like the MJ50 series.

 

[2level]

Another possibility is the Genie Pro Max 500 opener. I've had 2 of them in use for ~8 years. One operates a 18w X 12h door. No issues.

 

[metschers]

I have the Liftmaster 8500 on all my doors. 8x8, 10x10, and 10x16. The rails for the 10x10 door follow the roof line at about a 45 degree angle (not like the other two doors which go up the rails then turn 90 degrees). I had the installers do this for more overhead clearance.

 

[dtrojcak]

I have the Liftmaster 8500 on all my doors. 8x8, 10x10, and 10x16. The rails for the 10x10 door follow the roof line at about a 45 degree angle (not like the other two doors which go up the rails then turn 90 degrees). I had the installers do this for more overhead clearance.

I wish I would’ve known this was an option last year when shop was built.

45* rails would help to prevent the cable from unspooling.

One of my 12x14 doors works fine with the 8500.
But the torsion spring was wound too tight on the other at installation.
I had to set the open height to only 13’ to leave enough weight hanging to help with closing.
If I open all the way to 14’, the cable goes slack for just a split second, but enough to activate the tension monitor.
Even pusher springs didn’t help.

 

[gnpenning]

I wish I would’ve known this was an option last year when shop was built.

45* rails would help to prevent the cable from unspooling.

One of my 12x14 doors works fine with the 8500.
But the torsion spring was wound too tight on the other at installation.
I had to set the open height to only 13’ to leave enough weight hanging to help with closing.
If I open all the way to 14’, the cable goes slack for just a split second, but enough to activate the tension monitor.
Even pusher springs didn’t help.

You may have other things going on if pusher springs didn't help. I've never seen one where it hasn't. Part of the problem is door size.

They work best with high lift, full vertical, or follow the roof line tracks.

 

[dtrojcak]

You may have other things going on if pusher springs didn't help. I've never seen one where it hasn't. Part of the problem is door size.

They work best with high lift, full vertical, or follow the roof line tracks.

There isn’t enough weight hanging down with door fully open.
The pusher stings are only 15”, I think the 27” version would work.
When I set the door to open only to 12’6” instead of the full 14’, it closes fine.

 

[gnpenning]

There isn’t enough weight hanging down with door fully open.
The pusher stings are only 15”, I think the 27” version would work.
When I set the door to open only to 12’6” instead of the full 14’, it closes fine.

The pusher springs are there because you don't have enough weight on the cables at full open. The pusher springs should be fully collapsed when the door is full open. You need the full stroke of the pusher springs to get were the door is weighing the cables. There is a possibility that you do need the longer springs. I generally only carry the longer ones then I can fine tune it to the door. Extra stroke length doesn't hurt, but not enough can cause a problem.

 

[dtrojcak]

Update:
I replaced the 15” springs with a pair of 27” and all works well now.
I can open the door to full height and it closes without slacking the cables.

 

[kbs2244]

We have had a lot of posts on changing the track to match the roof slope.
It is not a big deal.