Anyone Using a Wall-Mounted Door Opener?

[ekraft84]

Just curious .. there's the Liftmaster 8500 that mounts to the wall and eliminates the traditional overhead pulley-system. Had a few questions:

1. Quieter? (Have a bedroom directly overhead and mine is currently loud)

2. More Secure? (Saw it has the auto-lock, whatever-it's-called feature you can set). More remote features also.

3. Ease of installation?

Thanks.

 

[wagzilla]

My friend has one on he's house much quieter

James

 

[Stuart in MN]

Lots of people here have Liftmaster openers - if you use the search function at the top of the page you can find more discussions on the subject.

 

[albaran]

I have one and I would answer yes to all three questions.

 

[Chitown_hillbilly]

I have one and I would answer yes to all three questions.

Agreed.

Especially installing. You could realistically have it completely installed in 30 min if you know what your doing. Still under an hour if it's the first one you've done.

 

[artrem]

I changed mine over to the 8500 so I could get more overhead clearance when I installed a MaxJax lift in my garage.

Quieter?
I don't think so.

More secure?
No, but not less secure. The track system held the door down in the closed position. The 8500 comes with a solenoid operated deadbolt to keep the door closed. Without that, it would be easy to open the door from outside.

Ease of installation?
Yes it's pretty easy to install one of these, IF your door is well balanced. Just mount the motor, hook it up to the shaft, run the wires and mount the wall controller and program in the start/stop points.

 

[ekraft84]

Agreed.

Especially installing. You could realistically have it completely installed in 30 min if you know what your doing. Still under an hour if it's the first one you've done.

Good to know, thanks guys.

 

[oscar80]

I was told my 10 X 12 doors were too big for a liftmaster. This was told to me by an installer. Is that true. The wall mount seems nice.

 

[Chitown_hillbilly]

I changed mine over to the 8500 so I could get more overhead clearance when I installed a MaxJax lift in my garage.

Quieter?
I don't think so.

More secure?
No, but not less secure. The track system held the door down in the closed position. The 8500 comes with a solenoid operated deadbolt to keep the door closed. Without that, it would be easy to open the door from outside.

Ease of installation?
Yes it's pretty easy to install one of these, IF your door is well balanced. Just mount the motor, hook it up to the shaft, run the wires and mount the wall controller and program in the start/stop points.

Definitely more quiet than a typical Chain driven track type. I've never had a belt model or one the expensive worm drive models, so I can't comment on those.

Definitely more secure, you even mentioned the dead bolt! Go on Youtube and search "6 Second Garage door break in" Track models are extremely easy to break into.

 

[artrem]

I was told my 10 X 12 doors were too big for a liftmaster. This was told to me by an installer. Is that true. The wall mount seems nice.

Go to www.liftmaster.com and download the owner's manual for the 8500. It states what the 8500 is compatible with.

 

[Chitown_hillbilly]

I was told my 10 X 12 doors were too big for a liftmaster. This was told to me by an installer. Is that true. The wall mount seems nice.

According to Lift Master

It needs Torsion springs, a 1 in shaft and no larger than 180 sq/ft (18ft wide x 10ft tall).

So if your door has a 1 in shaft and torsion springs I don't see why not.

 

[artrem]

Definitely more quiet than a typical Chain driven track type. I've never had a belt model or one the expensive worm drive models, so I can't comment on those.

Definitely more secure, you even mentioned the dead bolt! Go on Youtube and search "6 Second Garage door break in" Track models are extremely easy to break into.

Wow, I did go to YouTube and that was eye-opening. This should be required viewing for anyone on this board. OK, I retract my earlier statement and will say, the jackshaft opener IS more secure (unless you modify the track release).

Regarding noise, I had a belt drive and it was pretty quiet, so the noise level was about the same to me.

 

[HoosierMark]

I have had 3 about 3 months now and love them. I like the clear ceiling above the door and I find them to be very quiet. I have not had one person say they did not wish they had them (except for the cost of replacing the ones they have) of all the people who were in and out of my house as it was being completed. They were easy to install. I am glad I got them Cost was $275 pr unit from a garage door installer. I just went to the parts department and bought them.

 

[Chris05gto]

I have 2 liftmasters, they work pretty smooth and quiet......and fairly easy to install.

 

[Ak47si]

Hey HossierMark,

Would you mind telling me where you got the liftmaster from? Do they have a online store and offer shipping? I am about to but a bendpak lift and need a solution for that.

thanks in advance.
Alan

 

[Chris05gto]

Hey Alan,
I bought my Liftmasters from ebay........and I bought my Bendpak HD 9 from Workshop Depot. Talk to Dave tell him I sent you.

 

[oscar80]

The dealer I talked said something about with the liftmaster there is no weight on the cable when it was up and could cause it to slip.

 

[Costner]

From what I have read, it seems most people like them, but I know a couple of guys who installed them on existing doors and had nothing but problems. I suspect it was due to the torsion springs not being adjusted properly which was causing some binding or uneven lifting of the door... but hard to say for certain.

In one case the guy had the installer come back out and replace the openers (same issues on both doors). One door went through three openers, the other required two, but eventually he seemed to get the kinks worked out. Not sure if this required any adjustment to the doors or springs.

In the other case I knew of, the guy ended up sending them back and going with a conventional opener. He was of the opinion the technology wasn't quite up to speed yet.

Aside from these two, I don't know anyone personally who has them. I go through the local Parade of Homes twice each year and the garage is one room I always check out... I think in the 100 new homes I've viewed in the past 5-6 years I've seen one with shaft mounted openers, and that was in a case where the guy had two drive-on lifts so he could store four cars in two stalls.

One thing to be aware of is you need to ensure you get electrical power to where the opener will be located. This isn't typically a problem, but something to be aware of if you happen to have a tuck-under garage as it may require some conduit or other surface mounted options.

 

[toyoguy81]

I have the LM 8500 with internet gateway set up.. Yes to all 3, and its nice to have internet info on my phone too

 

[HoosierMark]

I got my openers from A & E garage doors in Cincinnati. I do not know if they have an internet site but I imagine they do. They advertise heavily in the Cincinnati OH market.

 

[tomphot]

I love my 8500. I had it installed in the new garage I just built with a 16x8 high lift door.
I bought it during a promo where they gave me 3 cool accessories for free - internet gateway, remote monitor and a wireless light switch.
It's very quiet and totally opens up the middle of the ceiling.

 

[Pate]

I have two also. Very quiet and works like it should. Mine are just over two years old.

 

[NitroShark]

I have 5 Liftmasters. The largest door is 12X13. They work great.

Internet gateway is a plus also.


Shawn

 

[ekraft84]

Nice garage and rig too. Thanks.

 

[ekraft84]

Reading through the manual, does the power door lock engage each time, when the door closes? This would be ideal.

 

[BobRae]

Reading through the manual, does the power door lock engage each time, when the door closes? This would be ideal.

Yes it does.

 

[pattenp]

Reading through the manual, does the power door lock engage each time, when the door closes? This would be ideal.

Yes. The lock bolt can also be manually opened.

 

[BobRae]

Just curious .. there's the Liftmaster 8500 that mounts to the wall and eliminates the traditional overhead pulley-system. Had a few questions:

1. Quieter? (Have a bedroom directly overhead and mine is currently loud)

2. More Secure? (Saw it has the auto-lock, whatever-it's-called feature you can set). More remote features also.

3. Ease of installation?

Thanks.

It is quiet, but some have a constant hum from the transformer while they are sitting idle. Liftmaster has fixed this in later production models and if yours hums, assuming the transformer is not defective, you can correct it by inserting a rubber grommet at the transformer mounting points. Later production models already have that part incorporated.

 

[MagicMarker]

I have one and a LM chain on the other door.. the 8500 is quieter.

 

[ekraft84]

Thanks guys.

Last question - it looks like there are wireless option for the control panel. Wired panel is 888LM (included) vs the 885LM (wireless). Has anyone used the wireless setup?

If reliable, I'd rather go wireless and skip running wire (existing wiring I have needs to be redone anyway).

Thanks.

 

[BobRae]

I wired my keypad but I have a wireless keypad on the exterior of the garage. It works fine so I have no doubt the wireless LM will work as well. The 8500 is a well executed package.

 

[ekraft84]

Thanks Bob. Appreciate the input.

 

[black00lightning]

Can the opener be locked (for security) just slightly open, say 12" off the floor? I often work with the door cracked for ventilation.

 

[BobRae]

When you set up the opener, you set the upper and lower trave limits. You also install the lock mechanism "at least 3" above a wheel when the door is in the closed position". I think you would close the door normally, then disengage the drive unit (pull the unlock handle), lift the door up a few inches until it hits the lock bar, then block under it to hold it there. In the morning you'd remove the block, release the pull handle after the door settles to the ground and then press the opener as normal.

 

[Denwood]

We have a direct drive on our 14ft overhead loading bay door. It's very quiet and has been 100% reliable. The door was also modified so when raised it is right at the ceiling, about 18ft up. This allows full use of our pallet racks right up to the ceiling. Our film studio is adjacent to the loading bay area so a quiet door was essential.

 

[jmlcolorado]

I'll add to the list of happy customers.
I installed mine myself with no previous experience installing an opener. I got the dol crappy 70's warped wood door balanced right and haven't had a problem with my 8500 at all.
I just installed a new steel insulated door and swapped out new springs to correct balance to the new weight door, and hooked the 8500 up to that one. Flawless as well.
It is pretty dang quiet, but I've heard some standard belt drive motors that could compete well with that.
Deadbolt locks every time.
I have the wired keypad by the back door, the old door openers keypad wired to the top ended just inside the door, and the coded wireless keypad outside the door.
No shortage on options to close/open the door.
Plus it's fun to have people guess where the opener is. They are always in awe by it when they realize it isn't in the standard spot.

 

[black00lightning]

BobRae, thanks for the info.

 

[ekraft84]

I'll add to the list of happy customers.
I installed mine myself with no previous experience installing an opener. I got the dol crappy 70's warped wood door balanced right and haven't had a problem with my 8500 at all.
I just installed a new steel insulated door and swapped out new springs to correct balance to the new weight door, and hooked the 8500 up to that one. Flawless as well.
It is pretty dang quiet, but I've heard some standard belt drive motors that could compete well with that.
Deadbolt locks every time.
I have the wired keypad by the back door, the old door openers keypad wired to the top ended just inside the door, and the coded wireless keypad outside the door.
No shortage on options to close/open the door.
Plus it's fun to have people guess where the opener is. They are always in awe by it when they realize it isn't in the standard spot.

Thanks JML.

 

[ekraft84]

One potential issue is placement. For the double door, no problem. Put it on the right and it should be fine.

The single door however - the opener would need to mount on the wall, to the right - where the speaker was already placed. Rough measurements I took make it close - real close.

I've seen those pulley systems to adjust the height one way or the other. That might be a viable option. Anyone else run into any tricky spacing issues?

Thanks.

 

[BobRae]

One potential issue is placement. For the double door, no problem. Put it on the right and it should be fine.

The single door however - the opener would need to mount on the wall, to the right - where the speaker was already placed. Rough measurements I took make it close - real close.

I've seen those pulley systems to adjust the height one way or the other. That might be a viable option. Anyone else run into any tricky spacing issues?

Thanks.

The single door opener (8500) will mount on the RH side. Looking at your picture, it won't overlap anything you have placed. It only connects onto the 1" shaft and onto the wood structure that the rail is mounted to for your garage door. The bracket, in this case will attach to the left side of the opener. You just need a couple of plugs installed in the ceiling or wall adjacent to the openers. I'd mount the double opener on the left side of that door, then you can route the power cords to the same electrical outlet. Given how tidy your garage looks, I think it would be best to install 2 outlets, one just to the side of each opener.