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Garage door opener advice

biscuit141

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Apr 19, 2010
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1,074
Location
Indiana
Hi all,

We moved into a new to us house in November, it has a 3 car garage with 3 separate garage doors and openers. Shortly after we moved in the middle door started working intermittently then finally just clicking and humming in a double pulse but not moving. After googling I replaced the capacitor and hat seemed to solve the problem. That takes us to early March when the opener started to smoke a little when operating and more googling led me to believe the capacitor may have failed again. During this time I found an old receipt from the last homeowner that said a garage door company replaced a capacitor in 2018, I am assuming in the same door giving me issues. Fast forward to a week ago and the garage door for the bay my wife parks in started doing the double click and hum with no movement after my kids were playing with the opener for a couple presses. I am assuming a blown capacitor as well. Now these are Genie Pro Max chain drive openers, I spoke to a garage door company and he said they were probably from the late 90’s or early 2000’s. So my question is, do I keep replacing the capacitor and hope this stops happening or do I bite the bullet and replace the openers now? And if I replace, what opener do I go with? The current doors are wood, probably heavier but easy enough to lift by hand with the springs adjusted. I hope to get some new insulated doors in the next couple years.

Funny thing is the 3 bay has a much older Genie Pro screw drive which is loud as hell and doesn’t even have wireless control and it’s still trucking away, that is where we keep all the kids stuff.
 
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kngelv

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May 25, 2011
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Detroit, MI
Replace all three. I like Liftmaster belt drives. Super quiet and reliable. Chamberlain are basically the same but with a two piece rail instead of one.

James
 

allinon72

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Jul 5, 2010
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3,316
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Indianapolis
Sounds like a good opportunity to move up to jackshaft openers. Liftmaster 8500w x 3 will set you back about $1500 and they are simple to install, very quiet and makes the garage space feel larger without the opener hanging down in the middle.
 
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biscuit141

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Apr 19, 2010
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Location
Indiana
Sounds like a good opportunity to move up to jackshaft openers. Liftmaster 8500w x 3 will set you back about $1500 and they are simple to install, very quiet and makes the garage space feel larger without the opener hanging down in the middle.

I’d love to, but those are out of the budget. i should have specified, budget is the typical $150-$250 of a normal opener. I guess I’m wondering if I should buy a Genie or Chamerlain, chain or belt drive or even screw drive.
 
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biscuit141

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Apr 19, 2010
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Indiana
Replace all three. I like Liftmaster belt drives. Super quiet and reliable. Chamberlain are basically the same but with a two piece rail instead of one.

James

Would Chamberlain be a good enough alternative? They are readily available at Menards and Home Depot. Menards sells a 1/2hp B550 for $199 and HD has what appears to be nearly the same model but 3/4hp in the B750 for the same $199 price.
 

allinon72

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Would Chamberlain be a good enough alternative? They are readily available at Menards and Home Depot. Menards sells a 1/2hp B550 for $199 and HD has what appears to be nearly the same model but 3/4hp in the B750 for the same $199 price.

Chamberlain and Liftmaster are 2 brands of the same company. Some models have slight differences but those at Menards and HD should be identical.
 

58Yeoman

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Oct 1, 2010
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8,999
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Central IL
I would go with the Chamberlain. I had a Genie when I bought this house, and will never have another. Mine are a Chamberlain and CM chain drive, but my next will be belt driven Chamberlains. With all the problems stated on this site with the Liftmaster jackshaft openers, I wouldn't own one. You can't store anything above your door tracks anyway, so why have the empty space there? Gotta have room for the doors when they open.
 

Bert_

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NW Iowa
Replacing capacitors with same MFD rating but higher voltage will help. Are you buying good capacitors or whatever is cheap on Amazon?

I have a couple of genie screw drives from the early 80's so I am in the fix it camp
 
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bdbecker

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Nov 18, 2015
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Iowa
When our Genie opener bit the dust, I replaced it with the belt drive Chamberlain from Home Depot referenced above - totally worth it.
 

kngelv

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May 25, 2011
Messages
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Detroit, MI
Would Chamberlain be a good enough alternative? They are readily available at Menards and Home Depot. Menards sells a 1/2hp B550 for $199 and HD has what appears to be nearly the same model but 3/4hp in the B750 for the same $199 price.

Chamberlain and Liftmaster are the same company. The Liftmaster have one piece rails so they are just a smidge quieter. The Chamberlain are good openers. I like them better than the Genie stuff. Get belt drive for sure.

James
 

MrBalll

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Mar 8, 2016
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318
Location
West Texas
Would also recommend Chamberlain and a belt drive if you can.

I like Liftmaster/Chamberlin because I can control them with my phone. I'm guessing Genie can do it too, but I won't spend time looking if it can. Nice to open gate and garage door before I get into my alley so it's ready for me and I don't have to sit there waiting.
 

pmiranda

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Jul 15, 2008
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Austin, TX
I do like my belt-drive unit. Quiet and smooth. Easy DIY if you have a helper or two ladders. Take the time to lube and adjust the tracks, too.
 
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biscuit141

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Replacing capacitors with same MFD rating but higher voltage will help. Are you buying good capacitors or whatever is cheap on Amazon?

I have a couple of genie screw drives from the early 80's so I am in the fix it camp

I bought the capacitor from Granger, I believe it was Dayton brand, $16 I think. Not sure if I got a bad one or something in the opener is causing it to go bad.
 

Bert_

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Dec 24, 2016
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NW Iowa
I bought the capacitor from Granger, I believe it was Dayton brand, $16 I think. Not sure if I got a bad one or something in the opener is causing it to go bad.

Even decent capacitors don't seem to be as good as they used to be. On a lot of motor start capacitors I go up a size in voltage rating.

Common one for me is 216-259 MFD at 250 volt. I usually try to go to 330 volt. The new capacitors are usually smaller so the higher voltage one fits well.
 

soloz2

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Jun 30, 2012
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868
Location
Western NY
I'm pretty happy with my Chamberlain belt drive openers. Super quiet, even though that was not a stipulu when I bought them. Watch for sales. I got both mine on clearance from HD for $99 each instead of the $360 or so regular price.
To the person that said jackshaft, also those can only be used with a torsion spring. The OP has older wood door which most likely have extension springs.


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