Jackshaft Garage Door Opener

[gdchapma]

Will a Liftmaster 3800 work on this door setup? It is a Raynor Insulated 10' X 8'. I was getting ready to order them and then remembered reading that the size and type of pulley on the jackshaft mattered. If the LM will not work, then what are my options?

Thanks,
Gary

 

[JCByrd24]

I think it would work just fine. You may need to put a spacer on the lower bracket of the liftmaster to bring it out even with the top where your pully is a little deeper but the opener will open it no problem. I think there is a minimum dimension from the wall to CL but no max for this reason. I love my LM 3800 BTW, you will not be dissappointed.

 

[nova65ss]

The drum is too big I can promise you it will not work.

 

[Worsedog]

I have the same openers and so far they are awesome. I love not having that **** hanging from the ceiling. Check with your garage door guy and see if you can change the drum to one compatible.

Here is the gist of the drum requirements:

4"-6"(10 cm - 15cm) drums, not to be used on tapered drums over 6" (15cm).

However where is the measurement taken on a tapered drum? The big end or small?
Check with an expert as to your options.

 

[stevej37]

How about a Wayne Dalton opener? No **** hanging from the ceiling and very quiet and fast.

 

[gdchapma]

The drum is too big I can promise you it will not work.

Then what are my options, just get out and open it manually?

 

[nova65ss]

Then what are my options, just get out and open it manually?

Are you purchasing the doors that are in the picture? If you are ordering new just have them engineer the springs with a 400-54 drum it is only 6" in diameter.

 

[stevej37]

I use Wayne Dalton openers on all three of my 9ft. doors...work perfectly.

 

[jimval]

I am living proof that the Liftmaster 3800 works with 6"-8" tapered drums. I have two doors using this type of setup.

Initially I started with two 6" straight drums. I didn't like the balance so I switched to the larger tapered drums. Now the balance is perfect at all positions.

I talked to a tech supervisor at liftmaster (after encountering a woman in tech support who could only read their literature) and he told me the concern with the larger tapered drums was to get the cable slack switch mounted so that it works properly.

I love the 3800. It is the best opener ever made.........

 

[gdchapma]

Are you purchasing the doors that are in the picture? If you are ordering new just have them engineer the springs with a 400-54 drum it is only 6" in diameter.

No, these are existing (about 2 years old) doors. What is the issue withe the bigger drums? Any way around them? What about the Zap openers? Any sugestions are welcome.

Thanks
Gary

 

[nova65ss]

You know Jim V has me wondering why he was able to get them to work and we couldn't. Our problem was the limits not holding. You could get it to run fine once and after that it would only travel a few feet and stop. Interesting to say the least that he got it to work. Talked with sveral people at CS at Liftmaster and they all said the same that the drum was too big.

Zap will work them no problem. Now I am at a loss with the LM we tried them on two different jobs and the same problem.

 

[Kapt]

I am living proof that the Liftmaster 3800 works with 6"-8" tapered drums. I have two doors using this type of setup.

Initially I started with two 6" straight drums. I didn't like the balance so I switched to the larger tapered drums. Now the balance is perfect at all positions.

I talked to a tech supervisor at liftmaster (after encountering a woman in tech support who could only read their literature) and he told me the concern with the larger tapered drums was to get the cable slack switch mounted so that it works properly.

I love the 3800. It is the best opener ever made.........

Is the cable slack switch shown in your picture? I'd like to buy the 3800 too, but my drums are over 6".

 

[ovilla]

Whatever you do, do NOT buy the Wayne Dalton i-drive units. I have one and finally got the thing to work after about 2 days of fiddling with it. I also have a LM-3800 unit on my other door. Anyway, you will absolutely love the LM-3800. They are extremely quiet (about as loud as you manually opening the door on your own) and the battery back up, deadbolt, and remotes are all very reliable and top notch products. The i-drive has a stupid built in delay that will have you wondering whether or not you need to press the button again on all of your remotes. You'll find that after you press the button and are thinking of pressing it again, the door will all of a sudden open. Also, the i-drive has no cable slack monitor so if your door gets jammed on the way down (say because it gets hung up on a broom hanging against the door, which your sensor doesn't detect - ask me how I know) the unit will unspool your drums and leave the door stuck in mid air in a huge mess. The LM-3800 has a cable slack monitor and will instantly stop the motor if the cable looses tension. Also, the i-drive is very touchy and will be very difficult to adjust for height (in either up/down) and force. Talk to most garage door installers and you'll quickly see that many of them won't even install i-drive units because of the many complaints with them. On the other hand the LM-3800 is amazingly simple to install requiring very basic hand tools and can be installed in about an hour by any DIY'r. Best of luck!

 

[jimval]

Kapt,
The cable slack switch is in the yellow circle.

 

[stevej37]

Whatever you do, do NOT buy the Wayne Dalton i-drive units. I have one and finally got the thing to work after about 2 days of fiddling with it. I also have a LM-3800 unit on my other door. Anyway, you will absolutely love the LM-3800. They are extremely quiet (about as loud as you manually opening the door on your own) and the battery back up, deadbolt, and remotes are all very reliable and top notch products. The i-drive has a stupid built in delay that will have you wondering whether or not you need to press the button again on all of your remotes. You'll find that after you press the button and are thinking of pressing it again, the door will all of a sudden open. Also, the i-drive has no cable slack monitor so if your door gets jammed on the way down (say because it gets hung up on a broom hanging against the door, which your sensor doesn't detect - ask me how I know) the unit will unspool your drums and leave the door stuck in mid air in a huge mess. The LM-3800 has a cable slack monitor and will instantly stop the motor if the cable looses tension. Also, the i-drive is very touchy and will be very difficult to adjust for height (in either up/down) and force. Talk to most garage door installers and you'll quickly see that many of them won't even install i-drive units because of the many complaints with them. On the other hand the LM-3800 is amazingly simple to install requiring very basic hand tools and can be installed in about an hour by any DIY'r. Best of luck!

Did you follow the instructions when installing your I-Drive?? I have three of these units and they all work perfectly. No hesitation when opening and installing the limits couldn't be easier. They are very easy to install and everyone that sees mine, comment on how fast and quiet they are. Have been in use for three years.. with no problems.

 

[anojones]

My wayne dalton spools get tangled quite a bit- usually when the door is opening. I have a 3800 waiting to be installed in my shop, but wouldn't use the wayne daltons again.

 

[ovilla]

stevej37 - I sure did read the manual (every page from cover to cover - still got it too). I was all excited about the i-drive when I first saw it locally available at Menards. I've installed a good 50+ Sears brands over the years and did find the idrive very easy to install (not as easy as the LM3800 but still very straight forward). I do agree that its faster than other units (even the LM3800) but I've never been able to figure out the delay that I'm getting. Tech support also couldn't help me fix it. Heck, I can be 3' from the inside of the door and I still get the stupid delay. Finally, I'll definitely be replacing mine this summer with another LM3800 and this will not be one opener I sell or give to any friends, as I don't want them to deal with any of the issues I've experienced with it. Seriously, call around and ask the garage door places if they'll sell or install an idrive unit. I talked to about 4 shops that said that they don't due to too many issues and call backs. Glad to hear you have a good one. By the way, it's also interesting to note that Menards no longer seems to carry the idrive units that work with torsion bars. The Menards by me only carries the idrive that works with the Wayne Dalton doors.

 

[stevej37]

Yeah, I noticed also that the stores that carried the Wayne Dalton openers, don't anymore. I have three of them installed on my 9ft doors and I do notice a slight delay before the door will open. I never timed it, but I would guess maybe a full second or so. But the opener makes up for the delay with the speed it opens. I did have some issues with the second one I installed with keeping the programming installed. I called the service dept and they ups'd a new circuit board the next day. The gal said they had been having some problems with a series of them. I have no clearance for a track/chain opener over the door, so these openers have worked great for me...so far!!