Liftmaster 8500 on jackshaft?

[philofab]

So, I am in the middle of buying a house and it has no garage door openers, planning on buying Liftmaster 8500s (I need 4), however the main RV door which can not use a traditional door opener (12x12 I think?) does not have enough room to fit this opener on either side (Wall is in the way). Does anyone make a jackshaft kit? I have plenty of room above. If not does anyone have experience with something like this?

I easily have the skills to build the jackshaft but I'm not sure if the chain slack my trip pr cause issues with the door opener?

Any help is appreciated.



*** EDIT *** I am referring to using two chain pulleys and a chain to relocate the opener above the door rather than directly connected to the garage door spring shaft.

 

[philofab]

Something like this but with a traditional sprung door.

 

[MikeF]

Not 100%, but I think they sell a kit for it (liftmaster), they are awesome units. I recommend cable keepers on a standard lift door and make sure you mount the cable sensor correctly and securely. We had a guy mount it upside down with one screw and it came off. Owner wondered why the door stopped working. I will be installing them on my shop when I build my garage.

 

[MikeF]

is a drawbar opener out of the question? liftmaster make the "ATS" model opener that meets residential codes but its heavier for light commercial use.

 

[philofab]

I'd really like to avoid a drawbar style opener. It will get in the way of the lights.

I will give the cable keepers a try, I had not seen those before. I was planning on putting "pushers" in the tracks.

After searching a bit on Google I found a few threads of people who have done this. For some reason the search on this site didn't bring them up. I will update this post in a month or so when I tackle this job. The house doesn't close until later this month.

 

[MikeF]

if you are careful, here is how I install them. Take the door up so the bottom is about stomach/chest high. Vise grip the second roller up (#1 hinge between first and second section) to hold door in place. I take the claw end of a hammer or channel locks and bend the rounded (outer) part of the track so you can pop the bottom roller out. Use the hammer or pry bar to carefully pop the bottom roller out that's attached to the bottom bracket. DO NOT REMOVE THE MOUNTING HARDWARE OR CABLE ATTACHED TO BOTTOM BRACKET!!!
EDIT: you are pulling the section out enough to slide the roller in/out

I then slide the roller out, put the cable keeper in place and slide the roller back into the bracket. hook the keeper around the cable. Get roller back into track and bend track back to shape. Repeat for other side. The hardest part is getting the tab where the cable mounts to the bracket past the track.

Doing it that way, you don't have to mess with the springs and the section wont fly out. Do one roller at a time. Pushers work too but are more work and cost more.

 

[Theruse]

If you check the liftmaster 8500 site, I believe they make a jackshaft adapter when you cant attach the 8600 directly to the shaft. It is just two sprockets with a chain, so you can mount the unit above or below rather than aligned with the shaft.

 

[philofab]

I found the kit on Amazon, but I couldn't find it on Liftmaster's site.



Not sure it will offset the opener far enough but looks like an excellent source of parts. Just the chain wheels would probably cost me $40 each plus some #50 chain.

At least I know it's 100% feasible if Liftmaster sells parts to do it.

Before anyone worries about the spring tension I have repaired 50+ garage doors (commercial and residential) plus about another 100 UHaul back doors (way heavier).

Stay tuned and I'll update this thread when the house closes. I think my setup will end up being very clean looking.

 

[Viper98912]

Yes, liftmaster makes an adapter. I saw it once (or maybe saw it in the instructions?).

But be careful that door may be too large or too heavy for the 8500. You may need to bump up to their commercial unit. Similar setup, just heavier duty motor I believe.

 

[philofab]

Yes, liftmaster makes an adapter. I saw it once (or maybe saw it in the instructions?).

But be careful that door may be too large or too heavy for the 8500. You may need to bump up to their commercial unit. Similar setup, just heavier duty motor I believe.

The door is aprox 125 sq feet.

THIS GARAGE DOOR OPENER IS COMPATIBLE WITH:
• Doors that use a torsion bar and springs. The torsion bar must be 1 inch (2.5 cm) diameter.
• 4-6 inch (10-15 cm) drums, not to be used on tapered drums over 6 inches (15 cm).
• High lift (up to 54 inches (137.2 cm) high) and standard lift sectional doors up to 14 feet (4.3 m) high.
• Doors up to 18 feet (5.5 m) wide.
• Doors up to 180 sq. ft. (16.7 sq. m).

 

[MikeF]

we've put em on similar doors. as long as the door is balanced, it shouldn't have an issue. the biggest issue might be the run time for the motor. a lot of new ones cut out after 90 seconds as the really shouldn't be running that long.

I would also use #40 or #41 chain. #50 is what the commercial jackshafts use. liftmasters model "MH" uses #41 I believe.

side note, commercial openers aren't rated for residential use and aren't "Approved" for what its worth.

 

[philofab]

I am planning on using #50 chain and sprockets. A little bigger won't hurt anything and the savings with #40 isn't worth it.

Are these openers that slow? 90 seconds seems like a really long time.

 

[youwish2bme]

I am planning on using #50 chain and sprockets. A little bigger won't hurt anything and the savings with #40 isn't worth it.

Are these openers that slow? 90 seconds seems like a really long time.

I've got them on my 8' doors and they lift them in about 15-20 seconds. I would think that the 8500 would lift that 12' door in about 30 seconds or less.. They are small and QUIET...

Hitch