gnpenning
Well-known member
I don't know which brand you are referring to. Most commercial openers have higher use ratings than that. Look at Liftmaster MJ50U11. Very good opener.
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Liftmaster 8500W - New Model, Fixed Controller!?
- Thread starter polizei1
- Start date
I don't know which brand you are referring to. Most commercial openers have higher use ratings than that. Look at Liftmaster MJ50U11. Very good opener.
gnpenning
Well-known member
I have two friends in the overhead door business.
The garage door on my barn has a Liftmaster commercial unit due to their feedback/experience with the 8500s.
Most guys in the industry that sale and service doors are in agreement on this.
This is a surprise to me.I have had my two 8500's for over two years and have not had a problem with the controller. The only issue I have had is two of the door locks have broken. LM customer service was great and replaced them quickly. One question to everyone. I use a surge protector to protect both units. Has anyone with a failed controller used a surge protector?
Jack_Toepfer
Well-known member
I don't know which brand you are referring to. Most commercial openers have higher use ratings than that. Look at Liftmaster MJ50U11. Very good opener.
Sorry, it was 10 per hour... not sure where I got that other number.
ishiboo
Well-known member
This is a surprise to me.I have had my two 8500's for over two years and have not had a problem with the controller. The only issue I have had is two of the door locks have broken. LM customer service was great and replaced them quickly. One question to everyone. I use a surge protector to protect both units. Has anyone with a failed controller used a surge protector?
In addition to the controller, my door guys mentioned that the main issue is the cables becoming slack, the switches that sense the slack, cables falling off, etc. The commercial door openers work a little differently and don't have sensors for the cable slack and apparently it's not as big of an issue. Not sure why.
gnpenning
Well-known member
In addition to the controller, my door guys mentioned that the main issue is the cables becoming slack, the switches that sense the slack, cables falling off, etc. The commercial door openers work a little differently and don't have sensors for the cable slack and apparently it's not as big of an issue. Not sure why.
You are right about commercial openers not having cable tension sensors. There are several reasons why residential have them. Mostly due to diy, and reading something on the internet so it must be the truth. Commercial doors many times have different track radius and lift.
74nova350ss
Well-known member
Zap 8825 series 3 https://www.northshorecommercialdoor.com/zapgadoopmo8.html
Thoughts on this as an alternative?
Thoughts on this as an alternative?
Zap 8825 series 3 https://www.northshorecommercialdoor.com/zapgadoopmo8.html
Thoughts on this as an alternative?
I am eyeing that as well. The biggest negative to me is not having a local dealer and potentially service issues if something goes wrong.
But it seems a bit better thought out than the Liftmaster, if a bit less gadget laden (and the stuff like laser sensors is extra).
Vintage Veloce
Well-known member
I have 3 Liftmaster 8500 operated doors, no problem yet. But I do keep an eye on this thread, and I plan to unplug them when we do away for more than a couple days.
I may consider adding some smart home outlets to my openers, and setting them to turn off overnight. I could also use that for travel instead of unplugging them. Relatively easy insurance.
That said... I suspect Liftmaster sells more of these 8500 units than the competitors. So one might assume you would hear of fewer problems with competitive units just because there may be fewer of them installed, especially by garage journal members.
I may consider adding some smart home outlets to my openers, and setting them to turn off overnight. I could also use that for travel instead of unplugging them. Relatively easy insurance.
That said... I suspect Liftmaster sells more of these 8500 units than the competitors. So one might assume you would hear of fewer problems with competitive units just because there may be fewer of them installed, especially by garage journal members.
I have 3 Liftmaster 8500 operated doors, no problem yet. But I do keep an eye on this thread, and I plan to unplug them when we do away for more than a couple days.
I may consider adding some smart home outlets to my openers, and setting them to turn off overnight. I could also use that for travel instead of unplugging them. Relatively easy insurance.
That said... I suspect Liftmaster sells more of these 8500 units than the competitors. So one might assume you would hear of fewer problems with competitive units just because there may be fewer of them installed, especially by garage journal members.
This is exactly right - there is a huge bias in Liftmaster against Zap because Liftmaster sells way more.
That being said, I went with Zap. I like how they have engineered the thing and the feature set.
coljar
Well-known member
I've been watching this thread and any other 8500 thread. I hate to admit it, but I have 2 8500's that have been setting in their boxes since last summer. Just haven't taken the time to install them. They aren't the "W" model.
gnpenning
Well-known member
I've been watching this thread and any other 8500 thread. I hate to admit it, but I have 2 8500's that have been setting in their boxes since last summer. Just haven't taken the time to install them. They aren't the "W" model.
If you have other openers on I would leave them. If you don't have a opener on, install them with a power cut off. If you happen to have got some good ones you will be happy. I hope you got a couple good ones and have no problems.
coljar
Well-known member
I was planning to put switches on both door openers. This garage isn't used for our daily drivers, so the doors aren't opened often.
tdkkart
Well-known member
Hmmm? I just bought a new 888LM control unit to replace the dead one on one of my 3800 openers. Hooked it up, and in less than 1 hour the door opened on it's own. I closed it, a few minutes later it opened again. This time the lights on the unit were flashing rapidly and then quit.
The unit is one it way back to the retailer, who is supposed to send me a replacement. Problem is, do i want to install a replacement?
The unit is one it way back to the retailer, who is supposed to send me a replacement. Problem is, do i want to install a replacement?
I apologize for revving this thread. I have three 3800's. They are fantastic openers in general but do suffer from issues. All had logic board replaced and wall panel(s). Recently had a door open on its own and the wall panel functionality stop. Has anyone looked into a sommer opener with a side mount kit?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004IOM872/?tag=atomicindus08-20
https://www.sommer-usa.com/uploads/4/0/7/6/40760403/installation_manual_side_mount_kit.pdf
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004IOM872/?tag=atomicindus08-20
https://www.sommer-usa.com/uploads/4/0/7/6/40760403/installation_manual_side_mount_kit.pdf
Sorry I know this is an old thread but I can not find anything newer regarding the jackshaft openers. I am currently considering one for my garage but can’t find any current info on either the zap butler or lift master 8500w. Have the issues with the 8500w been fixed? Has the zap butler been repressed yet? Or should i just go with the commercial 8950w.
Vintage Veloce
Well-known member
You want to look at this other thread for the 8500 wall controller issues. Liftmaster is replacing the wall controllers for free:
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=7609874
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=7609874
428PI
Well-known member
I have helper springs on mine but made a mistake and bought the short helper springs. The springs run out of spring just at the same time the motor speed changes and that can cause slackness in cables. I had to take my slack cable sensor and push a board into the sensor so it wouldn't cut power when it was needed. I wish they wouldn't have been so abrupt of change on motor speed or make it adjustable like my gate opener is. My controller hasn't given any problems yet and was manufactured in 10-16 but my new controller is on it's way.
Does anyone know if the temperature display on the wall controller is the temp at the wall controller or the opener itself? I would think the wall controller, but I could not find a straight answer in my searching. An answer will help me decide where to place the wall controllers.
machsnell
Well-known member
Does anyone know if the temperature display on the wall controller is the temp at the wall controller or the opener itself? I would think the wall controller, but I could not find a straight answer in my searching. An answer will help me decide where to place the wall controllers.
i cant figure out why it would be that different and if it was i would imagine you would be able to tell which it was.
but...its the controller. i just blew some heat gun air at them and it raised the temperature.
FWIW, my 8500w's have been installed for 4 months and no issues yet. Fingers crossed. i will follow to see if anyone reports issues with the new w models.
Thank you for the quick reply and confirmation. I should have been more clear in my first post as my decision was either inside the house or out in the garage.i cant figure out why it would be that different and if it was i would imagine you would be able to tell which it was.
but...its the controller. i just blew some heat gun air at them and it raised the temperature.
FWIW, my 8500w's have been installed for 4 months and no issues yet. Fingers crossed. i will follow to see if anyone reports issues with the new w models.
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Thank you for the quick reply and confirmation. I should have been more clear in my first post as my decision was either inside the house or out in the garage. Stayin in the garage...
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Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk