Liftmaster Elite 8500 Installation Clearance

[AndyL]

Homewrecker:

If you've got 36" to work with vertically - a center mount like this works...

Course finding a door guy who can think his way through doing it that's a different can of worms...

(but don't do it on centerline like that - almost impossible to program, so offset to just inboard from right or left drum)

 

[Burgerkong]

Homewrecker:

If you've got 36" to work with vertically - a center mount like this works...

Course finding a door guy who can think his way through doing it that's a different can of worms...

(but don't do it on centerline like that - almost impossible to program, so offset to just inboard from right or left drum)

Holy smokes. LOL. I told him to get the door guy to slide the gear/sprocket onto the shaft before installing the rest of the hardware so he could mount the opener directly below the shaft.

 

[AndyL]

That the works if there's the side clearance... The pictured one was 38" of highlift on a 8' - notice how much I'm having to kick the tracks back to make the door face clear the opener... Pushing the opener down with a 480lm just necessitates more kick... But yeah, if your burying in the wall just trying to clear under the top plates the 480lm will accomplish that.

When it comes down to it - doing like this just inboard from the drum, you'll use a pair of 10$ spring anchors, and an additional shaft collar.

You guys being in Ontario - probably have access to a Richard Wilcox dealer - the parts I used on this one were RW (others work, but RW is more awesome) - they should be able to copy quite easily...

 

[Burgerkong]

That the works if there's the side clearance... The pictured one was 38" of highlift on a 8' - notice how much I'm having to kick the tracks back to make the door face clear the opener... Pushing the opener down with a 480lm just necessitates more kick... But yeah, if your burying in the wall just trying to clear under the top plates the 480lm will accomplish that.

When it comes down to it - doing like this just inboard from the drum, you'll use a pair of 10$ spring anchors, and an additional shaft collar.

You guys being in Ontario - probably have access to a Richard Wilcox dealer - the parts I used on this one were RW (others work, but RW is more awesome) - they should be able to copy quite easily...

Yeah, we won't know until the door guys get here and do the install. Did you cut the shaft in half and had the opener drive those two halves simultaneously or used the 480LM kit? Just trying to understand how it worked.

 

[nova65ss]

I feel for the first guy that has to service that Cluster Fuk!

Heard that!

 

[nova65ss]

That's a good idea Andyl mounting in the center although from the OP pic I am not sure you will be able to kick the breakaways back far enough to clear the motor?

 

[Homewrecker]

Wow. A Lot of 'custom engineered' solutions here lol. I was there yesterday insulating the walls and ceiling and measured again. I just might get lucky and have enough room for the standard installation. The door width is 18' and not 16' like the builder had mentioned.

I also don't think I can go all the way to the ceiling with the high lift configuration. The ceiling is stepped down about 5' from the door opening which wouldn't let the door open all the way.

I'd be happy just raising it a couple of feet to make room for the max jax that I'll be installing later (got them to pour a thicker slab).

 

[CNGsaves]

So you are insulating and sheetrocking . . . . do you have Gameplan??

Know what you are getting and WHERE it will be installed ??

 

[Homewrecker]

So you are insulating and sheetrocking . . . . do you have Gameplan??

Know what you are getting and WHERE it will be installed ??

The majority of the garage is insulated by the builder. The bedroom upstairs
Is only partially over the garage so they spray foam underneath there. The rest of the ceiling is directly outside and they don't care about it so I added insulation there and above the garage door. The entire garage is being dry walled by the builder so I don't need to worry about that. They only do a rough coat of mud and tape to meet code for fumes etc.

As far as a game plan goes I don't really have one as yet. Just have to wait for the door to be installed along with the drywall and then I'll see what I have to contend with. Electrically, I'm all set up and have everything where I want it. I had 2 20 amp (as opposed to the standard 15A) outlets installed for the Max Jax along with a 220V, 40A outlet for my welder. Also got a switched plug installed for the heater and I added some extra framing to where the Big Maxx heater will be hung. Also got them to add 2 more light fixture rough-ins for the 8' Strips I'll be installing later.

I'm having an HVAC guy coming to look at the garage before it's dry walled so he can take some notes for when he installs the heater.

They must think I'm weird for all these extras I asked for. Almost all of the people there just get whatever is standard. Since I spend a lot of time in the garage I wanted to make sure I got what I wanted this time around.

 

[CNGsaves]

All your pre-planning will pay off. Nice job.

Keep the pics coming as it progresses. Good luck.

 

[Homewrecker]

Thanks. I'll post up some more pics.

The wife made sure I also got some extras for something called a kitchen lol.

 

[Todd.Brock]

Wow. A Lot of 'custom engineered' solutions here lol. I was there yesterday insulating the walls and ceiling and measured again. I just might get lucky and have enough room for the standard installation. The door width is 18' and not 16' like the builder had mentioned.

I also don't think I can go all the way to the ceiling with the high lift configuration. The ceiling is stepped down about 5' from the door opening which wouldn't let the door open all the way.

I'd be happy just raising it a couple of feet to make room for the max jax that I'll be installing later (got them to pour a thicker slab).

This makes sense!! 18 ft door. That is a big door!! I have a 20ft wide garage with a 16ft door. I kept scratching my head looking at your clearance and having a 16 ft door. Does not compute !

You will find a way for the 8500. Just may have to get creative. GD companies don't typically want to get creative, so you may have to order one and play around with it. Don't forget about tech support. They may provide some insight. If you have to shorten the bar, I'm not sure the GD people would notice even if there was a warranty issue. As long as it looked up and up, they wouldn't suspect it, Just my .03 Looks great! My warranty was only a year anyway, so it's not like its a lifetime thing.

 

[AndyL]

Yeah, we won't know until the door guys get here and do the install. Did you cut the shaft in half and had the opener drive those two halves simultaneously or used the 480LM kit? Just trying to understand how it worked.

No 480LM - that's just for dropping the opener down... in that scenario it's purely cutting the shaft and adding another collar (so tieing the opener to both halves of the shaft)

But like I said... Don't do it on centerline! Getting at the programming buttons to set limits is a witch with a capital b - luckily they didn't program in a kick out of limit setup on manual disconnect, and a panel joint was fairly awesomely located for this one. Yes the front cover pops out 2nd and 3rd time I did this, snuck it right over against the drum - so much easier.

The 480LM is more handy in scenarios like this:

Where you need to sneak down below the top-plate, and bury it in a side wall. (Yeah perhaps not my prettiest work - but a GJ'er seemed to appreciate having a opener where none was really possible)

GD companies don't typically want to get creative, so you may have to order one and play around with it.

Shhh - Don't give them any idea's - I like being the only guy who'll do the fun stuff.

 

[colt340]

This is how mine is installed. the installer did a good job for such a tight spot.

[/URL][/IMG]

 

[IONH]

Colt, wow, that's a tight fit! Thanks for the picture.

Somewhat related, can anyone tell me how far away from the wall the sheathing usually is from the spring? I haven't sheathed the interior wall on my garage yet so I want to know if I'll be able to slide it in after the spring is up or not.

 

[Homewrecker]

Well I went back and took some measurements. It is in fact a 16' foot door. The width of the garage is 18' 1". The distance between the wall and the edge of the 2x4 where the track will go is 11.5".

I should be left with enough room for a standard install.....hopefully.
It shouldnt be as tight as the photo in the post above.

 

[Todd.Brock]

Here is my install.

 

[rburke65]

How long must the shaft be of the torsion pipe be in order to connect the LM drive to it? Thanks.

 

[Homewrecker]

Thanks for the pic. Based on that I should have just enough room.

Minimum shaft protrusion is 1" as per the manual.

 

[Todd.Brock]

Glad to help!

 

[AndyL]

Thanks for the pic. Based on that I should have just enough room.

Minimum shaft protrusion is 1" as per the manual.

Yes... But... Add width of horizontal angle...

The angle that runs off the horizontal track - will push your opener at least 1.5" away. And honestly - it works better with ~5" protruding from the bearing. Main reason being - the more that's protruding, the more sits inside the opener and ensures you don't clamp it slightly misaligned.

 

[gnjweaver]

Here is my successful, ultra tight, Liftmaster opener installed.

 

[SILVERPLATE]

Can someone tell me how quiet these type openers are? Thanks.

 

[gnjweaver]

Mine is very very quiet. I have a non-insulated door and cheap roller, and I can hardly hear it open. I don't feel guilty at all opening the door a 5AM

 

[pattenp]

The opener itself is very quiet. It's the door that makes all the racket if you have a clunky door.

Can someone tell me how quiet these type openers are? Thanks.

 

[The Big M]

No 480LM - that's just for dropping the opener down... in that scenario it's purely cutting the shaft and adding another collar (so tieing the opener to both halves of the shaft)

But like I said... Don't do it on centerline! Getting at the programming buttons to set limits is a witch with a capital b - luckily they didn't program in a kick out of limit setup on manual disconnect, and a panel joint was fairly awesomely located for this one. Yes the front cover pops out 2nd and 3rd time I did this, snuck it right over against the drum - so much easier.

The 480LM is more handy in scenarios like this:

Where you need to sneak down below the top-plate, and bury it in a side wall. (Yeah perhaps not my prettiest work - but a GJ'er seemed to appreciate having a opener where none was really possible)

I can always pretty it up later if need be.

As for questions about noise, mine is also very quiet.

 

[Homewrecker]

Here is my successful, ultra tight, Liftmaster opener installed.

Damn. I don't think it gets any tighter than that. The Door is supposed to be installed this week sometime so here's hoping I've got some space.

 

[IONH]

Here is my successful, ultra tight, Liftmaster opener installed.
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-...AAAAekk/AxNzAnpBcJw/w544-h725-no/IMG_5922.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-...AAAAeko/EWLjo2awELY/w977-h733-no/IMG_5923.JPG

Did you have to cut the shaft of the door down at all?

Did you install it yourself? Any pictures of the coupler attachment to the shaft?

 

[gnjweaver]

All of the above. I had to cut the torsion shaft to the minimum recommended length of 1" beyond the bearing. Rather than punch a hole in the wall, I also removed 1" from the far side of the opener drive shaft. I then had to loosed the entire torsion shaft assembly and move it back so that the liftmaster could be attached. It took a little planning and some extra work, but I'm happy with the results. Not having the low hanging overhead opener makes it all worth it.

 

[IONH]

All of the above. I had to cut the torsion shaft to the minimum recommended length of 1" beyond the bearing. Rather than punch a hole in the wall, I also removed 1" from the far side of the opener drive shaft. I then had to loosed the entire torsion shaft assembly and move it back so that the liftmaster could be attached. It took a little planning and some extra work, but I'm happy with the results. Not having the low hanging overhead opener makes it all worth it.

Thanks for the info on what you had to do!

 

[gnjweaver]

I'll get some pictures of the coupler tonight.

 

[gnjweaver]

Here are some close up pictures of the coupler.

 

[IONH]

Thanks. Couldn't get much tighter than that!

 

[etobian]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but the subject is the same.

Would I be able to fit a Liftmaster 8500 in this space?

Thanks for any assistance

 

[Todd.Brock]

This thread, while old should answer your question. I posted a pic of my install that shows 8" to the edge of opener from the track. That measurement shows the width of the 3900 as about 5.5 ". You appear to have close to 6 inches between the wall and the shaft. Barring any obstacles behind your hand and you can get it into position , you may fit. But it would be snug until you fit the opener onto the shaft.

 

[Trey T]

I agree with Tood.Brock. I beleive it will fit but you may have to do some work on the shaft/spring; scoot the shaft to the left, lay the Liftmaster in place, and scoot the shaft back.