liftmaster problems

[queenbee]

I've read a lot of information on the liftmaster and loved the shaft drive so I bought one and am trying to install myself, the problem i'm having is that i'm installing it on the right side of the door as your in the garage and when i follow instructions to raise the door it closes and i push the close button and it opens.
If I had installed it on the other side it would be working fine, how do i get the motor to turn the other way

 

[pattenp]

It makes no difference which side of the door it's mounted on. The shaft can be inserted in either side. The motor turns the same way. Is it the wired control that you are using? You could have the control wired backwards.

Another question.. do the lift cables travel up from the back of the drums or the front of the drums? If it's the front then that's your problem.

Oh another thing ... you say close button. The Liftmaster control I'm aware of only has one button. You push it to open and push it to close. Does your control have separate open and close buttons?

 

[queenbee]

thanks for the reply, the wire does wind on the front of the drum. so what your saying is i need the garage door people to come back and redo the drum. There is an open and close button on the opener it's self, it's how they say to teach it, i didn't get to the opener it's self

 

[Silent One]

thanks for the reply, the wire does wind on the front of the drum. so what your saying is i need the garage door people to come back and redo the drum. There is an open and close button on the opener it's self, it's how they say to teach it, i didn't get to the opener it's self

By no means am I an expert, but I have done my own garage door installs. I would say yes, if you had someone install your door and/or springs, then they need to reverse the orientation of the cables to where they ride on the side of the drum closest to the wall. This way the lifting force is entirely vertical and there is less chance for conflict between the cable, track and door as the door is raised and lowered.

I almost wonder if they didn't put the springs on backwards and realized their mistake only to switch the location of the cable on the drum rather than pull the whole assembly down and reverse the springs.

 

[pattenp]

As Silent is saying the cable needs to be to the back of the drum so its close to the wall. If the cable is installed the way you're saying then the drums and springs are installed backwards. Need to switch left to right and right to left. You need to get the installer to correct that. I think you must have gotten an inexperienced installer.

I didn't understand from your post that you were talking about the programming buttons on the opener for setting the travel.

 

[queenbee]

The wife has a call into the door installers today, thought it would be better for her to call than me, i might say something that wont get the door fixed

 

[jstroede]

What you have described is how low headroom track is normally installed. If this is what you have, then the 3800 is not going to work for you. Do you have two horizontal tracks stacked above one another, with the top roller riding in the top track and the other rollers in the lower track?

John

 

[queenbee]

Thanks John, thats what I have, but someone must have installed one of these on this type of door. Why does it have to wind that way.I have a 13 ft door installed in 14 ft celings, did i really need a low headroom track installed and what would happen if i switched the direction the springs wind. I'm a machinest and if i have to i'll build something , but if someone knows how to fix this problem please help. I feel like with my garage build if i don't ask specific questions i haven't got any help. This is the second thing my builder forgot to mention. First I told him I wanted to put in 6 inches of concrete, said no prob, will just put a 2x8 around instead of 2x6. Then I started to prep for the radiant floor heat and had to have 3 inches taken out of the floor because when they put the doors in they cut down into the 2x8 so there was 6 inches below it, he never ask how i was going to heat my garage. Now I'm being told that i can't use a shaft drive because i wanted a larger door, was never asked if i was going to install an opener.
Both problems are my fault and i have to deal with them, but a little help from the company that i bought the building from would have been nice

 

[pattenp]

Here’s a picture of a 3800 on one of my lowest headroom doors. From the top edge of the door to the ceiling is 14”. The top of the opener is 2” below the ceiling. The top edge of the bracket that the torsion bar is mounted on is 2” below the ceiling. All that being said the track could go another 2” higher. So it seems you could get it to work with no less than 12” from the top of the door to the ceiling using standard track with the drums and cables configured the normal way.

A picture of what you have would help. Not seeing what you've got to work with it's had to say what can be done. I would hope it's just a simple fix of switching the drums to get the winding direction correct for the 3800.

 

[jstroede]

The 3800 really isn't going to work well with a low headroom double track setup such as you have. There are a few things at play. First of all the drums are mounted backwards on the outside, with the shaft turning opposite of normal. The reason this is done is to allow the door to open up farther. Doors with low headroom track will not open as much as a normal standard lift door anyway, but without flipping the drums to the outside it would hang down even farther. Being that the door is 13' high, you might be able to give up a little open door clearance. I'm still not sure that the geometry of the track will allow the operator to function correctly without tripping the cable tension monitor.

Being that the door is over 12' tall, it is going to have a larger cable drum, and thus requires both more physical space for the drum and more space between the drum and the top of the door so the door doesn't hit the cable drum itself.

I hope this makes things make a little more sense.

John

 

[queenbee]

Thanks for the help guys, I've got the guy who installed it coming back down to take a second look at the door, said he might be able to install a normal track sense i'm using a jack shaft opener, just might lose a little height like John said. I'll update once he shows up, in the mean time start thinking of ways I can fix it if he says im out of luck

 

[queenbee]

Ok, so the door guy isn't coning out, said he put in what he was told too and he did, so now i have a call into the company who sold me the building. Question, can i install a regular door track in place of the low head room track, I still have 12 inches above the track now and if i'm not using a conventional garage door opener can i fit a 13 ft door in a 14 ft space

 

[Cars&Classic]

could you turn the opener around? I have a 3800 and looked at it just now,

I would try making a new bracket to mount the opener "back" facing the ceiling, and the opener front facing the floor. this would have the opener running in the reverse direction, (correct?) looking at it I dont see why you couldnt, anyone else see a problem? would be a lot easyer than changing tracks.

 

[pattenp]

This would work if you can fab up something to mount the opener in this manner. In essence you are just mounting the opener upside down.

could you turn the opener around? I have a 3800 and looked at it just now,

I would try making a new bracket to mount the opener "back" facing the ceiling, and the opener front facing the floor. this would have the opener running in the reverse direction, (correct?) looking at it I dont see why you couldnt, anyone else see a problem? would be a lot easyer than changing tracks.

 

[Sunstealer73]

I think someone on here tried mounting one upside down and had issues with it.

 

[QIHoustonb4]

jstroede you are dead on. I install double track low headroom the same way and the 3800 will have a hard time fully opening the door. Actually the door by itself will have a hard time staying in the fully open position. Traditional openers will keep the door fully open.

You could use a 12" radius track for a 13' foot high door and turn it inside of 12". It will be tight. Use a commercial Liftmaster jackshaft opener.

 

[queenbee]

Ok, I hate to do it, bit I think I hafe to call an expert. I was hoping to get this done for the wife before the snow comes and i didn't make it. So I think I'll put it on the little garage door so she can still get in and out without getting out of the car. Just hate starting from scrach.

 

[Silent One]

If you could post a picture of your current setup and the constraints of the physical confines in which you have to work, perhaps others here can better make suggestions that might help you come to a solution before you call out the calvary. Or, depending upon what we see, professional help might be your best and easiest solution.