Wired Keypad For Liftmaster 8500?

[DC73]

I'm planning to install the Liftmaster 8500 garage door opener on the new workshop. I'm going to install an external keypad for entry. I'd prefer a wired keypad but the one offered by Liftmaster (KPR2000) is pricey ($160) and is a 2000 user system which is extreme overkill for my needs.

Anyone using a good wired keypad they could recommend?

Thanks,

DC

 

[Compressor]

Put mine in with a wireless keypad. Works fine. Batteries last a good bit of time which would be the only advantage I could see to a wired pad.

 

[icenfire01]

The only down fall to the wireless keypad that I can think of would be battery life. Put in a new one once a year just for piece of mind and/or the cell phone app you should always be able to get in I would think.

 

[ducksface]

I'll have to read up to see if the 8500 battery backup will power a wired remote.
If it doesn't an outage will keep you out.

There appears to be at the maximum wireless remotes allowed at six. It won't program to additional remotes. So there is one reason....

Would you splice in a second wired wall controller to be able to get more?

 

[kramarj]

Before we used LiftMaster products, we used Domino keypads. They still require batteries, but the batteries are inside, so they aren't really exposed to the elements. They are pretty decent, the lids are prone to breaking the tabs that hold it on over time, but can be easily replaced. They are very easy to install and program and the box on the inside has a button built in, so you can open with the keypad and close the door once you get inside. Although it doesn't get used very often, we have had the same one installed for one of our doors for probably better than 15 years.

http://www.dominoengineering.com/residential.asp -It's the one for $56

 

[kramarj]

Would you splice in a second wired wall controller to be able to get more?

You cannot splice in a wired wall controller. If the wall button has a circuit board behind it, it must be wired separately, they cannot be wired in a series.

 

[Trey T]

Can someone explain how the 8500 keypad work? Is there a wire that connect the keypad to the opener or is it all wireless?

I've been trying to hunt down a 3800 because I fear that our car Homelink wouldn't work. I'm really not interested in the myQ. Can I buy one anymore?

 

[Rookie2]

from looking at the manual I would say that the two wires are for power to the keypad.

page 11 &24 https://www.liftmaster.com/CatalogResourcesV3/en-us/shared/files/tucmanuals/114A4565.pdf

I plan on buying an 8500 in the near future, If you can wait I'll tear it apart and figure out how to hard wire the controls. My garage has three manual push button controls so I will make it work.

 

[kramarj]

Can someone explain how the 8500 keypad work? Is there a wire that connect the keypad to the opener or is it all wireless?

I've been trying to hunt down a 3800 because I fear that our car Homelink wouldn't work. I'm really not interested in the myQ. Can I buy one anymore?

Most of the common LiftMaster keypads are wireless. They are programmed to the circuit board, just like a hand control would be.

As far as the MyQ openers, I am fairly positive that they just switched all of their openers to the MyQ style within the last month or two. Previous to that, we were installing the 3255, but it has been discontinued and upgraded to the 8165, which is MyQ. So I don't believe you can buy anything prior to MyQ through a dealer, unless it is old stock.

 

[icenfire01]

Can someone explain how the 8500 keypad work? Is there a wire that connect the keypad to the opener or is it all wireless?

I've been trying to hunt down a 3800 because I fear that our car Homelink wouldn't work. I'm really not interested in the myQ. Can I buy one anymore?

3800 was replaced with the 8500. If you scour the internet you may still be able to find some old stock but its becoming more rare each day. Liftmaster does have a repeater kit avail for older vehicles with Homelink.

 

[icenfire01]

You cannot splice in a wired wall controller. If the wall button has a circuit board behind it, it must be wired separately, they cannot be wired in a series.

Correct, from what I have found you cannot splice into the controller.

 

[kramarj]

Correct, from what I have found you cannot splice into the controller.

With the new series out, we had to get the new wall stations and right in the instructions it states that you cannot run them in series. There are ways around it, like a generic door bell type switch, but you can only carry so many parts.

 

[NUISANCE]

When I put up my 8500 I saw that you can buy a module, believe it's called internet gateway, that you can use to connect the opener to the internet. After that you can download an app that lets you not only monitor the activity of the garage but also open the garage with your phone. Maybe you should look into that.

 

[Trey T]

Are there terminals for a wired wall control button on the 8500? I want to interface my z-wave controller instead of myQ.

 

[jdm5]

Are there terminals for a wired wall control button on the 8500? I want to interface my z-wave controller instead of myQ.

I went through the same process (except I use Insteon). The 8500 doesn't work as a traditional (older) opener - you can't just short the wires and have the door open. I recently upgraded from older Chamberlain openers to the 8500; I ended up buying an extra portable remote (like for a car's sun visor), opening it up and soldering wires to the contacts for the physical buttons. I then used my Insteon I/O linc control to those wires to remotely control them.

While I was at it I soldered a 3V power supply to the battery contacts...no batteries for the home automation solution.

 

[DC73]

What's your reasoning for wired instead of wireless?

I've had both and the best one I ever had was wired. I may have to go with wireless but I wanted to explore the wired option before settling. The wireless require batteries, require that you remember to change the battery before it dies, sometimes the batteries die early anyway, batteries have to be disposed of and are a recurring expense.

While I was at it I soldered a 3V power supply to the battery contacts...no batteries for the home automation solution.

If I have to go with a wireless keypad, this is an option I will consider.

On a similar note, I once hardwired a remote control under the hood of my Jeep in a water tight box. I had to build a voltage divider circuit to get the correct voltage, and then I wired a momentary contact switch across the terminals of the opener. I then mounted the momentary contact switch in a discrete easily accessible location for the driver and effectively had a "Homelink" solution years before it was an option.

DC

 

[DC73]

Anyone using a wired keypad?

DC

 

[DC73]

The recurring cost of a battery is important cost cutting.
Does the battery backup on the 8500 work the wired remote?
If not, that would be ten thousand times the concern of a fifty cent battery for me.

So, as I suspected from your first post, you're not here to help, you just want to start a whizzing match about the merits of wired vs wireless. That's not what this thread is about. I prefer wired and am looking for solutions. If you have one fine, share it. And to clarify, I have no intention of installing a battery backup with my 8500.

DC

 

[jmlcolorado]

You cannot splice in a wired wall controller. If the wall button has a circuit board behind it, it must be wired separately, they cannot be wired in a series.

I have two buttons. The one with temp, clock and motion sensor on the back wall next to the service door, and another regular button just inside the garage door. Both work flawlessly.

 

[jmlcolorado]

No.
I'm looking to know why it would be considered.
I said, in my first post, I was willing to change mine if I missed something.
So far, battery cost is not something I consider as a viable reason.
What about the batteries in your remote for the car that doesn't have the built in?
I'm interested in reasoning and interested in if there is a better system than a wireless, (and I provided the only reason I could come up with and then came up with a potential solution in case that was indeed your concern) and if my system needs altered for the better.

So, now that you clarified no battery backup, how will you use your hard wired opener if the power is out?
Why wouldn't you install the inexpensive battery back up?

I am willing to change my whole system based on compelling reason.

Who cares if the power is out?! People have been using openers for decades without battery backups. The question is regarding a wired keypad. Simple as that.
So I say we drop the battery backup thing, and talk wired keypads.
I'm also interested in a wired keypad, just as I prefer wired Internet vs wifi, due to more reliable and faster connection.
My wired keypad is not a reliable as my buttons inside the house. I have to hit the up/down button twice and hold it the second time for it to open the door.
It seems to get interfearance sometimes and it just flat out doesn't work sometimes. I thought it was a range issue, so I moved it to just outside the door on the side the opener is, literally 3' away from the opener. Seems to work better, but not perfect.

 

[DC73]

No.
I'm looking to know why it would be considered.
I said, in my first post, I was willing to change mine if I missed something.

Fair enough but that statement is not in your first post (it was edited before I ever saw it).

Here's the entire content of your first post as I saw it:

What's your reasoning for wired instead of wireless?

So, now that you clarified no battery backup, how will you use your hard wired opener if the power is out?
Why wouldn't you install the inexpensive battery back up?

I've been using automatic garage door openers daily for over 3 decades. Not once has the power been out when I was coming or going. Just don't see the need for a (so far) never in a lifetime occurrence. It's just another battery to go bad at the most inopportune time.

DC

 

[DC73]

Before we used LiftMaster products, we used Domino keypads.

Thanks for the reminder about Domino keypads. I've used this one before. If I remember correctly, the batteries are required to maintain programming so you would lose programming if the batteries die. I wonder if someone makes a similar unit with non-volatile memory? I do like having the batteries inside the garage. And I like the feature of having an inside button handy near the door opening.

I went ahead and ran control wire and wired out a 120V outlet near the proposed keypad location. I'll wait until I get power and the opener installed to make a decision.

DC

 

[kramarj]

Thanks for the reminder about Domino keypads. I've used this one before. If I remember correctly, the batteries are required to maintain programming so you would lose programming if the batteries die. I wonder if someone makes a similar unit with non-volatile memory? I do like having the batteries inside the garage. And I like the feature of having an inside button handy near the door opening.

I went ahead and ran control wire and wired out a 120V outlet near the proposed keypad location. I'll wait until I get power and the opener installed to make a decision.

DC

No problem.

I do believe you are right. My dad used the Dominos before my time, so I don't know a lot about them really, now we hardly use them. When we can, we generally try to convert everything to LiftMaster products when we can- install a LiftMaster receiver so it can accept our stocked parts.

I wish I could help you out more, but we only carry so many parts, we can't carry them all. Most people are just fine with the standard products we carry, so we hardly ever have the need to get specialized parts.

 

[boobag]

if someone were to rip the wired keypad off the wall, and touch the 2 wires together, would the door open?

 

[DC73]

if someone were to rip the wired keypad off the wall, and touch the 2 wires together, would the door open?

Maybe if it was poorly designed. The Domino mentioned above and some of the other units I've looked at have the "brains" installed inside the garage. Since the brain is expecting a 4 to 6 digit code, there would be no way to replicate that code just by touching the wires together.

That may be a potential issue with a wireless keypad. I remember reading years ago where an electronics geek said he could open some wireless keypads and short across the appropriate terminals to get the door to open. Don't know if that's true but if so, and I end up with a wireless unit, it would be nice to know which devices can be hacked and which can't.

DC

 

[southview]

I have the internet gateway box for my openers(4). I have an extra I will sell for a good price. Uses an app on your smart phone. Alerts if door is opened or closed, how long it has been and some other features. I can check my door from anywhere if concerned or let my dad in if I am not home. Works great. contact me at 301-751-3492 Herby. Leave message if I don't answer.

 

[Rookie2]

Go with a 3900 liftmaster, same motor and weight rating but uses old logic board with a one push button control. If you have the 8500 installed then you can buy an old style board on ebay or from a dealer ($80.00)

Pn: 41Dj001


What am I saying that is confusing you ? I'll try again !

 

[bjcouche]

To clarify the 3900 option a bit, it's basically just a 3800 with a bunch of stuff left out of the box. I've been trying to find some old stock 3800 without success. I bought the 3900 instead, then bought the "optional" door lock, light, etc. that normally come with the 3800. The 3900 supports all these things they just don't put them in the box. I refused to go with the 8500 because it was incompatible with all of my other openers and remotes. I'm not sure about the 8500 but I'm 100% sure that the 3800 and 3900, if you short the two wires together the door opens / closes. The 3900 doesn't come with a control panel but just a momentary push button that shorts the two wires. Thus you could have 20 push buttons wired up in parallel if you wanted. Any wired keypad that just shorts the two wires together should work with the 3800/3900.

Brian

 

[DC73]

To clarify the 3900 option a bit,

Thanks for the clarification. I wasn't sure what Rookie2 meant with his post.

Are you guys saying a standard wired keypad won't operate an 8500 and that I'll need something sourced from Liftmaster (like the one I referenced in the 1st post)?

DC

 

[Rookie2]

Go with a 3900 liftmaster, same motor and weight rating but uses old logic board with a one push button control. If you have the 8500 installed then you can buy an old style board on ebay or from a dealer ($80.00)

Pn: 41Dj001


What am I saying that is confusing you ? I'll try again !

What am I saying that is confusing you ? I'll try again !

 

[DC73]

What am I saying that is confusing you ? I'll try again !

I was asking for recommendations for a wired keypad to use with the 8500. I wasn't sure how your advice was related to my question.

DC

 

[Rookie2]

I was asking for recommendations for a wired keypad to use with the 8500. I wasn't sure how your advice was related to my question.

DC

The 8500 uses wireless control for the key pad.
The 3800/3900 uses a wired control for the key pad.

The electronic circuit boards are different ,one has wired input from a switch one doesn't.

After reading through the Troubleshooting Diagnostic chart (three flashes) You can use a push button .

 

[bjcouche]

Well, that's not exactly true....
The 3800 and 3900, per the installation manual, indicate that the 377LM keypad entry is listed as an option. That unit is a _wireless_ unit. However, the 3900 _only_ comes shipped with a dry contact push button as the main control panel. Thus, this means that ANY device that shorts the two wires together will cause the door to open. For example, I could install 3 doorbell switches (without backlights) and all 3 would function. Another example, the Domino GD-1 that was mentioned, draws it's power from batteries, and has a relay that shorts the two wires together to open the door. This means that the GD-1 is compatible with the LM3900 guaranteed. Since the 3800 is the same as the 3900, this means that the 3800 can also use the GD-1 or similar wired keypads. I can neither confirm nor deny whether the 8500 can function by simply shorting the two wires together. Anyone with an 8500 want to try it? There is nothing in the manual that addresses this. The user manuals for all 3 openers tell you to use wireless wall mounted remotes if you need a button in more than 1 location, so the manual is of no help.

At this point I can only tell the OP with 100% certainty that the 3900 will operate with the GD-1 keypad. Maybe the OP should contact an experienced installer who has addressed this or attempted to install a doorbell type switch or wired keypad to an 8500.

Brian

 

[DC73]

The 8500 uses wireless control for the key pad.

I can neither confirm nor deny whether the 8500 can function by simply shorting the two wires together. Anyone with an 8500 want to try it? There is nothing in the manual that addresses this.

Maybe the OP should contact an experienced installer who has addressed this or attempted to install a doorbell type switch or wired keypad to an 8500.

I contacted Chamberlain and got the definitive word. The 8500 cannot work with a wired keypad, only wireless. And, any wireless unit must support Security+ 2.0 openers.

Interestingly, they do offer a wired push button remote: https://www.liftmaster.com/For-Homes/Accessories/Control-Panels/model-883LM That doesn't necessarily help me for entry access but it does give me a convenient push button I can install near the overhead door since the main control panel will be installed at the other end of the building near the walk-in door. Makes me wonder if I couldn't jumper the wires from a wired keypad across the terminals of this wired remote push button to accomplish having a wired keypad. Might have to experiment a bit after I get the unit installed.

Another confirmation I received from Chamberlain is that the wireless keypad loses all memory and programming when the batteries are removed (or die completely). That was one of the problems I had with a previous wireless keypad. Batteries would just up and die prematurely and the thing was finicky about being re-programmed.

We can have fairly extreme hot and cold weather so batteries mounted outdoors could see a 100 degree temperature swing from winter to summer and that assumes the device is not mounted where the summer sun can shine directly on it.

It looks like my options are:

1) Experiment with connecting a wired keypad across the terminals of the Liftmaster wired push button remote.

2) Relocate the battery for the wireless keypad into the interior of the workshop where the temperature extremes will be much less and the battery should last much longer.

3) Wire out a 9 volt power supply and do away with the battery altogether. This option means each time the power goes out, I lose programming. Not a big deal since the power is seldom out but it could be inconvenient especially if the keypad is a pain to reprogram.

4) Just live with it the way Liftmaster provides.

DC

 

[Rhoylman]

DC: I have a Chamberlain opener that came with the wireless keypad. The 9V battery died on it about once every two weeks, and I only used it once a day (if that). I purchased a 9V adapter that plugs into the wall. Drilled a hole behind the keypad, through the box and ran dedicated power to a nearby inside outlet. Works great now! I'll upload a photo of my actual install tomorrow when the sun is out. Here is the keypad I have:





Rhese

 

[Trey T]

Well I end up buying a NOS 3800 for $290shipped from eBay. The price of 3800 has gone up from ~$250 a year ago IIRC.

Gonna lift my garage door track 10" closer to my wood beams. I have a 16'x7' door with 12" radius track, so I don't know if anybody is interested in the entire DIY - high-lift and 3800 install.

 

[Trey T]

DC: I have a Chamberlain opener that came with the wireless keypad. The 9V battery died on it about once every two weeks, and I only used it once a day (if that). I purchased a 9V adapter that plugs into the wall. Drilled a hole behind the keypad, through the box and ran dedicated power to a nearby inside outlet. Works great now! I'll upload a photo of my actual install tomorrow when the sun is out. Here is the keypad I have:





Rhese

Where did you get that power adapter? If online, can you link the store

 

[DC73]

DC: I purchased a 9V adapter that plugs into the wall.

Cool. I'll 2nd Trey's request for where to purchase.

DC

 

[Rhoylman]

I just did a quick image search on Google and came up with this:

http://www.techmall.com/Plug-In-9-Volt-Power-Supply-Battery-Eliminator-p/58217.htm

The one I have came from Radio Shack I think. Also, as a side note, if my keypad loses power, it does not need to be re-programmed.

 

[DC73]

I just did a quick image search on Google and came up with this:

Thanks.

Also, as a side note, if my keypad loses power, it does not need to be re-programmed.

That's good to know. What model is your keypad? The current one listed for the 8500 is 877MAX.

DC