Question:
Do the diy retro fit automatic garage door openers work well ? Am
considering the Motor Lift from Chamberlain from screwfix @ £185.99inc
vat. Any pointers of any difficulties experienced would be appreciated
or any other better value mnufactures to consider ?
Answer:
-I've been looking at this option too. I've got an up-and-over door and
I can't quite figure out how the auto-opener could open/close the
door.
-You need to know if your door is a canopy or retractable,a canopy door would
normally have about one third of the door protruding past the frame,this
type of door requires a conversion arm for proper operation.A retractable
door works with a pivot action and are best suited to automatic operation.If
you have a separate entrance to the garage fine if not you will require a
emergency unlocking kit incise of power or unit failure.
-I have two garage door openers, on double garage doors, that I
installed myself. I found the instructions clear and accurate.
Particularly regarding dimensions and location of the drive "bar"
above the front of the up and over door. This location can be
critical.
Mine have run for three years now, but I have no doubt that they'll
continue OK. At a guess, 75% of all garages in the USA have these
devices - the kinks have been all worked out. I bought "Genie" type
openers that use a screw drive. If I was doing it today I'd but Bosch
units that use a chain drive.
One thing the US units have going for them, they have IR beams across
the opening, to prevent the door closing on little kids and animals.
They also have torque sensors, which when set, will back up the door
action, if the door hits an obstruction - like you or the car!
Openers 'usually' have no problem opening the door - the trick is to
get them to close it! If the door has been opened to a position
parallel to the garage floor, or even tilted slightly toward the
closed position, then it will likely close easily.
However, if the door is pulled open so that [ what would be the top
edge, when closed ] is below the level of the lower edge of the door,
you will have a problem. The normal hardware supplied with the opener,
will only push the door back into the closed position. If the top edge
is lower than the front, it will just keep pushing that edge down, and
jam up the closing action.
The cure is either a fancy dancy sliding bracket fixed to the inside
of the garage door, or, a U bracket that my buddy came up with, that
prevents the closer pushing the door down.
If you only have one door to the garage, then you should fit a safety
mechanical override. This is a lock on the front exterior of the
garage door, you insert a key, pull the device, it then pulls the
mechanical release inside the garage that disconnects the drive fro
the door. Bingo you can get into the garage, without the opener.
