Genie Excelerator Garage Door Opener



Question:
Anyone know how to slow down the *opening* speed of a Genie Excelerator Garage Door Opener? It's way too fast for my old door, which I don't think will survive such repeated jerks.

Answer:
Move to Japan, where the voltage 15% lower and should make the motor run slower. Equally impractical: Install variable frequency drive and a soft-start circuit to bring up the motor voltage frequency gradually over a 1-2 second period to eliminate the jerk. You should be able to get some of the parts to build one of these from old computer power power supply because they all contain 700-volt transistors (stack a bunch to increase the amp rating; MOSFETs or those cool IGBFETS found in some newer Dell power supplies are easier to stack). Is there some kind of spring mechanism you can install on the arm that goes between the opener and the door, to absorb the shock of the initial jerk? My Stanley has a coil spring for this, and I believe it could be changed for a softer one by removing 2 metal rods. I realize that this isn't as simple as the VFD/soft start circuit mentioned above.





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