Garage Door Opener Questions



Question:
My garage door is acting strange, and it's about 14 years old, so I plan to replace it. Can someone help with the following questions? 1. What brands do you recommend? 2. Where's the best place to buy (Cosco, Home Depot, Sears, etc)? 3. How many horsepower do I need? I have a 2-car garage, with a door that rolls up, sheet metal, no insulation. In case anybody recommends fixing a 14 year old garage door rather than replacing, here's the symptoms (it's a Stanley brand opener with chain drive): A couple of days ago, the door started not shutting all the way. The first day it left a 1" gap, then the 2nd day about 2". On the 3rd day, when I was closing it, it only closed half way and then opened again, and it opened beyond the stop and the door actually hit the drive mechanism but I stopped it before it damaged the door. Can this type of problem be a simple re-calibration problem? I doubt it, and i'm afraid i'll damage the door or cause an unsafe situation if i just try to mess with it until it "seems" to work.

Answer:
1st guess: the inconsistent closed door position is normally the mounting system above the door is pulling free. typical scenario is 2x4 above door for opener mounting bracket is nailed in with too few or too small nails and it starts pulling free (i use 5/16 x 3.5" lag bolts) - dont be surprised to find opener only held in place by ceiling mounts and free to move forward or backward opposite motion of your door -this will shorten or lengthen the usable portion of rail and change both endpoints. 2nd guess. open cover -look at proportional sensors - the open close position dials set a stationary elec contact for each and a worm gear taps off main drive with a moving contactor that rides back and forth between the stationary contacts -look to see if some of the white grease from gears has gotten on the contacts and clean off - test while open should see door stop in current direction when the moving contact touches the stationary.





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