Why are Garage Door motors (openers) so expensive?!

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xlinknz

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#2056188 14-Jul-2018 15:38

hairy1:

Our Guardian blew up for the second time (both times were thunderstorms) and have just replaced it with the $384 Chamberlain.

Installation was pretty straightforward except I wasn't allowed to install it unless I had an ex builder mate come and supervise me. It took us a couple of hours but we were in no hurry. I am impressed. Very quiet. All connected to Home assistant via Opengarage.io but the old was as well.

The instruction videos were a bit useless and lacked detailed information but were quite entertaining. The instructions were fine except you need to ensure you have a decent attachment point on your ceiling which may not be in the same place as the old one.

Cheers, Matt.

Initially we got someone around as existing door had come off its rails on one side I had managed to get it back on (again) but thought it would be useful to get someone to rebalance (centre the door) as that was I suspect contributing to the issue. This required a damaged vertical track to be replaced so my job was more than just the door opener. At the time I didn't realise that any sectional opener can be used (so long as it is appropriate for my door size etc) but I suspect that would have require work if I did myself to ensure any new opener could use the existing rail to the door and height adjustments etc. I'd rather get a professional to fit.

Does your $384 Chamberlain one belt or chain ?

Mine can take a wifi module but that is $320!

hairy1

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#2056219 14-Jul-2018 17:32

My chamberlain is a belt drive. I use opengarage.io to trigger it using the wired connection at the back which uses a small relay. This works really well and it integrated into Home Assistant.

My views (except when I am looking out their windows) are not those of my employer.

Wash

57 posts

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#2057835 17-Jul-2018 15:58

We recently had to get our electric door opener replaced. It was only 2-3 years old and had been professionally installed.

Unfortunately, the installer wouldn't honor the warranty because it turns out I wasn't fully compliant with the conditions of the warranty, namely a requirement to have it serviced every 12 months, so check the fine print on the warranty.

When we had the installer come out to replace the motor and chain drive, the technician admitted to me that the issue was caused by the springs not being correctly adjusted for the door but that there was no more tension available. Basically, the quality of the springs these days isn't what it used to be, so they loose tension much more quickly. In the end we had the motor and track replaced and one of the springs replaced with a heavier duty one as well.

Having the door serviced yearly probably would have caught that the spring was losing tension and it could have been replaced, saving the door opener, but honestly, who expects to have someone come out yearly for $100+ to look at their door and retension the springs?

xlinknz

1127 posts

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#2057974 17-Jul-2018 18:50

Wash:

We recently had to get our electric door opener replaced. It was only 2-3 years old and had been professionally installed.

Unfortunately, the installer wouldn't honor the warranty because it turns out I wasn't fully compliant with the conditions of the warranty, namely a requirement to have it serviced every 12 months, so check the fine print on the warranty.

When we had the installer come out to replace the motor and chain drive, the technician admitted to me that the issue was caused by the springs not being correctly adjusted for the door but that there was no more tension available. Basically, the quality of the springs these days isn't what it used to be, so they loose tension much more quickly. In the end we had the motor and track replaced and one of the springs replaced with a heavier duty one as well.

Having the door serviced yearly probably would have caught that the spring was losing tension and it could have been replaced, saving the door opener, but honestly, who expects to have someone come out yearly for $100+ to look at their door and retension the springs?

Thank you for that heads up, I read the warranty and it doesn't appear I require to do anything at least for the opener but I've asked them to confirm.

I agree on regular 'professional' maintenance, it reminds of car warranties where inside a new car warranty servicing must be done by an authorised dealership which often means expensive parts and labour, at least with cars that is only for 3-5 years and on a much more expensive item. Imagine 10% of the cost of a new car every year!

mattwnz

20162 posts

Uber Geek

#2057978 17-Jul-2018 19:07

Wash:

Having the door serviced yearly probably would have caught that the spring was losing tension and it could have been replaced, saving the door opener, but honestly, who expects to have someone come out yearly for $100+ to look at their door and retension the springs?

Wouldn't there be CGA protection for that type of thing? Or is not having something serviced annually a way they can get out of it? If that was a requirement, I would have thought they would have setup some form of maintenance contract with it, or they would have sent you a reminder to get it serviced.

Fred99

13684 posts

Uber Geek

#2058028 17-Jul-2018 21:20

Wash:

Having the door serviced yearly probably would have caught that the spring was losing tension and it could have been replaced, saving the door opener, but honestly, who expects to have someone come out yearly for $100+ to look at their door and retension the springs?

It'll be somewhere in the documentation.

One quick check you can do is open the door and look at the wires where they go around the reels on the end of the (spring) pole. When the door is open they must not be loose enough that they could unspool on the reel. The wires might not need to be tight, but tight enough so that can't happen - and even at both ends. If there's an issue - then you need to get the springs retensioned - not a DIY job.

If you release the door from the auto unit, you should be able to lift it from closed position, give or take about 20kg lift force max. If it's heavy - then as above you need to get it looked at.

Wheelbarrow01

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#2058090 18-Jul-2018 08:05

I want one of these bad boys from Ryobi - unfortunately it appears they are only available in the North American market so far...

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Fred99

13684 posts

Uber Geek

#2058102 18-Jul-2018 08:51

Wheelbarrow01:

I want one of these bad boys from Ryobi - unfortunately it appears they are only available in the North American market so far...

Read Amazon reviews - no thanks.

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