A New Door Opener

[billt]

For years now I've been fighting with my garage door opener. My house faces south, and this time of year, and again in the Fall, the Sun would hit the electric eyes at an angle that would prevent the door from closing. I fabricated shields out of cardboard and sheet metal. Used shelving to block the Sun, and just about every other trick in the book to get it to work. It worked for a while, but just kept getting worse.

I finally mounted the eyes close to each other out of the light, and that fixed it for a about a year. Then even that didn't work. The thing was loud as hell and jerking until it reversed itself. (I unhooked it from the opener and the door went up and down easily). I got sick and tired of waiting in the driveway until the door went all the way down, (it was getting slow as hell),  so I finally got fed up and called the garage door guy.

He told me the problem wasn't the electric eyes, but the opener itself. The gears were so worn out it was jerking the door to the point it would reverse. He also showed me 3 rollers that were just about ready to shear off. So he replaced the opener, along with all of the rollers. And readjusted the spring.

What a difference! The new one works in almost total silence. Smooth as silk. The new rollers are Nylon instead of steel. You can even program it into your phone, and it will send a message if you're gone and your door opens. You can also set it to close automatically after so many seconds after you leave. The Sun has zero effect on it's operation. I got 20 years out of the old one, (Genie Intellicode). Hopefully this one will be the last one I ever have to buy. (Lift Master).

[PegLeg45]

Everything has a service life.

Is there any provision for lubrication of the gears on the new unit to prolong it even longer than the last one?


You should be good for years and years, but over the next few years, keep an eye on the track.

Depending on what type "nylon" the rollers are made of, they can actually wear out the track next. We had a pulling system to extricate hot metal from a machine and it had heat treated tool steel rollers that rode in a UHMW (heavy duty plastic) track. The rollers would wear out four times faster than the track. The stainless steel cable that pulled it ran through a plastic guide and the the cable would wear out faster than the guide.
Also keep it clean. The plastic rollers will gather more dust and debris from the atmosphere and that will work like sandpaper on the contact points.

Saying that, I imagine the rollers on a garage door are much softer material and will wear before the track. 

Abrasion characteristics are a funny thing. I've seen rubber hoses wear holes in steel hydraulic tubing due to vibration of a machine. 

[alfsauve]

I fought leaves and trash blocking the safety "eyes" as well as sun issues for several years.  I moved the sensors up to the brace holding the motor mount so they're almost touching.  Haven't had any problems in the last 15 years.  Sometimes the problem is all the newfangled safety stuff.

[Big Frank]

Who needs safety stuff anyway?

[Jim Kennedy-ar154me]

Who needs safety stuff anyway?

Right up there on the list with "hod my beer and watch this....".

Have you tried to use anything tinted to shield it like a using the lense out of a pair of broken sun glasses??

[Sponsor]

[TAB]

Who needs safety stuff anyway?

The only thing I will not touch on a house is the coil springs for a garage door.  They are deadly.  I have fixed homes were the rachet broke and it sent the tentioning rod through the front of the building and put a 2" deep dent in the 4x12 beam.


The old school extension springs, not big deal, the coils no f....k way.

[billt]

The only thing I will not touch on a house is the coil springs for a garage door.  They are deadly.

I'm on my second set of coil springs on this house. The builder supplied coil, (single on one side only), lasted about 10 years. One night while we were watching TV, it sounded like a 12 gauge shotgun went off. I'm deaf in one ear and it was LOUD!

Turned out the coil let go. No damage was done except to my wallet. I had the guy come out the next day and replace it with a dual spring system, which should have been installed in the first place. It's crucial to keep them well lubricated. Otherwise the coils can't slide against each other while they are tensioning, (when the door is going down), and one part of the spring will load up faster and harder than the other. That will cause a premature failure over time.

[billt]

Is there any provision for lubrication of the gears on the new unit to prolong it even longer than the last one?

The new one is belt driven. (The belt is slotted like the final drive on a Harley, or the supercharger belt on a dragster, only smaller). The motor turns it directly, and it is lubricated for life. The Nylon rollers really help to make the whole system much quieter. It's all but silent while it's operating. What's nice is it starts out slow going up or down, then speeds up. It again slows down when it gets almost fully closed or open. It really helps in keeping the unit running smoothly, without banging like the old one did when it came to the end of it's travel.

The guy told me to ONLY use Silicone Spray to lubricate anything involving the door. Rollers, hinges, door opener track, springs, etc. It attracts less dirt and dust. Out here it can get dusty, and grease will attract it like a magnet. Then you basically have lapping compound.

[billt]

Have you tried to use anything tinted to shield it like a using the lense out of a pair of broken sun glasses??

With the old one I did. I even made up Sun shades out of old end mill tubes from work. Everything worked for a while. Then over time as the gears and everything else got worn, the thing was banging so bad it would reverse itself half way.

The new unit is fully warrantied, and the guy told me if it ever starts reversing to call him. He told me he's never had one start doing that yet. He mounted the electric eyes in the same place. They are much smaller than the old one's were. (About the size of a pack of gum).

[Jim Kennedy-ar154me]

The new unit is fully warrantied, and the guy told me if it ever starts reversing to call him. He told me he's never had one start doing that yet. He mounted the electric eyes in the same place. They are much smaller than the old one's were.

Sounds good. So I guess if it ain't broke, don't fix it!