Torsion-drive garage door openers???

lendaddy · 07-28-2008, 09:41 AM

Anyone have some insight? Seems like a great idea, eliminating the traditional drive units.

legion · 07-28-2008, 09:45 AM

I thought about doing that when I replaced my garage door opener a couple of years ago.

It turns out in my case, I would have had to change the kind of springs my door uses and it ended up being more of a hassle for me than a simple swap.

I got a screw drive instead.

89911 · 07-28-2008, 09:49 AM

I had one installed in my new garage because of the height of the 8 foot door and the clearance behind. I can't understand why they don't use these on all doors. It is is absolutely silent, the only thing you hear is the door moving. Very small and simple with nothing hanging out in the middle of the garage. I see no downside except for the price, if there is any.

lendaddy · 07-28-2008, 09:49 AM

My door will be all new so I have a clean slate. I also think it would be easier to raise the horizontal plane of the door when open, yes? I mean I could have the tracks very close to the ceiling giving more headroom when open.

lendaddy · 07-28-2008, 09:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 89911

I had one installed in my new garage because of the height of the 8 foot door and the clearance behind. I can't understand why they don't use these on all doors. It is is absolutely silent, the only thing you hear is the door moving. Very small and simple with nothing hanging out in the middle of the garage. I see no downside except for the price, if there is any.

Thanks! Yea, they're only ~$100 more best I can tell.

MBAtarga · 07-28-2008, 11:05 AM

I've seen problems/complaints on those listed on DIY/home mntc forums in the past.

svandamme · svandamme's Garage

how do these buggers mount?

i mean, they all use torque in one way or another, but i assume that you guys mean not screw based?

911boost · 911boost's Garage

I have a friend with that one, it is cool.

After I installed the lift, I had the garage door tracks move right up to the ceiling, and had a jack shaft opener installed.

It is this model:http://www.liftmaster.com/consumerweb/pages/productmodeldetail.aspx?modelId=834

I am very happy with it, and since its similar to commercial garage door openers, they have been around for a while.

Bill

dad911 · 07-28-2008, 11:39 AM

I mounted a conventional opener on one side of my torsion-spring door(because I already had the opener, and I wanted to clear the car on the lift). Works fine because the torsion-bar & cables equalize the forces side to side.

911boost · 911boost's Garage

Not the greatest pictures, but here are some of mine mounted:

lendaddy · 07-28-2008, 11:46 AM

Great info guys.

lendaddy · 07-28-2008, 11:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by svandamme

how do these buggers mount?

i mean, they all use torque in one way or another, but i assume that you guys mean not screw based?

You see the jack-shaft one above and the Wayne-Dalton one I posted mounts dead center above the door .

svandamme · svandamme's Garage

right, now i get it

just one motor on one side?
i would think the tolerances on the guide rails have to be very low or it would bind up
where as a center jack shaft would be less susceptible to misalignment, right?

89911 · 07-28-2008, 01:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BSiple

Not the greatest pictures, but here are some of mine mounted:

Same one I have. They just need to mount it to a board that is into studs.

cfries · cfries's Garage

Just had a liftmaster installed. Its great and very quiet. Now for the 4 post lift

lendaddy · 10-02-2008, 02:23 PM

Yep, I also ended up with the liftmaster and am VERY happy with it.

911boost · 911boost's Garage

Mine has been great.

stevej37 · 10-02-2008, 05:03 PM

I have three of the torsion drive openers on my garage doors. They are fast, quiet, easy to install, and dependable. Like em a lot.

Rot 911 · 10-02-2008, 05:31 PM

Anyone install the opener themselves? How hard is it? How much does the opener cost?

Skytrooper · Skytrooper's Garage

I am a reformed garage door installer...it's been 18 years, but who's counting

There are advantages and disadvantages to this type of opener.

- they are best used on a door that has 1 panel still vertical in the tracks. Which erases about 90 % of residential applications. The reason this is important is that with 1 panel still vertical the lift cables on the bottom door section will still have weight on them. A standard residential door will have all panels horizontal. An opener of this type will slack the cables on the drums before the door naturally wants to move. This can create a very unsafe condition where the door will freefall until the cables wrap tightly against the torsion shaft. Of course they will never reach the same point and the door will either jam in a very crooked position and the rollers will fall out and sections will fall on your prized Porsche....or the cables will snap and your door freefalls crushing anything beneath it.

Guys, I have seen it a million times during the decade I spent installing and repairing garage doors.

On the plus side they are quiet and do not take up extra room in the garage. Of course a properly installed opener should never be below any part of the open door.

There you have it, my two cents....and I am not trying to sell you anything

P.S. Never, never under ANY circumstances try to repair or install something that deals with the springs unless you are trained to do so. I have seen way too many Do-It-Yourselfers that are maimed for life from thinking that they could save a buck and work on the springs and related components. It just ain't worth it.