Best Garage Door Openers – Buyer’s Guide

Before selecting the exact model of a door opener for your garage, it is worth understanding what their major types are. This is the first step to picking an ideal opener for your needs. Each type has its own peculiarities, and installation steps may vary from one type to the other. The following tips will guide you on this matter and help you determine which option will suit your needs the most. 

Types of Door Openers

Every type of openers for garage doors has its own specific peculiarities and merits. Learning about all of them might assist you in selecting the best-fitting option for your demands. In basic terms, there are a total of three types of door openers to select from, and they all differ according to the drive system that each of them is based on. These include the following ones:

Chain Driven Unit

This type belongs to the primary type of an automatic opener that was first to emerge on the market and continues to be widespread even nowadays. Just because the chain drives are usually produced from metal and some other materials, these openers tend to be rather loud as they produce much noise when under pressure. Therefore, nowadays they are not very popular with customers. Their construction is based on a metal-made chain that raises the door up and down. Even though they have perceptible downsides, some customers find them attractive because they also have a few significant merits. Thus, their major benefit is the fact that they cost modestly and are often ranked as the least costly variant on the market. But due to their noisy performance, they cannot be called the best-matched choice, particularly if you wish to get the least noisy and disturbing opener. 

Belt Driven Mechanism

One more type is the belt-driven one. In this instance, the chain drive system is substituted by the rubber-made belt. Such a mechanism is many times more expensive than the previously described one, and these openers often require much caution during installation as the process of assembly may take a lot of your skill and effort. The popularity of these mechanisms continues to grow at a fast pace. That’s because they run really quietly and offer smooth and reliable performance in general. In addition, they are very powerful and can raise any type of door with ease. For these reasons, if you wish to substitute a louder door opener with some less loud option, this will definitely be the best-ever choice for you. They run very smoothly but you may have some trouble installing them. 

Furthermore, some house dwellers even think that having the least noisy opener for their garage door is the most crucial requirement. Such people definitely have good reasons to think so because the living space if often positioned not far from the garage and all the noise can be very disturbing and bothering. Disregarding any circumstances, this type remains a preferable option for diverse settings. 

Screw Driven One

This is one more type of a door opener. This option is added with no chains, belts or other similar technologies. Instead, they are packed with a small number of moving components. These systems are of a significantly smaller size than any other category of openers. Meanwhile, they are also perceptibly quieter than the chain-drive systems. Just because they comprise a smaller number of moving elements, they will hardly require too frequent maintenance, and they are a lot easier to mount than other types. Besides, you won’t find it hard to complete the process of installation all by yourself without the need to use the support of experts. 

Merits and Downsides of Diverse Types of Openers for Garage Doors

If you now have a brand-new door in your garage and it looks simply perfect from outdoors, it’s high time you thought of a trusted garage opener to make the closing and opening procedure simpler. Doing it automatically will let you save loads of time and effort, and this can be ensured if you use one of the diverse types of opening mechanisms. After pressing the remote regulator, the door will be automatically linked with the actual raising and lowering system. But when selecting the drive mechanism, it is worth considering multiple issues like maintenance demands, the actual cost and the level of loudness. So, what are the most prominent drawbacks and merits of the major types of driving systems for doors in a garage? 

Belt-Drive 

Advantages:

• They can be found almost everywhere and can be purchased in the majority of stores selling home improvement tools;
• They do not produce any bothering noises or unwanted sounds and vibrations;
• They are extremely durable and powerful offering easy and fast access to the garage interior;
• Installation is very simple, and no extra lubrication is required;
• Speed of lifting and raising the door as well as the strength are their major merits.

Drawbacks:

• They won’t suit you if you have a door manufactured from wood or a dual-door mechanism;
• The risk of improper functioning increases if this system is exposed to intense humidity or elevated temperature;
• The cost of such systems is a bit higher than that of other types;
• Meanwhile, the life expectancy of these mechanisms is considerably shorter, and you may need to replace them after a short while. 

With that said, this will be an appropriate variant for those who wish to get a dependable opener that runs quietly and reliably with hardly any flaws. 

Screw-Drive

Advantages:

• The raising and lowering system of the screw-drive models of garage openers presupposes pulling and pressing along the rod and trolley system produced from durable steel which adds greater reliability to such systems;
• The motor of these units is supposed to actually move the door and has a lot smaller number of elements which guarantees a lower level of noise;
• These units require much less supervision and simpler maintenance;
• The movement up and down is highly easy and smooth.

Drawbacks:

• A perfect build design of these units makes them considerably more expensive than the other types;
• If you are constantly in a hurry when you need to shut or open the doorway, this system won’t suit your expectations as it moves not very quickly, and the overall process takes much more time due to the steel-made rod layout. 

With only a few minor drawbacks, this category of openers remains highly popular especially because they offer maximum reliable performance, and their construction is very long-lasting and well-built. 

Chain-Drive

Advantages:

• This category of door openers will be the best-ever choice if you keep two cars in your garage;
• They raise even the heaviest doors without any flaws being very powerful and sturdy;
• This system provides intense security and protection of your garage;
• Such openers are very dependable and will serve you faithfully for much time;
• They will hardly fail to run properly even when the humidity level is too high or when the temperature changes rapidly;
• These units are the least costly options and can be afforded by anyone even if you are low on a budget;
• They are highly popular, and you can obtain them at any specialized store.

Drawbacks:

• These units make too much noise, and all the loudness may be too disturbing and bothersome;
• To guarantee their proper performance and smooth running, the entire system might need to be regulated accordingly around two times throughout the life span. 

So, are you prepared to pay a high price for a really durable opener for a door in the garage? Or are you more inclined to buy a cheaper but quality version to suit your demands and expectations? Would you not mind checking and monitoring the functioning of the opener every so often? Answers to these questions should all be taken into account to determine which option will fit your requirements the most. You should also think of the level of noise because this is another important question. Take time to consider all the advantages and beneficial sides of every category of door openers and make a well-grounded decision. 

Selecting a Proper Door Opener for the Garage

Picking the best-suited door opener for the garage is crucial, and it is a very important decision that every car owner needs to make. After all, an ordinary door to a garage gets opened and shut over thousand times annually, which is why it’s critical to select the correct mechanism at the first attempt. 

However, not all people think of the quality and durability of their door openers up until the weather suddenly changes and they need to take actions urgently. Therefore, it’s best to research this matter thoroughly in advance and get a trusted opener for the door is definitely essential. Today, manufacturers provide a broad selection of features and models. These may range from super quiet versions to smart-home innovations so there are a lot of attractive options to select from. 

But the choice of a correct opener should not be challenging either. You just need to take the following aspects into account:

• Strength of the motor;
• Correct type of the unit;
• Presence of all security features;
• Reliability of the option you have chosen;
• Speed and ease of use;
• Life span of the unit.

If you pay attention to all these features when selecting the best-suited model, you’ll most probably make a satisfying decision, and the chosen version will suit all your wishes and expectations. This will eventually guarantee that the way to your garage is under full protection so that you will not worry about the safety of your automobile. 

Finally, don’t neglect the need to assess the height and width of the doorway as well as the weight of the door to your garage. These additional considerations will let you pick an appropriate product that will fit your door ideally.