The heaviest and often the largest mechanical operating device in a home is the garage door. Still it is taken for granted and frequently overlooked. The majority of the garage doors are provided with automatic opener which is radio controlled, which means they are equipped with lift assisted devices. These doors don’t just rely on opener for their opening and closing.
If you have good knowledge of the design and features of garage doors, you will be in a better position to determine what is required in garage door opener replacement. The fact is there are wide variety of garage door openers available today than ever before.
The first factor to look for is the drive system, which is categorized in three forms, chain drive, belt drive and direct drive. The most reliable among them is the direct drive system as it does not have any chain or belt that can break or loosen over a period of time. A direct drive system can go for more than 15 years at a stretch without any garage door opener replacement.
Most of the opener are equipped with 1/3 – horsepower or 1 / 2 – horsepower motor. These motors can lift the residential garage door of any given size. As told earlier, the opener does not do the lifting work; it is the springs that do the heavy lifting work. The opener just moves them to and fro. It is one of the things that may be required in garage door replacement.
These openers also regulate the speed, on an average the speed is seven inches lift in a second. For impatient driver, who cannot wait that long there are new models that can double the speed. Some important things to consider in garage door replacement are:
Make sure the springs are in correct position otherwise it will burn out the motor prematurely. Never try to adjust these springs on your own, it is the job of a professional. Check out the warranties before you purchase any item, as different brands comes with different warranties. Warranty should cover all the opener part in garage door opener replacement and the motor too.