On Sunday, October 8, 2017 at 9:48:02 AM UTC-4, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 10/8/2017 6:39 AM, Bob wrote:
Hello,

Thanks for suggestions re my son's automatic garage door opener cycling
by itself. (single door garage; typical home garage and door)

It's a pretty old unit, and does not even have the optical safety door
stops.

So, perhaps it's time to consider a new one.
Haven't looked at these things in many years.

So, let me please ask:

a. What are the "name" brands these days, and even more important, which
brands to stay away from ?

b. What "features" do we want to be sure to get with ?
Â*Â* e.g., Type of "Drive" ?
Â*Â* Options to consider ?

c. anything else we should be asking ?

BTW:Â* what's the typical price for one, with installation these days ?

Thanks,
Bob

I've been happy with a Chamberlain for about 10 years now, belt drive.
I don't know about other brands as this is something you don't buy often
and don't do a lot of trying out.

My advice is to avoid the cheapest model from any brand and expect to
pay about $200. It is not hard to do DIY but you can probably get one
installed for about $100. At work we had a couple from Overhead Door
and they worked well too.

I found the reflectors a PITS to set up so they reside in the rafters
looking at each other for eternity. No little kids here.

One nice thing about the light beam sensors is that at night, if the
door is open and the light is out, when you walk in and break the beam,
it turns the opener light on for you. But the downside is that they
can be a PIA, typically with a dangling leaf making it reverse. Or
they can go out of alignment. And they are one more step in the install
process, running the wires, etc.