Overhead Door openers

Hey yall,
So dad got a brand new 1 1/4 hp genie opener for about $50 on an
auction. Never been out of the box. Thinking of using it on my 12 tall
insulated overhead door. Anyone think this would be heavy enough?

(quoted from post at 14:58:41 12/07/21) Hey yall,
So dad got a brand new 1 1/4 hp genie opener for about $50 on an
auction. Never been out of the box. Thinking of using it on my 12 tall
insulated overhead door. Anyone think this would be heavy enough?

Click to expand...

he opener doesn't handle much load when the door springs are set up correctly.

I was just curious. Ive only ever used the 1/2hp for my car garage
door and the larger lift master commercial openers. Never had any
experience with these types.

See if you can get the extension kit for it ? May even need 2 for that tall of a door ?

1 1/4 hp is big horsepower for a door opener. How wide is your door? The opener for my 14 high X 24 wide is 1 HP.

Edit; Wait a minute, it might be a 3/4 horse

This post was edited by fixerupper on 12/07/2021 at 03:48 pm.

x2

A properly balanced door will be very easy to open and close, and should balance at any point along the travel.

If it's hard to move or hard to stop, or hangs up anywhere in between, it will give the door opener fits!

If the opener is a chain or screw drive, it will need extension kits to get enough travel. If it is a direct drive, the type that turns the spring shaft, it will work as is.

Mike,
I had a liftmaster put on my 10 x 10 ft door.
It attaches to the torsion rod.
Love it. Very quiet, very smooth. A latch locks the door closed.
I'm sold on liftmaster.

On doors where the lift motor attaches to the torsion bar. Can you disconnect it in case of a power outage,to get the door open?

Yes just a pull cord will disconnect the opener. joe

This is the unit he got

T-Nason,

That 12 tall means 12 feet tall? Most openers are for a 7 foot door, and is marked on the box. You will need to buy and extend the rail to the size of the higher door. 1 1/4 H.P. Should be big enough,

Guido.

As noted, you'll have to extend the overhead hardware length. One thing to keep in mind, most doors have a spring system that allows the user to lift a door by hand. As long as you don't remove the spring(s), the opener doesn't have to be a large horsepower because it is only assisting with the lift, the springs actually do the work.

We have 3 of the same genie openers T-Nason attached above.. Belt drive, very quiet and smooth operation. Light 8' steel doors, easy programing for remotes.

Yes, it will be plenty.

Some have commented that the springs do the lifting for the most part. Last time I had new springs put in and the door adjusted (along with the tensioning of the springs), the tech guy said that same thing and that his adjustment was made just up to but not quite where the spring would lift the door.

So the electric motor is just overcoming that last bit of resistance to get the door started on it's upward movement and the springs do most of the work. But I'm thinking the motor must work hard though closing the door maybe? It is actually winding those springs up again for the next lift. But the door weight helps with that I think. Maybe someone could comment on that part?

Maybe, BUT ONLY IF the opener track is long enough for a 12 foot door. Most home garage door openers are made for doors less than 8 feet. In your case the track has to be at least long enough to fully open a 12 foot door. If you use an 8 foot track on a 12 foot door, it will only open the door 8 feet. Probably not what you want.

(quoted from post at 09:58:26 12/08/21) Maybe, BUT ONLY IF the opener track is long enough for a 12 foot door. Most home garage door openers are made for doors less than 8 feet. In your case the track has to be at least long enough to fully open a 12 foot door. If you use an 8 foot track on a 12 foot door, it will only open the door 8 feet. Probably not what you want.

Click to expand...

Exactly. Most residential openers were geared for a 9x7 door, you had to buy extension track for anything taller.

> So the electric motor is just overcoming that last bit of resistance to get the door started on it's upward movement and the springs do most of the work. But I'm thinking the motor must work hard though closing the door maybe? It is actually winding those springs up again for the next lift. But the door weight helps with that I think. Maybe someone could comment on that part?

Generally speaking, if an opener is not installed the springs are adjusted a little tighter so the door is easier to open by hand.

Note that the weight of the door is not constant, since the horizontal tracks support progressively more of the door as it rises. And of course the spring force decreases as the springs unwind. When a door is properly adjusted without an opener, it will almost go up by itself once it's open two or three feet. And when it's down below one or two feet it should go ahead and close by itself.

When adjusted for an opener, the door is always pulling downward. The opener should only have to push downward to overcome friction. There is a downward force adjustment that will cause the door to reverse if it strikes something. If the downward force and down limit are adjusted properly, the opener will stop when the door touches the threshold, but will reverse if it strikes a 2x4 laid flat on the threshold.

The track where the motor is located will need to be made longer for the 12ft door to operate also the chain