A garage door opener is indeed your best friend when it comes to heavy load lifting. An opener or the garage door motor will lift the heavy garage door on your behalf. You can simply close the garage door and work inside when it’s uncomfortable outside.
However, garage door openers are not always the same. A door with a panel lift door motor will no doubt need a different opener from the door with a sectional garage door motor. That means you need to find out the right type of garage door opener for your specific situation.
Buying a door opener with extra horsepower is not always the solution. It might lead to unnecessary wastage of money.
Figure out what exactly you need to bring a balance between cost and functionality.
Evaluate The Garage Door
The characteristic feature of the garage door will strongly influence your decision to buy the perfect door opener. A heavy door will no doubt demand a more powerful opener to lift it efficiently. The weight and size of your garage door will help you to decide what size of door opener you need.
Firstly, you need to measure the height and width of the garage door. A smaller opener will fit perfectly for a single garage door. A double door garage will no doubt need an opener with high horsepower. The material of your garage door comes next into consideration.
The door springs can balance the weight, and lifting the door is done correctly. However, some more massive doors need more horsepower from the opener to do the lifting job easily. For example- wooden doors are heavy than uninsulated, standard steel doors. Such doors demand a powerful panel lift door motor.
Compare Horsepower Options
Garage door openers are generally available within the horsepower range of 1/3 to 1. An opener that comes with 1/2 horsepower is enough for lifting a residential garage door. Use an opener that comes with the correct power required for your garage door, depending on the weight and size.
Lightweight, steel doors with panel lift door motor can be lifted easily with an opener that comes with 1/3 horsepower. 1/2 -openers, on the other hand, work well for an average weight double door. However, if you have a wooden garage door measuring 8 feet tall and up to 16 feet in width, you might need to switch up to 3/4-horsepower opener.
Consider The Type of Drive
The size of the garage door opener that you buy should also be in sync with the drive type. A chain-driven or screw or a belt opener is enough for a single-car garage door. Chain openers are noisier than belt-driven and screw openers. However, you can quickly repair a chain opener. If you have a double-car garage door, consider using chain-driven or screw-drive openers.
A Concluding Note
Now that you are well aware of the factors that can affect your opener buying decision consider each of the above points before the final lap. Make sure you end up buying the perfect one so that it does not damage the panel lift door motor.
