The 5 Best Garage Door Openers for 2011-12
Ranked #1,623 in Home & Garden, #20,286 overall
What Makes a Great Garage Door Opener?
In choosing the top 5 garage door openers for 2011-12, we looked at four very important factors in making our recommendations to help you choose the best garage door opener that is right for you. These factors are:
1. Price
2. Reliability
3. Mechanism Type
4. Positive Customer Reviews
How To Choose The Best Garage Door Opener
Reliability - Years of worry free ownership can be expected when your garage door has been selected to meet your specific needs and takes into account the weight and type of garage door it will be lifting. Factors in reliability include the type of motor mechanism (with chain drive and direct drives being the most durable), regular maintenance applied, and of course the brand of manufacturer. Top garage door opener manufacturers include Chamberlain, Genie and Sommer.
Mechanism Type - The greatest volume of sales today belong to the chain drive units which also happen to have great track records in reliability and have been on the market for many decades. These units will easily last you 10 years or more with some very simple maintenance. Their downfall? They are noisy as all else. If you are looking for good reliability but quiet (especially if your house sits above your garage), then belt drive units or direct drive units are the way to go. An alternative to the belt drive are the screw drive units, that have fewer moving parts and can offer good performance over a very long period of time.
Customer Reviews - This is perhaps the biggest factor of all. Are buyers happy with their purchase? What are they saying about their new garage door opener? Customer reviews cut through the sales hype and tell you about their personal experience with their purchase. They will tell you if their opener's features work as advertised - was the opener too loud? Was it too slow? Did the remote work well? Was the opener difficult to install? You'll hear it all through customer reviews. This is really the ultimate test of whether a garage door opener is any good or not. And as part of this lens we have included customer reviews as part of criteria for selecting the 5 best garage door openers for 2011-12.
Those are the most 4 most important factors we looked at in making our recommendations to help you in your buying decision.
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Five (5) Best Garage Door Openers For 2011-12
So keeping all these 4 critical factors in mind, please see our selections below.
1. Chamberlain WD822KD Whisper Drive 1/2-HP Belt Drive
You can tell a lot of things about some products by their name. If you're looking for a garage door opener that's quiet and powerful, you should pay close attention to this name - the Chamberlain WD822KD Whisper Drive 1/2-HP Belt Drive Garage Door Opener. Notice any words there that catch your attention? Whisper. Yes this is a garage door opener system that prides itself on ultra-quiet operation. So, does the Chamberlain WD822KD Whisper Drive 1/2-HP Belt Drive Garage Door Opener live up to its name? Read on to find out more.
Is it Really Whisper Quiet?
It would be hard for any garage door opener to really be whisper quiet when lifting a metal door that weighs several hundred pounds, but the Chamberlain WD822KD Whisper Drive 1/2-HP Belt Drive Garage Door Opener does an admirable job. The real "whisper-factor" kicks in when you compare this system to a traditional, chain driven garage door open. This model uses a belt driven system that is much quieter than any chain driven system available. If you've dealt with a noisy garage door opener for years, you really will find this unit to be "whisper quiet."
Customer Reviews
For such a quiet garage door opener, there's plenty of noise about it online - in the form of customer reviews. It's always nice to know what customers have to say about a product, and they have plenty to say about the Chamberlain WD822KD Whisper Drive 1/2-HP Belt Drive Garage Door Opener. We found 148 customer reviews for this system online. The overwhelming majority of customer reviews gave this garage door opener the highest rating possible.
- Customer Quote:
"We love our "quiet" garage door opener. Easy to install even for beginners. The price was lowest on Amazon compared to Menards or Farm and Fleet. Very pleased." Wendy A "weitda"
Buy From Amazon
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2. Sommer Direct Drive 3/4 HP Garage Door Opener
Every so often a product comes along that revolutionizes an industry. The German garage door opener manufacturer SOMMER, has released what they claim to be a revolutionary garage door opening system. German engineers are known for their intricate work and for having an eye for details, so many customers are wondering how that type of engineering applies to garage door openers.
Built on Direct Drive Technology
For years most garage door openers have either had chain drives, belt drives or screw drives. The SOMMER Direct Drive Garage Door Opener uses a technology called "Direct Drive." This technology only has one moving part, so the chances of a breakdown or broken part are significantly reduced. Anyone who has ever used a conventional garage door opener will be surprised when they see how smooth this model lifts and closes garage doors. The Direct Drive also makes this model particularly quiet when compared to standard garage door openers.
Customer Reviews
A lot of customers in the United States and Canada may not be familiar with SOMMER, as they are a European manufacturer, so it's a good idea to see what customers who have purchased this model are saying about it.
We found dozens of online customer reviews while doing research for this garage opener review. From reading all of the customer reviews for the SOMMER Direct Drive Garage Door Opener, the overwhelming majority gave this garage door opener a rating of 5 out of 5 stars, and consider it to be a truly revolutionary garage door opener.
- Customer Quote:
"I can't believe how quiet it is! It's as if someone was opening the garage door with their hands. You can't hear a motor at all! That is a big deal for us because the master bedroom is right above the garage." k3plusd "k3plusd"
Buy From Amazon
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3. Chamberlain PD752D 3/4-HP Heavy-Duty Premium Chain Drive
If you're garage door is a bit more substantial than some flimsy fiberglass or thin metal, you need a garage door opener that has the power it takes to lift bigger doors. The Chamberlain PD752D 3/4-Horsepower Heavy-Duty Premium Chain Drive Garage Door Opener is a powerful garage door opener that is made to lift and lower the heftiest garage doors. Of course, power isn't everything. You also need extra features, like easy installation and safety.
Safety Features
We've all heard the horror stories of garage door accidents, and no one wants to experience one of these accidents first-hand. The Chamberlain PD752D 3/4-Horsepower Heavy-Duty Premium Chain Drive Garage Door Opener is built with smart safety features to prevent any door closing accidents. An invisible beam of light runs across the door opening, and if anything breaks this beam, the door reverses from closing and prevents accidents from happening.
What the Customer Reviews Say
When you're going to purchase something, it's always nice to get some recommendations from previous customers. While we were researching this garage door opener, we found 59 online customer reviews.
- Customer Quote:
"I have had the 3/4 horse model in for several weeks now. It performs flawlessly. I am using is on a 18x8 door with high wind bracing, very heavy door. Once I got it adjusted, as instructed, it performs very well." R. Wilson (Orlando, FL)
Nearly every customer review we found published online gave the Chamberlain PD752D 3/4-Horsepower Heavy-Duty Premium Chain Drive Garage Door Opener perfect, or near-perfect ratings. This is a great thing to know for people who are considering purchasing this system. When you get that many people to agree about a product, it's pretty obvious that you're considering a quality product.
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4. Chamberlain CG40D 1/2-Horsepower Chain Drive
When you're searching for a garage door opener, reliability has to be a key deciding factor that you consider. When you pull up to the house, you want the opener to do its job at the push of a button, with minimal hassle. The Chamberlain CG40D 1/2-HP Chain Drive Garage Access System is powered by a chain driven system featuring a ½ horse power motor. Chain driven systems are reliable, and the motors are relatively easy to maintain. The gear case for this model is completely enclosed to provide ongoing lubrication to keep the unit operating smoothly for years to come.
What Customers are Saying about the Chamberlain CG40D 1/2-HP Chain Drive Garage Access System
Of course, to make the best purchasing decision, it helps to know what people who own and use the product have to say. While compiling information for this garage door opener review, we found 14 customer reviews online. The vast majority of customers have given this system a 4 or 5 start rating out of 5 possible stars.
- Customer Quote:
"This is an entry model for Chamberlain, but not cheap on quality. Installation was a breeze, easily adjusted to meet my installation needs, and works great. I am sure there are quiter models out there but this one meets our needs. If you just need the garage door to go up and down reliably, this is it. " Brent R. Bauman (Downing, WI USA)
More than a few of the customer reviewers have said that they loved how simple it was to install their Chamberlain CG40D 1/2-HP Chain Drive Garage Access Systems. In fact, some customers raved and used almost the entirety of their reviews discussing how easy this garage door opener is to install. These same reviewers said that they were very happy with the performance of the Chamberlain CG40D 1/2-HP Chain Drive Garage Access System and that they haven't had any problems at all since installing it.
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5. Genie 1022 1/2-Horsepower AC ChainLift
When you get tired of opening and closing the old garage door manually, it's time to get an automated garage door opening system. While the thought of installing a garage door system might make you think of a complicated process, or, worse yet, a big installation bills from a professional installer, there's no need to worry at all. Today's garage door openers, like the Genie 1022 1/2-Horsepower AC ChainLift Garage Door Opener, are easy to install and reliable too. You can forget about complicated installations and the expensive bills when you get a little help from your own personal Genie Garage Door Opener.
Easy Operation & Maintenance
There are other powerful garage door openers on the market, but a lot of them don't offer the smoothest operation. The chain driven system of the Genie 1022 1/2-Horsepower AC ChainLift Garage Door Opener is built for the smoothest opening and closing action. In addition to running smooth, this system requires very little maintenance on your part. This unit has a factory installed chain that doesn't require any ongoing lubrication. This is a big relief for people who have dealt with high maintenance garage openers in the past. Simply put, once this unit is installed, it is good to go for years of regular use.
Customer Reviews
While researching the Genie 1022 1/2-Horsepower AC ChainLift Garage Door Opener , we found 15 customer reviews online.
- Customer Quote:
"This chain drive Genie is perfect, I have installed several over the years and this one was by far the easiest. The chain was already attached to the head and protected by a plastic sleeve. The wiring was simple and enough plastic staples were supplied to properly keep the wires in order." Davy
Out of the 15 available reviews, 13 of them gave this model a 4 or 5 star rating out of a possible 5 stars. A few of the customers remarked that they were very impressed with the simplicity of this unit's installation instructions.
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Overall Pick For BEST Garage Door Opener
Chamberlain WD822KD Whisper Drive 1/2-Horsepower Belt Drive Garage Door Opener
Where To Buy
Additional Interesting Links
- Garage Door Opener Owners' Installation and Operating Manuals
- This page provides you with the owner's installation or operating manual for many of the garage door openers that are reviewed on this site. We hope you find them helpful.
- Garage Door Opener Comparison and Ratings Chart
- This garage door opener comparison and ratings chart can help in your decision making. This table provides ratings for all the garage door openers evaluated on this website, and it looks at such factors as reliability, quiet operation, the ability to open heavy doors, maintenance, and installation as factors to consider when selecting the best garage door opener.
- Garage Door Opener Installation "How To" Videos
- Installing a garage door opener is a do-it-yourself project that you can have complete in an afternoon. Just decide on the make and model of garage door opener that is best for you, and then pick up some tips on how to install your opener in this 11 step video series.
Guestbook
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baysidemarketing
May 14, 2012 @ 2:25 pm | delete
- Great post and reviews! Chamberlain Premium Whisper Drive Plus has always been a favorite of mine. I do a lot of garage door repairs in Tampa. Come check us out!
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123remotes
Feb 17, 2012 @ 4:59 am | delete
- Great Article. It really goes through the main factors you should consider when you purchase a garage door opener. I recently surfed amazon and found it a little more expensive than the other retailers. Regardless, make the right choice on buying the correct garage door opener.
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easterngaragedoors
Feb 6, 2012 @ 7:37 am | delete
- Hey, thanks for the information. Good idea to include the video about the garage doors. Check out my website at Garage Doors Colchester
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Chris-Jackson
Nov 26, 2011 @ 5:58 pm | delete
- Great lens, thorough and informative!
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senditondown
Nov 10, 2011 @ 2:03 pm | delete
- Nice lens and equipment reviews. They sure beat, "bend and lift to open, yank on the rope to close...
Thanks for sharing
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ausbiz
Jul 22, 2011 @ 8:29 am | delete
- Chamberlain have lots of good garage doors openers. Definitely a recommendable brand so far. Great stuff.
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Jul 8, 2011 @ 8:25 am | delete
- When you've got just finished establishing your new storage, the very first thing to look out for is a storage door opener. When shopping for one, there are lots of issues that you'll want to consider. Be it your first garage door opener buy or a replacement purchase, you want some tips on what features to look out for. This article is the best to brief on shopping for the perfect garage door opener, that would be ideally suited in your garage setting
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kimsmithsp
Jun 21, 2011 @ 10:06 am | delete
- We purchased our from http://garageheadquarters.com/dooropeners.html
and had it installed. Their technicians are very knowledgeable and did a wonderful job! Check out their site.
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by JDunsmore
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