Which is better, a chain or a belt drive garage door opener?
How much horsepower do I need for a garage door opener?
Both are great questions and the market has so much to choose from it makes it hard to understand what you actually need.
Let's make this as easy as possible to answer.
Belt drive is the best for most people. Garage door drive belt are steel reinforced and extremely strong. Liftmaster provides a lifetime warranty for their belts, which shows how much they believe in the product. Whats more is that the belt is maintenance free, requiring no lubrication after the initial lubrication on install. And belt drives are quieter, because you don't have metal to metal contact like you do with chain drives. Belt drive openers are also the same price as the chain drives.
So how much horsepower do you really need for your garage door opener?
For a properly balanced garage door, meaning the door springs are doing their job properly, a 1/2 HP motor is more than enough. The springs lift your door, the opener merely guides in up and down. A powerful garage door opener isn't going to do a better job. In fact, its more likely to simply damage your door if the components of your garage door, like your springs, are requiring service. More power means it has more ability to rip your door apart when the springs aren't doing their job.
Give us a call if you need any help with your garage door opener.
