# Garage Door opener dilema



## baspinall (May 11, 2006)

Ok, Ive installed garage door openers before. A customer I delt with today wants a new opener installed to replace one hit by lightning. No big deal.... When I went to look at the old one she had it was installed at an angle to the door. This was because she had attic fold up steps installed dead center where the opener would be installed. Her old one was a stanley chain driven.
Here is my ?. Has anyone installed and opener that was not perpendicular to the garage door. :blink: Seems it would bind a little if not. I think I may suggest moving the attic steps so that I can center the opener?


Brian


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## Joasis (Mar 28, 2006)

An opener will work ok off center of the door, but really needs to be perpendicular to the door. I have seen lots of 16 wide and wider doors with the operator to one side or the other. The only consideration is the door is balanced properly on spring tension.


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## Teetorbilt (Feb 12, 2004)

Most doors are reinforced for the operator to mount in the center. You may need to duplicate this for an off-center mount. If the door is properly balanced, you should be able to locate the operator anywhere but always perpendicular to the door.


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## baspinall (May 11, 2006)

What do you think about fabricating a new "swing arm" that has a 90 deg. bend in it?


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## theworx (Dec 20, 2005)

baspinall said:


> What do you think about fabricating a new "swing arm" that has a 90 deg. bend in it?


The sideways pressure that would create does not sit well with me. I'm sure something would bind. As the guys said previous, you can put the opener off center as long as the door is properly balanced and still is perpendicular to the door. Why go through the process of fabricating anything...


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## Dustball (Jul 7, 2006)

Your other option would be to install a direct drive unit-

http://www.wayne-dalton.com/DirectDrive.asp

I don't have any personal experience with them but I can see the benefits of that type of opener.


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## Glasshousebltr (Feb 9, 2004)

D Drive ditto.

Bob


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## 747 (Jan 21, 2005)

Dustball said:


> Your other option would be to install a direct drive unit-
> 
> http://www.wayne-dalton.com/DirectDrive.asp
> 
> I don't have any personal experience with them but I can see the benefits of that type of opener.



Thats what i was going to recomend when i read the post.


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## Joasis (Mar 28, 2006)

I have installed a few commercial I-Drives and they work great, but.....the door absolutely has to be loaded slightly heavy and balanced between spring loads perfectly. If not, the door glides up faster then the operator is turning, and presto, cables off and bound up.


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## baspinall (May 11, 2006)

Thanks for all the responses! I did check into the I-Drive, the one distributer i called said he wouldn't sell them anymore. Great concept but the bugs were not worked out yet is what he told me?
Any way what I am going to try is theoff center mounting on the door itself so that I keep the unit perpendicular.

Brian


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## DecksEtc (Oct 27, 2004)

I mounted one off center for a door (on my own garage) that was 16' wide and it worked fine. The rail ended up being about a foot and a half off center.

Note: I had to do it that way because I had virtually no room over head and the spring was set right in the center, not allowing me to center the rail. It did need minor adjusting after but it worked fine.


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## Joasis (Mar 28, 2006)

The reason the I Drive units are not popular with a lot of dealers/distributors is the lack of understanding of the install. The door must be loaded (meaning spring tension lessened) so there will be no "bounce" or "rebound" when the door is up or nearly up,...in other words, a door that even "jerks" one time will derail the cables on the tension rod drums, and problems arise. If the springs are labled 10 turns, and I know I am installing an I Drive, I use 9 turns so the door will be heavy on the load. The operator can handle the added load with no problem.


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## mdshunk (Mar 13, 2005)

I install garage door openers on new homes. It's one of those things that falls through the cracks, and often the sparky gets tasked with it. I've installed maybe a dozen I drives. I hated the first one or two, but after I figured out that you need to keep the door a little heavy on the opener (like joasis explained), it was gravy after that. I would absolutely recommend the I drives as a problem solving solution.


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## BuiltByMAC (Mar 11, 2006)

In response to the WD iDrive, I just had mine uninstalled. All the controls (wall pad, outdoor pad, car remotes) were wireless and the system never worked right. Sometimes I'd have to press the button several times to get the opener to work - didn't matter which control pad I was using. Sometimes the opener just wouldn't work. I contacted Wayne Dalton - they sent me a new brain for the opener - I installed that, same exact problem.
For the $300 I spent on the iDrive (which I'll get back as soon as I can find the receipt), I got a quiet chain-driven system with controls that actually work.

I would not recommend the iDrive as a solution to your problem. Maybe there's another direct drive system out there...

Mac


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