twowootthree wrote:the writeup says, "Uses two 60W/130V bulbs", which implies incandescent bulbs. but, can fluorescent light bulbs be used?

You can undoubtedly replace the stock 60W incandescant bulbs with screw-type compact flourescents. I've done so in my garage door opener, and it has a similar style hood.

One bonus to going to CFLs is you can go to a higher rated bulb (a "100W equivalent" CFL only pulls around 15W, so you will use less power and have more light (in theory). Be forewarned though, that most CFLs are a bit dim at first when they are cold, so if you have a 40F chilly garage, the lights won't be quite so bright at first. Also, all the on/off cycles from a garage door opener will tend to cause a CFL to burn out more quickly than "normal use".

For the record, I prefer my screw drive opener. Just keep the screw lubed and it's pretty quiet.

Wonder if they intentionally colored it to look like a bag of Kingsford charcoal.

Krumlov wrote:Can multiple of these be hooked up to onegarage door opener?

This IS a garage door opener. You hook it up to a garage door.

theherbshack wrote:Put the sensors at bumper level...

Is it possible to add a second set of sensors? One at bumper level for the car and one at ground level to protect the kids and the pets?

eraser1998 wrote:Not likely - our Genie (and our Chamberlain) opener specifically say not to use CFLs because they can't take the vibration. And that is a BIG problem with the Genie.

Also with the short time the light will be on, plus all the startups, your energy savings would be minimal. I doubt you would ever break even on the additional cfl cost given the short life you'll get out of the cfl.

timlee wrote:A pretty bad suggestion considering the sensors are there to prevent children from being crushed. I'd say that your car is a lot more expendable than say a baby's head.

Actually code requires the eyes to be at a certain height. Check your local code.

tennis ball on a string

http://excellasys.hubpages.com/hub/Park-Your-Car-Easier-In-Your-Garage-Simple-Aid-to-Judge-Distances

apparently also stops this

rjpear wrote:I bought two last time but have yet to install them... Still figuring out how to prevent my wife from closing the Door on the trunk of our new car... Yikes!!!

Bought this two months ago when it was $140. I would buy it again if I had to. Great price, installs fairly easy and works great. If you need to replace an opener - this will do the job!

Just remember, even without a brand new garage door opener, there is still basic maintenance that should be performed like greasing the tracks and lubing the hinges. Doing this stuff will help reduce lots of noise and friction and also increase the longevity of the opener.

studiogrynn wrote:Is it possible to add a second set of sensors? One at bumper level for the car and one at ground level to protect the kids and the pets?

Actually there should be a sensor the reverses the door if resistance is detected. you should be able to adjust and put it at a nonskull crush setting.

studiogrynn wrote:Is it possible to add a second set of sensors? One at bumper level for the car and one at ground level to protect the kids and the pets?

I'd figure you could. I know that you can buy aftermarket parts / sensors at different hardware stores and then you'd just need to splice the wires. If you splice, keep the new ones intact (in case it doesn't work then you can take them back). If it does work, solder the splices so that they'll stay put and conductive. This safety feature isn't something to play about with, these doors will whack a kid

fixitnate wrote:I contrapted myself up a fancy system where the garage door opener will fire all 4 banks of 4-foot fluorescents. Lights up half the neighborhood when I get home. It's overridden by the actual light switch for the garage. All the garage door opener is doing is firing a relay that does all the work. But then I like playing with electricity, too.

hahaha

I almost bought this but decided to read some other reviews first. One review that made me really think was were the guy found out that this is a single code unit, meaning that if a near by house has one then we get to play musical garage doors for a bit. Yep just like the commercial on TV, "life comes at you fast".
I know, it would probably be a rare occurrence, but I'd sure hate to go through all the install work and then find this happen. I think I'll wait and look for a rolling code opener.

So I'm trying to understand why quiet is better unless you actually live in the garage. Wouldn't you want to hear your door open while in the house on the off chance someone has the same code and wants to steal your junk(I know it's a 1 in a 43 billion chance)?

One other comment.....I've heard that not having a one-piece rail makes for a lesser opener. I don't have any experience with this, it's just what I have heard (from a garage door company).

We bought this garage door opener from woot.com the last time it was for sale. It is extremely quiet and works really well. We highly recommend this!!!

Yeah, definitely save your CFLs for areas with a high sum of wattage, and/or high duration of use, like the 12 recessed cans in the kitchen and hallway, or the timed lamp in the entryway.

I use vibration resistant incandescent bulbs in my GDO.

schoolcb wrote:So I'm trying to understand why quiet is better unless you actually live in the garage. Wouldn't you want to hear your door open while in the house on the off chance someone has the same code and wants to steal your junk(I know it's a 1 in a 43 billion chance)?

One other comment.....I've heard that not having a one-piece rail makes for a lesser opener. I don't have any experience with this, it's just what I have heard (from a garage door company).

Fair question. In my case, it's because my toddler son's room is directly above where the GDO is mounted, and the old one was so loud, it always wakes him up.

studiogrynn wrote:Is it possible to add a second set of sensors?

Interesting concept.. my wife's car has scratches on the front and rear bumper covers from getting grazed by the hinges. Direct hits; not as damaging as the dreaded graze.

So I assume these work by interrupting a circuit, so the pair would need to be wired in a series?

Great unit. Works fine & it's quiet.

Check Menards this weel $119 there!!

I own one of these. I assure you that they will NOT screw up your door.

dsscheibe wrote:Closing on an 1850 SQF HUD home for $65K in the next week. Has a large garage that was converted from a car port. I'd hop on this but the garage has a large support beam that runs across the garage a few feet from the door and I'm not sure a standard door opener will clear it..

Was curious about the Home Link, googled it.

http://www.mitocorp.com/homelink-auto-dimming-mirrors.html

Some VERY expensive mirrors that will learn up to 3 Homeink compatable devices including gates. One that is $729.00 that has a backup camera display in the corner of the mirror, autodimming, compas and something called "Amber PRNDL light" Park, Reverse Nutral, Drive Low?? Why would I need that on a mirror?

"HomeLink®, developed by Johnson Controls, Inc., the world’s leading supplier of automotive seating and interior systems, has grown to become one of the auto industry’s most recognizable brands. It is currently available as a factory-installed or optional feature on over 140 different vehicles."

"HomeLink®, the Wireless Control System that learns the codes for up to three remote control devices, is now available in an auto-dimming rearview mirror through MITO Corp. No more fumbling to find the remote control. No more crowded visors with multiple remotes for garage door openers, security lights and entry gates. Now all these devices can be operated with dedicated buttons integrated into a auto-dimming rearview mirror equipped with HomeLink®."

Homelink rules.

klein103 wrote:Big Fan of belt drives, however at this price the Craftsman with the battery back up and 3/4 HP motor is worth a look.

You would pay at least another $80 for the Craftsman and the Battery would be a gigantic toxic paper weight after about 13 months. I had a belt drive craftsman with a battery backup and the battery died right after the 1 year warranty was up.

spummerr wrote:Great unit. Works fine & it's quiet.

Check Menards this weel $119 there!!

menards is the chain drive, plus theres a $20 rebate you have to send in for that price

Installed mine from the last Woot. Lubed the rollers and it's damn near silent. It's less than a second slower than my old craftsman that was installed in '83. I did a very accurate timing as well, averaged 10 open/close cycles. It does seem slower due to the soft start and it being so quite. I'm very happy with the device.

eraser1998 wrote:Not likely - our Genie (and our Chamberlain) opener specifically say not to use CFLs because they can't take the vibration. And that is a BIG problem with the Genie.

I ignored instructions and used CFL's. They couldn't take the vibrations. Either wiggled loose or burnt out for months. Then i ended up frying the board when i was trying to put in a new bulb for the umpteenth time in a few months. Epic fail.

Just bought one! Cant wait! Currently the noise from my old Craftmans garage opener reverberates thru the entire house every time it is being used.

So far, so good. I bought one of these from Woot.com the last time they had them up (about two months ago). I read several reviews on the product, all mixed. I decided to give it a try, and can say I'm glad I did. First, this thing is QUIET. My dog used to go crazy barking when he heard the garage door opening... now, he doesn't even hear it! I can sneak in the house like a ninja! It was a breeze to put up. Probably could have done it alone, but I'd recommend having a friend lend a hand if possible just to make it smoother and faster. Overall, from my experience, I'd give it a Woot.

rnally wrote:You would pay at least another $80 for the Craftsman and the Battery would be a gigantic toxic paper weight after about 13 months. I had a belt drive craftsman with a battery backup and the battery died right after the 1 year warranty was up.

Just an FYI, the battery Crapsman uses in their openers is a generic alarm/UPS battery, and is available online for about $15+s/h.

xpacdx wrote:tennis ball on a string

http://excellasys.hubpages.com/hub/Park-Your-Car-Easier-In-Your-Garage-Simple-Aid-to-Judge-Distances

apparently also stops this

This trick worked for me - I have depth perception problems big-time. After a few years (!) I am able to park in the garage without the ball...

mcahren wrote:Interesting concept.. my wife's car has scratches on the front and rear bumper covers from getting grazed by the hinges. Direct hits; not as damaging as the dreaded graze.

So I assume these work by interrupting a circuit, so the pair would need to be wired in a series?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Even though I needed the tennis ball, I **NEVER** scratched the car - I would get out and look! My know-it-all DH, however, scratched the rear of my car with those pesky hinges - TWICE! And the tennis ball was UP! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Do you remember when you guys sold stuff people wanted at a discounted price?

seraph06 wrote:Do you remember when you guys sold stuff people wanted at a discounted price?

+1 quality post.

Thanks for the Little Giant ladder (and secret-deal accessory bundle), though. Never used to see stuff like that in the good ol' days...

My garage ceiling is 12 feet high. Will this thing work in a garage that high?

xpacdx wrote:tennis ball on a string

http://excellasys.hubpages.com/hub/Park-Your-Car-Easier-In-Your-Garage-Simple-Aid-to-Judge-Distances

apparently also stops this

^^ Why you should never let Koolaid Guy drive your car...

rjpear wrote:I bought two last time but have yet to install them... Still figuring out how to prevent my wife from closing the Door on the trunk of our new car... Yikes!!!

Have you tried the tennis ball trick?
Pull the car into the garage to where it is safely parked, (not sticking out the door and not through the back wall). Get a tennis ball and some string. Hang the tennis ball from the garage ceiling so it is barely touching a part of the front windshield while still hanging straight down, not at an angle. Now whenever you or your wife pulls into the garage, drive until the tennis ball is touching the windshield and you will be parked at the correct depth.

GESoss wrote:So far, so good. I bought one of these from Woot.com the last time they had them up (about two months ago). I read several reviews on the product, all mixed. I decided to give it a try, and can say I'm glad I did. First, this thing is QUIET. My dog used to go crazy barking when he heard the garage door opening... now, he doesn't even hear it! I can sneak in the house like a ninja! It was a breeze to put up. Probably could have done it alone, but I'd recommend having a friend lend a hand if possible just to make it smoother and faster. Overall, from my experience, I'd give it a Woot.

You can get a shock collar for your dog for about $30. Cure the barking in 15 minutes... why buy a garage door opener.

Actually, I think owners of barking dogs should wear the shock collars for failing to train their animals.

alderson21 wrote:You can undoubtedly replace the stock 60W incandescant bulbs with screw-type compact flourescents. I've done so in my garage door opener, and it has a similar style hood.

One bonus to going to CFLs is you can go to a higher rated bulb (a "100W equivalent" CFL only pulls around 15W, so you will use less power and have more light (in theory). Be forewarned though, that most CFLs are a bit dim at first when they are cold, so if you have a 40F chilly garage, the lights won't be quite so bright at first. Also, all the on/off cycles from a garage door opener will tend to cause a CFL to burn out more quickly than "normal use".

For the record, I prefer my screw drive opener. Just keep the screw lubed and it's pretty quiet.

I am with you... I have a Genie with the worm gear drive. I did like seeing the various adjustments on the outside of the case... mine requires removing the lamp cover.

I use CFLs in mine and haven't had any issue as described in previous posts. Perhaps my installation is higher quality that the ones will all the vibration, etc.

smalc wrote:Also with the short time the light will be on, plus all the startups, your energy savings would be minimal. I doubt you would ever break even on the additional cfl cost given the short life you'll get out of the cfl.

Easy fix - and I've done this at two houses.
Get a cheap porcelain light fixture, a pigtail for 110V two prong, and an adapter to plug into a light socket.

Connect the wire leads to the light fixture.
Attach the light fixture to the garage ceiling near the opener light.
Screw the adapter into the light fixture on the opener.
Plug the cord into the adapter.

All vibration gone, CFL will last a normal life. It just may be slow to get to full brightness when it is cold.

klein103 wrote:Big Fan of belt drives, however at this price the Craftsman with the battery back up and 3/4 HP motor is worth a look.

I have one of those under the Chamberlain brand. That is a darn good product. It's super quiet, easily handles a 2-wide door and the battery backup is a great feature here in Florida when the hurricanes blow through.

Skip the Genie, get more power.

Bought one last time it was offered. Good opener but not as quiet as my new Chamberlain. I have it installed on our extra door that doesn't get as much use. Good price though!