Garage door openers

[Borrego Dave]

There's been many posts of how to get an egg into a garage through a 7' high door but I've never seen this mentioned and may not be a problem once it's in. Many of the electric door openers hang a bit below the open door clearance. They do make a lift motor for residential sectional doors that is bolted to the header just to the side of the rail tracks leaving you full ceiling height with the door down. Nothing over your head but ceiling. I found this after looking at specs for a replacement opener. I don't park the egg in the garage but do wood projects and have hit the dang motor hanging there many times. When this one dies I'm going to get the other style. Sorry, I don't remember the maker but it was one of the major names.

[floyd]

Originally Posted by Borrego Dave

There's been many posts of how to get an egg into a garage through a 7' high door but I've never seen this mentioned and may not be a problem once it's in. Many of the electric door openers hang a bit below the open door clearance. They do make a lift motor for residential sectional doors that is bolted to the header just to the side of the rail tracks leaving you full ceiling height with the door down. Nothing over your head but ceiling. I found this after looking at specs for a replacement opener. I don't park the egg in the garage but do wood projects and have hit the dang motor hanging there many times. When this one dies I'm going to get the other style. Sorry, I don't remember the maker but it was one of the major names.

Good thought, but go out to your garage and take another look.
Normally the track has an arm which reaches down to grab the door, leaving the bottom (when horizontal) edge of the door several inches below the motor.
When closed, the top of the door is between about 9-12" lower than the bottom of the opener motor.
I realize that this may vary from brand to brand and from application to application, but this has been pretty consistent among the ones I've installed. I have never had anything which fit through the door contact the opener motor.

Of course, even if it turned out to be true, you could bring the trailer in and close the door comfortably since you would only need to be a little off center to miss it because of how fast the height of the trailer drops off to either side. A Scamp is only 6-1/2 feet wide and a standard single door is 9 feet wide and the interior of the garage is even wider, which would allow you to steer around the motor.
Of course you could also do without an opener... My shop has a manual door by choice.

[Borrego Dave]

Originally Posted by floyd

Good thought, but go out to your garage and take another look.
Normally the track has an arm which reaches down to grab the door, leaving the bottom (when horizontal) edge of the door several inches below the motor.
When closed, the top of the door is between about 9-12" lower than the bottom of the opener motor.
I realize that this may vary from brand to brand and from application to application, but this has been pretty consistent among the ones I've installed. I have never had anything which fit through the door contact the opener motor.

Of course, even if it turned out to be true, you could bring the trailer in and close the door comfortably since you would only need to be a little off center to miss it because of how fast the height of the trailer drops off to either side. A Scamp is only 6-1/2 feet wide and a standard single door is 9 feet wide and the interior of the garage is even wider, which would allow you to steer around the motor.
Of course you could also do without an opener... My shop has a manual door by choice.

I just checked, yup the motor is lower than the open door. All of the openers I've had, had the screw arm is lower at the motor end than the header. This one has a 4" drop like all the others seemed to have had.
Know what you mean about parking a bit off center, great idea but for the fact some yahoo, me, has too many large tools lining the walls . You may be on to a difference to manufactures specs.
It's kind of funny or maybe sad that the contractor that built this house did 10' ceilings inside but 8' in the garage.
Anyway, just wanted to toss out to the group a different opener system that I saw a couple years ago.

[Bob in Mb]

The opener you refer to would be called a Jackshaft available at Liftmaster. Usually for commercial or agricultural applications. It mounts on the wall beside the door and turns the shaft with the balance springs . Very expensive and requires professional installation.

[Timber Wolf]

Originally Posted by Bob in Mb

The opener you refer to would be called a Jackshaft available at Liftmaster. Usually for commercial or agricultural applications. It mounts on the wall beside the door and turns the shaft with the balance springs . Very expensive and requires professional installation.

I've been given the "jackshaft" on occasion, and yes it was very expensive.