What type garage door opener is considered the best? How much power do I need?
There are three types of garage door openers available: screw drive, chain drive (in some cases, chain/cable), and friction (trac or belt) drive. The most reliable long-term is the screw drive, while the chain drive may work fine for you. Both will move a double garage door with 1/2 hp, and this is the most commonly size sold. 1/3 hp will handle a single door ok. With a screw drive operator, the setting of the up/down position is reliable and action is solid. With a chain drive operator, the up/down setting is sometimes difficult, and the chain will stretch in time making it necessary to reset the up/down positions. Also, chains do occasionally break and the gears are more fragile. Friction drive is very problematic and parts are becoming rare, but they may work on a single door; they are wonderfully quiet (especially when you have a room above the garage), when they work right. There is one brand GDO, Marantec, that currently has motor units with swappable tracks/rails. Bought a Q-Lin
