Chamberlain WD822KD Whisper Drive 1/2-HP Belt Drive Garage Door Opener
by Chamberlain
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Chamberlain WD822KD Whisper Drive 1/2-HP Belt Drive Garage Door Opener
Customer Review: Remotes don't work
Summary: 3 Stars
Very quite operation. The loudest part now is the door itself. We installed it below a room in our house. It is MUCH quieter than the previous "screw" driven opener we had, however, the vibrations are still loud enough to wake sleeping guests.
Installation was very easy. In part due to the fact that I had installed our previous opener and the steps were essentially the same. Instruction book was clear.
The only complaint I have is that the remotes that came with it don't work consistently!!! I've reprogrammed the remotes according to the instruction book, and I've been reading chamberlain's support web site to try to figure out why they don't work, and the only thing I can think of is our wireless internet router is causing interference with the remotes. It is very annoying!! Sometimes the remotes work fine from our street, and other times we have to drive right up next to our door and press the button 10-20 times before it opens. The hassle I'm experiencing with the remotes is the reason I'm giving it 3 stars instead of 5. I think that the remotes should be compatible with standard home appliances, or at least have a selection of frequencies/channels to try. I'm anxious to see how chamberlain customer support is.
UPDATE Mar. 2, 2008:
After calling chamberlain customer support (back in July) about the problem I was having with the remotes, they handled the situation very well. After explaining to them that I tried all of the trouble shooting recommendations that came with the manual they sent me a new circut board for the motor unit. The circut board was easy to install, and since then I've had no problems with the remotes. I think the customer support did a great job. And I'm now very satisfied with the product. I would give it 5 stars now.
I also installed some dampers between my garage roof and the garage door opener to reduce the opener vibration even more. They were kind of expensive ($80) bucks, but I think it made some difference. http://www.qrdc.com/Soundproofing_Material/Garage_Soundproofing
Next step to reduce the noise is to install a higher quality garage door, but I think that will have to wait.
Customer Review: Chamberlain WD822KD garage door opener
Summary: 3 Stars
DISAPPOINTED! We are a little disappointed with our Chamberlain garage door opener. We purchased it from Amazon.com. We installed it in a day to replace an existing opener (about 7-8 hours). Instructions were pretty good. However, we could not get the door to stay shut - kept bouncing open. We re-read the manual, followed the instructions, made the adjustments and still couldn't get it to stay shut. I e-mailed their tech support, got written instructions (pretty much what was already in the manual) and it still didn't stay shut.
So we called their 800 tech support number. Of course, we put it together on a Saturday, and there is no tech support on a Sunday and Monday was a holiday. How many people put their garage doors together on a Mon-Fri from 7 am - 5 pm?
So Tuesday evening at 4:30 pm we called tech support again. We got a lady who was very nice and friendly. However, she had us take the housing off the opener unit and take the belt off as she read all these instructions to us. Painful after we spent hours getting it put together and mounted on the ceiling. We didn't think the belt had anything to do with the problem since it worked well - just wouldn't stay shut. She gave the instructions to me as I repeated them to my husband up on a ladder doing as she said.
For some reason, the spring expanded and was caught on the trolley now and bent the inner trolley connection with tremendous tension on the unit. Now the unit was broken and unusable! She then gave us the name of someone who could come and install it at our expense. So she said she would send us the new parts - trolley and spring. However, it would take 7-10 business days. So, here we are with having to wait 2 weeks to get parts, having to take the entire unit down and start all over. My husband is very frustrated. We thought of just packing up the unit and shipping it back for a return of our money!! We have so much time and energy invested now, we will probably try one more time when the parts come - but without 800 tech support!
Customer Review: Does what I hoped it would do
Summary: 5 Stars
Purchased as a replacement for an ancient chain drive opener that couldn't be adapted for safety stop. Surprisingly easy to install--when I saw all the pieces I was a little concerned but the directions were very thorough and full of "if...then" branches that covered every issue, like solid door vs. panels, what if a door spring is in the way, what if you can't fit the far end of it onto the wall and need to use the ceiling, etc. There's a helpline # in there but I didn't have to call it. Once in place, it's noticeably quieter than the old one and it lets you turn the lights on separately from running the motor, which is a huge improvement in my garage. The big wall button lights up so you can find it in the dark. So...things to watch for to improve your experience...1) You may need to purchase hardware to fasten it to the ceiling and the door. Carriage bolts are good for the door since they end up fastened inside and out. Lag screws are good for walls and ceilings. Short hex bolts with nuts and lock washers to join bracket pieces. 2) Get a good hacksaw blade. 3) Buy some "angle iron," which is those long pieces of metal that look like an "L" from the side and have lots of holes you can use for fasteners. Maybe a 6 or 8 foot piece to reinforce the door and then another to cut up to make your own ceiling brackets. 4) A stepladder is a must for holding the motor up while you attach it to the ceiling--consider using a helper too. 5) Unfold the box and a few other empty boxes and place them on the garage floor all along the path of the device and especially under the motor--that will prevent scratches while you work. 6) A 2 x 4 board, which you can use a) to measure the gap between door top and opener track b) to test the safety reverse feature and c) as a crosspiece if you need to attach something at a right angle to the beams or studs. 7) You'll need two ordinary 100 Watt light bulbs--difficult to ship those inside it without them busting so I was ok with that.Customer Review: Chamberlain DIY
Summary: 5 Stars
When my old garage door opener froze-up, I felt I would need to call a professional to come out and install a new one. Good thing I read the reviews to essentially find out the only thing I had to fear was fear itself. Turns-out people were right on the money. Though it took some time (about 5 hours all together), the process was simple thanks to the great step-by-step instructions by Chamberlain. The drawings matched the parts perfectly, and the actual-sized drawings of the fastening hardware for each step made it simple to find the right parts and stick them together correctly the first time.
The end result is a beautifully quiet opener - so quiet that the door itself is noiser - prompting my next job: lubing the door.
I do want to mention two possible "gotchas":
1. If your garage door is > 7 feet tall (mine is 8), you need the 8 foot extention kit or the rail will be too short and you'll chop off the top of your van trying to pull in. The extension kit includes a longer section of rail that replaces the end section that comes with the opener, a longer belt, and a longer release rope (I'll be selling my original 7 foot belt soon). I ended-up sourcing the extension from my local home store (H.D.) though Amazon does sell them, their deliver schedule didn't jibe with my install schedule.
2. The two sensors that come with the opener have brackets that can clip on to the track near the bottom on each side. These would not work with my door so I did a little custom bending (there were some tabs in the way) and mounted them to the existing extended arms that were attached to some 2x4s on the wall. Chamberlain sells some extensions, so you might want to pay attention to this matter (it's likely I could have used the existing sensors - but I wanted to "new" things up.)
I recommend visiting the Chamberlain site where you can get more info and download the PDF install guides.
Customer Review: Much better than I expected!
Summary: 5 Stars
I installed this opener yesterday to replace a screw drive Genie that was 16 years old. The Genie worked well for many years except it had the older and far less secure wireless technology and was very noisy. I never liked the screw drive unit. During the winter the screw and trolley system gets stiff and the opener really struggles. During the summer the greese on the screw liquifies and then drips on the vehicles. The main advantage of screw drive is simplicity. The screw is driven directly by the motor so there are far fewer moving parts. This is the only advantage in my view.
This opener uses the new rolling code technology and the belt drive system means it is very quiet. Everything I needed to complete the installation was included in the box. It took me about 4.5 hours to install it. This included the time to remove the Genie, read the directions, install everything, and then make the appropriate adjustments. The remote controls are small and light. I think most of the time spent was trying to understand the directions, the pictures, and finding the right parts. The installation is relatively simple and well designed, but it takes time anyway for first time installers. I suspect an experienced installer would get the job done in 90 minutes or less.
The outdoor wireless remote keypad works great and seems to be made much better than the one I had for my Genie that never worked quite right.
The wireless remotes that come with the unit are preprogrammed for the unit. If you want to link other remotes, such as your automobile's remote control, then you must go through a programming sequence. It is not difficult, but having a helper during this step is helpful as you have to press the learn button the opener and then press the remote button in the auto within 30 seconds. This is not as easy as you might think.
I am very happy with this product and would purchase it again.