Chamberlain WD822KD Whisper Drive 1/2-HP Belt Drive Garage Door Opener
by Chamberlain
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List Price: Our Price: $198.00 You Save: $51.99 (21%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $178.20 (click here) Category: Tools See more product details |
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Chamberlain WD822KD Whisper Drive 1/2-HP Belt Drive Garage Door Opener
Customer Review: Great motor, installation wasn't bad
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought two of these openers and installed them myself.
The instructions are pretty easy to follow, if you're decently technical. There is a lot of info for different door configurations, and figuring out what you need to ignore can be a little annoying at times.
The opener does not come with hardware for mounting it to the garage ceiling (which is understandable since there are so many variables). The best tip I can give is to do what I did: go to the chamberlain website and download and read the instruction manual before your opener is delivered. That way you can be sure to get what you need from the home store and be ready when the opener comes. I also studied my father in law's installation (different brand) to see how it was hung and bought the same parts from the home store (a few angled brackets with holes and some nuts and bolts).
The opener is VERY quiet - all you can hear is the creaking of the door and spring as it opens. It's so quiet, I can usually sneak up on my wife when I get home.
The one complaint I have is that I can't seem to get the safety reversal system working completely correctly. The instructions say to lay a 2x4 flat on the ground, and the door should hit it and reverse. Mine just jams closed on the 2x4 and forces the opener rail upwards - not good. If I turn the 2x4 on its side, it works. No amount of adjustment on the opener seems to help. I think this has to do with where the header bracket on the door itself is located (I used the pre-installed header bracket on the door, not the one that came with the opener).
Customer Review: GOOD PRODUCT- ALLOW ADEQUATE TIME TO INSTALL
Summary: 5 Stars
ORDERED 2 UNITS AS I WAS INSTALLING THEM IN A NEW, LARGE GARAGE WITH 2 DOUBLE DOORS AND A CEILING HEIGHT OF 9'-9". INSTRUCTIONS WERE STRAIGHT FORWARD AND CLEAR. SINCE I AM A NEAT FREAK, IT TOOK ME LONGER SINCE I WANTED TO RUN THE LOW VOLTAGE WIRES AT RIGHT ANGLES AND ALONG A SEAM ON A DRY-WALLED CEILING. ALLOW 6 HOURS FOR ONE AND 9 HOURS FOR 2. THE ONLY COMPLAINT THAT I HAVE IS THAT THE INSULATED STAPLES THAT WERE SUPPLIED WERE TOO SHORT TO PENETRATE DRYWALL AND HIT THE TRUSSES. WENT OUT AND BOUGHT MY OWN. THE ANGLE BRACKETS WERE A LITTLE FLIMSY BUT WORKED FINE, SINCE THEY ONLY HAVE TO HOLD UP THE MOTOR UNIT. I LAG BOLTED A 52" PIECE OF 2 X 12 TO THE CEILING TO MOUNT THE MOTOR UNIT ON. I DID THIS SO I COULD SPAN 2 TRUSSES AND THAT BABY IS NOT COMING DOWN ON MY COLLECTOR CARS!
I LIKE THE FEATURES OF HAVING A LIGHT ON AFTER THE TIMED ONE GOES OUT. ALSO THE KEYPAD OUTSIDE IF I DON'T HAVE THE KEY FOR THE PASSAGE DOOR. THE REMOTES WORK FROM ABOUT 400 FEET AND THAT IS GREAT SINCE THE DOOR WILL BE FULLY OPEN BY THE TIME YOU GET TO THE GARAGE. ALL IN ALL, THE UNIT HAD EVERYTHING I WANTED AT A PRICE THAT WAS VERY FAIR AND THEY WERE HERE IN 4 DAYS WITH FREE SHIPPING THRU HOME DEPOT. YOU CAN PAY MORE BUT I DON'T THINK YOU WILL GET ANY BETTER UNIT. THESE ARE MY 4TH AND 5TH OPENERS AND I THINK THEY WORK WELL. DON'T RUSH THE INSTALL AND PAY ATTENTION TO THE DIRECTIONS. FOLLOW THEM STEP BY STEP AND YOU WILL HAVE NO PROBLEMS. FIGURE 1-2 TRIPS TO THE LOCAL HARDWARE STORE FOR SOMETHING YOU DON'T HAVE! HOPE THIS HELPS. 6/14/10 CAR GUY
Customer Review: Whisper quiet and a straightforward install
Summary: 5 Stars
My house came equipped with a 1992 chain-drive Liftmaster garage door. It was very noisy and finally stopped working a couple of weeks ago. So I shopped at my local home repair stores and shopped online and found this model to be the most economical choice for my family's needs (Amazon.com had by far the best price).
I was intimidated by the install, so the box sat in my living room for a couple of weeks. After reading the comprehensive instructions, I realized that I could leave the old door sensors, wiring and mounting hardware from my former unit. My 8-year old son helped me string the belt (a 2 person operation for sure) and my inattention to detail at this step was the only holdup on installation. I can say to make sure the opener trolly is fully in the "closed" position, that is to say at the end of the opening rail furthest from the unit. We started with the trolly in the middle and the result was that the door would only close halfway. After spending an hour figuring this out, re-threading the belt with the trolly in the proper position fixed it immediately. With that exception, instillation should have been just over an hour - but definitely longer if not for using my previously-installed hardware and mounting bracket.
Since install, it has performed marvelously. Opens and shuts perfectly each time. The rollers on my garage door are louder than the "whisper drive" belt system. My wife is surprised when I walk in the house from the garage because she doesn't hear the garage door opening.
Customer Review: Current Review and information
Summary: 5 Stars
As with the man who said this isn't an easy install he's right! Of course with a little mechanical skill you can do this but even with a currently installed opener which mine was a Genie it still took 3 hours! The pieces do go together quickly however I'm careful and double check and re-read the directions which prevents problems later. Be sure you have enough of the metal bar (the stuff with the holes drilled in it) to hang the unit properly and be sure you double check the track heighth over the garage door when it's open, mess up and you have to reposition all of rig. There isn't any extra parts needed to put this opener in except if you need a couple of bolts to help hang the opener so double check how you set up this part in the instructions to see if you need a couple of bolts.
Once again with a little caution and following directions this is one nice unit!! Once installed it is nice and quiet and did I mention no lubing a thing which unlike screw drive and chain drive openers which I've had some drip on my car and truck over the years as you lube them up per maintenance instructions. So no mess and the quietest unit I've ever owned. I can't hear my wife coming home, maybe that's bad...I don't know...
Can't say enough positive about this unit, it works extremely well and may cost a few more bucks than screw drive or chain but well worth it. And I quote from an article I've read, "if you own a Cadillac get the Cadillac opener, a belt drive," they aren't kidding!
Customer Review: Works like a charm!
Summary: 5 Stars
All the positive reviews of this item are accurate, so I won't reiterate them here.
While the unit is easy and fun to put together, here are a couple of tips to make it go even more smoothly. The last direction for assembly (not installation...more on that later) is REALLY DUMB. To have the belt spring into its ready-to-use tension, you are supposed to hold a grooved nut in place using a flat-headed screw driver, all the while twisting another nut with a pair of pliers or wrench until the latter nut snaps over the former nut. HA HA HA HA HA! Sure. When you get to this and try it, you'll see what I mean. We finally just tried any means we could think of to get that nut over, so you'll need to do the same.
Installation was a breeze, but we couldn't figure out why the sensors on either side of the door wouldn't calibrate. After checking the wiring three times, we finally decided to detach one sensor and bring it RIGHT up to the other one. Great idea, because they connected immediately like two love-birds. I reattached the sensor where it belonged and they've been making "eye-contact" ever since.
The remote entry is REALLY cool. It's easy to program and just as easy to input a temporary code if you have hired help needing entry or something.
All in all, I wouldn't describe the noise produced by the unit as "whisper-quiet," but it's certainly more quiet than the chain-drive unit I pulled out of there!