[RCCADMAN]

I am taking a garage door opener off one of my bays to put in a sliding/french door for an office. I read that a 1/2 HP garage door opener can lift 500lbs.

Has anyone ever turned one of these into a hoist, such as a canopy lift? Can it be programed to go up/stop-down/stop repeat?

Asking for a friend 😉

 

[712edf]

500 lbs? Maybe with some pulley system to get leverage. Mine struggle just to raise a door, even with the springs assisting.

Bucky

 

[RCCADMAN]

500 lbs? Maybe with some pulley system to get leverage. Mine struggle just to raise a door, even with the springs assisting.

Bucky

I'm just going off what I read. The door it pulls up now is just pressed tin with a helper spring. I was also just wondering if there was a way to make it work like a hoist that goes up and down with stop points that are controlled. Right now I can press the button to make it go up, but if I stop the door and press the button again, it reverses and goes down. I'm guessing it may need a new toggle switch board or perhaps it's all in the circuit board. IDK

 

[KThaxton]

I have my doubts about the 500 lb claim. If my springs are just slightly under tensioned (to the point the door is not balanced) the opener will trip the protection circuit and not lift the door at all.

 

[RCCADMAN]

I have my doubts about the 500 lb claim. If my springs are just slightly under tensioned (to the point the door is not balanced) the opener will trip the protection circuit and not lift the door at all.

OK. If my door jams, the opener wants to start ripping the metal apart. But, like I said, it's just a tin door. The opener is a 1/2HP Craftsman.

 

[deathrowdave]

Don’t try it , a heavy load smashing down isn’t my idea of a safe load rating test .

 

[RCCADMAN]

Don’t try it , a heavy load smashing down isn’t my idea of a safe load rating test .

Then don't be under it when testing. LOL

 

[RCCADMAN]

I've never messed with a garage door before. Installation or disassembly. I did last night. Releasing the tension with the two cold rolled steel bars wasn't near as scary as everyone in the videos made it out to be. After disconnecting the opener, the door still came up pretty easy, but after releasing the spring tension I had to seriously grunt to get it to move. That spring does a lot of lifting!

 

[KThaxton]

but after releasing the spring tension I had to seriously grunt to get it to move. That spring does a lot of lifting!

Which is why I have my doubts about the 500 lb claim. My springs were just slightly under tensioned, and it triggered the door openers protection circuit. It never would lift the door with no springs at all.

 

[RCCADMAN]

Which is why I have my doubts about the 500 lb claim. My springs were just slightly under tensioned, and it triggered the door openers protection circuit. It never would lift the door with no springs at all.

I would never think it would lift that much either. I have my doubts. But hey... Mythbuster time! LOL. I was just wondering if there was a way to get better control of the up and down. It seems to have its own mind when used as a door opener. LOL

 

[KThaxton]

If it's stopping intermittently, or reversing etc....there is likely an adjustment problem.

If you are still using it, unhook the door from the opener, lift it up and down and make sure there is no binding spots. Then check balance, lift the door a few feet off the ground and see if it stays there on its own. If it drops, you need to tension the springs until it stays in that position when you let go. If it is balanced and still stops/reverses, you probably need to adjust the force setting on the opener.

 

[RCCADMAN]

If it's stopping intermittently, or reversing etc....there is likely an adjustment problem.

If you are still using it, unhook the door from the opener, lift it up and down and make sure there is no binding spots. Then check balance, lift the door a few feet off the ground and see if it stays there on its own. If it drops, you need to tension the springs until it stays in that position when you let go. If it is balanced and still stops/reverses, you probably need to adjust the force setting on the opener.

There is no problem with the door. It is functioning just fine. I just never know what is going to happen when I hit the button. Up/down/stop/up?,no wait,down,stop,reverse... ugh. lol. I want Up, stop...Up a litlle more, stop... keep going up. Stop. Repeat with down.

 

[KThaxton]

It sure sounds like you have a problem.

 

[RCCADMAN]

It sure sounds like you have a problem.

It could just be user error. LOL. I would like the door to go up when I push the button, stop where I want it to stop, and then continue up when I push the button again. But instead: (push) the door goes up, (push) the door stops, (push) the door reverses and goes down. I want it to keep going up after I stop it.

 

[KThaxton]

Oh, I don't think there is anything you can do about that. That's how mine is too.

 

[RCCADMAN]

Oh, I don't think there is anything you can do about that. That's how mine is too.

I have a son who builds RC's and robots. Maybe he can "fix it". LOL

 

[712edf]

That is how they are designed. Reverses direction after every stop.
Some commercial doors have a wired 3 button switch, just like a hoist. Up/Down/Stop

That balance checking procedure is similar to how my dad used to adjust his bait-cast fishing reels.

Bucky

 

[CADFather]

I have a son who builds RC's and robots. Maybe he can "fix it". LOL

For some reason when I read this I heard Spigolli (Sean Penn) from "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" saying that, "My Oldman is a Television repairman, he has this ultimate set of tools, I can fix it."