October 6th 2008 03:00 pm
Garage Door Openers: Chain Drive Vs Belt Drive
There are three main types of garage door openers: chain drives, screw drives and belt drives. Many times customers will ask our opinion on which one works best. Well, the absolute truth is that they all work fine for different types of lifestyles. It is really up to you to decide which one will be the best fit for you. We’ll tell you all the insides on each type and let you decide.
Chain drives use a metal chain to run the garage door on its track. Chain drives are the most common used drive, and they are typically the least expensive… but they are also the noisiest. If you have a detached garage far from the house (where the noise doesn’t matter), a chain drive is probably the best fit for you. If you like to be able to hear when the garage door is being opened or closed, so for instance you will know what time your kids are getting in throughout the night, then this may be a good choice for you. But if you’d rather no noise, say because there are bedrooms above the garage, the chain-drive might not be for you.
Belt drives are thought to be the best opener available. Belt drive openers run on a rubber belt and are as reliable as chain drives. But they are virtually silent! So if your garage is attached to the house, and you hate the noise involved with garage doors, this is definitely a good choice. However, belt drives cost more then chain drives. So for a little less noise, you’ll be paying a little more money.
Screw drives are the third type of opener. They use a lifting device that runs along a threaded steel rod. Basically there are fewer moving parts in the screw drive then in the other openers, so it’s less maintenance. These openers work well in constant climate, so they’ll be a great choice if you live in an area that has a typically constant temperature all year round. But if you live in an area that has hot summers and cold winters, a screw drive opener will not stand up to drastic temperature change. They are also slower moving and noisy. However, newer screw drives models offer a plastic lined track, which helps to reduce some of the noise and allow the door to open and close faster.
Whether someone chooses a belt drive or chain drive opener generally comes down to noise and money. Chain drive motors make a little more noise and cost a little less.
Update10/28: We have created a video so that you can hear the difference between a chain-drive, belt-drive, and screw-drive opener.
This video, filmed in our Morris County showroom, features 3 popular types of garage door openers.
Map Of Precision Door Locations
Precision Garage Door of Delaware
20 Shea Way, Suite 206B
Newark, DE 19713
(302) 429-1992
www.GarageDoorsDelaware.com
Precision Garage Door of Pittsburgh PA
603 Parkway View Dr
Pittsburgh, PA 15205
(412) 307-4481
www.PittsburghGarageDoors.com
Precision Garage Door of Nashville TN
8161 Highway 100, Suite 184
Nashville, TN 37221
(615) 369-2033
www.GarageDoorsTN.com
Precision Garage Doors of Greenville SC
4009 Pelham Ct
Greer, SC 29650
(864) 990-1979
www.Precision-Door.com
Precision Garage Doors of Jacksonville FL
8535 Baymeadows Rd
Jacksonville, FL 32256
(904) 677-8975
www.GarageDoorsJacksonvilleFL.com
Precision Garage Doors of Portland OR
14865 SW 74th Ave Suite 150
Tigard, OR 97223
(503) 636-1711
www.PDSPortland.com
Precision Garage Doors of Orlando FL
3208 Colonial Drive, Suite C #194
Orlando, FL 32803
(407) 218-8330
www.GarageDoorsFL.com
Precision Garage Doors of Brevard County FL
132 Tomahawk Drive,
Indian Harbour Beach, FL 32937
(321) 252-4834
www.PrecisionGarageDoorsFL.com
Precision Garage Doors of Denver CO
700 N Colorado Blvd., Suite 130
Denver, CO 80206
(303) 424-0830
www.GarageDoorsCO.com
Precision Garage Doors of Southern New Jersey
440 Herbertsville Rd
Brick, NJ 08724
(732) 836-9090
www.PrecisionGarageDoorsNJ.com
Precision Garage Doors of Westchester NY
241 Bleakley Ave
Buchanan, NY 10511
(914) 734-7033
www.GarageDoorsWestchesterNY.com
Precision Garage Doors Wisconsin
N57W13556 Reichert Ave.
Menomonee Falls WI 53051
(262) 649-1112
www.WisGarageDoors.com
Precision Garage Doors of Northern New Jersey
220 West Parkway Suite 9
Pompton Plains, NJ 07444
(973) 283-3555
www.pdsnj.com
Precision Garage Door San Diego
8920 Activity Road Suite F
San Diego, CA 92126
(619) 916-3304
www.GarageDoorSoCal.com
Precision Garage Door San Diego
27280 Via Industria Suite A
Temecula, CA 92590
(951) 795-4758
www.GarageDoorSoCal.com
Precision Garage Door Akron OH
1195 George Washington Blvd
Akron, OH 44312
(330) 835-6664
www.OhioGarageDoor.com
Precision Garage Door Birmingham
225 Oxmoor Circle, Suite 806
Birmingham, AL 35209
(205) 533-9538
www.BirminghamGarageDoors.com
Precision Garage Door Chicago
2800 Bernice Road
Lansing, IL 60438
(708) 675-7183
www.PrecisionGarage-Door.com
Precision Garage Door Cleveland
9545 Midwest Ave
Garfield Heights, OH 44125
(216) 586-5929
www.ClevelandGarageDoors.net
Precision Garage Door Orange County
1715 E. Wilshire Ave #720
Santa Ana, CA 92705
(714) 786-6853
www.GarageDoorsCA.com
Precision Garage Door Rochester
507 West Commercial St
East Rochester, NY 14445
(585) 267-5174
www.GarageDoorsRochester.com
Precision Garage Door Detroit
11936 Farmington Rd
Livonia, MI 48510
(734) 266-6128
www.PrecisionDoorDetroit.com
Precision Garage Door Las Vegas
3175 West Ali Baba Lane #804
Las Vegas, NV 89118
(702) 891-5266
www.GarageDoor-LV.com
Precision Garage Door Massachusetts
158-A Doty Circle
West Springfield, MA 01089
(413) 732-7522
www.NewEnglandGarageDoors.com
Precision Garage Door Virginia
1402 Interstate Business Park
Fredericksburg, VA 22405
(703) 650-0774
www.GarageDoorVA.com
Precision Garage Door San Jose
www.TheBaryAreaGarageDoors.com
Tags: belt drive, chain drive, Garage Door Openers, screw drive
1 Comment »
nick on 23 Feb 2010 at 1:28 pm #
Very very very helpful!! thank you so much for this article. i was so confused before i read this, it cleared a lot of questions i had up!!