The electric overhead garage door opener was invented by C.G. Johnson in 1926 in Hartford City, Indiana. Although the electric overhead garage door opener was invented long time ago, it did not gain in popularity until after World War ll. If we look back, it’s quite easy to see why. Before and during the war the people in the United States and Europe dedicated their time and resources to the war effort. Also, it’s important to note that many citizens did not have a need for garage doors or garage door openers. With no cars, what did you have to drive into your home, your horse?
Once the war was over, many of the GI’s coming back from the war found themselves with new homes, families and resources. With these new found homes they found the need for buying home appliances, such as garage door openers. Mid 20th century in the USA was an incredible time of prosperity and fortune and the garage door and garage door opener became a benefactor of that wealth.
Garage Door Opener Operation
There are two distinctively different types of garage door opener designs on the market today. Though there have been many shapes, colours and types of garage door openers, there is a model that has been around since the beginning. Pictured above is the most common type of garage door opener. Though they may look different, they all perform the same function; lifting and closing the garage door. After installation you have the ability to operate a garage door opener by either remote control or push button. One press of either will lift and close the garage door.
Safety
The garage door opener may be the easiest home appliance to operate and maintain — single button to operate — but it is also the most dangerous. The opener is required to stop at around 7 kilos of lifting and pushing power. Users can, however, increase the lifting and pushing the power of a garage door by adjusting the limit switches on or near the head of the operator. DO SO WITH CAUTION — ADJUSTING THESE LIMITS CAN CAUSE SEVERE DAMAGE TO YOU AND YOUR PROPERTY.
Garage Door Opener Styles
As I mentioned above, there are two different styles of garage door openers currently on the market today. The first is the traditional type of garage door opener. The other is called a JackShaft opener. Both perform the same function, lifting and closing the garage door. On average it takes about 1hr to assemble and install a garage door operator — some installations can be longer or shorter than others depending on many factors.
The traditional style opener has a head that is somewhere nearing the middle of a garage. A metal bar is connected to the motor and connected to the header of a garage. A header is a space between the door opening and the ceiling. Lastly, an armbar is connected to the door itself. You might be surprised but, a garage door opener does not do a majority of the lifting. A spring system is connected to the door as well and does up to 90% of the heavy lifting.
A Jackshaft opener is attached to the garage door spring system directly. It is usually installed along side the garage door. The jackshaft was first introduced into the market in many years ago for commercial use and only recently for the residential use. It’s smaller in size and creates less noise than a traditional style garage door opener.
There have been many innovations brought to the garage door opener throughout the years and Automatic Garage Solutions from Sydney has been there and every turn. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact us.
