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Say Goodbye to Screw Drive Garage Door Openers

For a stretch in the 1980’s until the early 2000’s, screw-driven garage door openers were all the rage. They were quieter than the old chain drive openers, and they looked a whole lot better as well. The Liftmaster 2000SD and 2000SDR were two of the more popular garage door openers in the past few decades, but soon they will sail into the sunset.

So why get rid of such a great product? The truth is that although they were wildly popular, quieter, had more security features, and had more compatible accessories; they were in fact more temperamental in extreme temperatures. They also utilized a plastic coupler and many other plastic components that just didn’t hold up like everyone had hoped. The screw drive openers allowed for a smoother and more controlled operation, but they needed lithium lubrication at least once a year in the winter time. And let’s face it, for the most part homeowners ignore their garage door openers until they stop working.

The other main reason is that Liftmaster developed a belt driven garage door opener that was actually even quieter than the screw driven rail. They put in a ultra quiet DC motor and utilized belts that are steel reinforced such as the ones you can find powering your engine components under the hood. It took the general public several years to buy into the concept of having a belt lift their opener when they were used to watching a shiny steel screw rod spin around inside an aluminum rail that (even to this day) looked more durable than the new style. The difference was undeniable and therefore the market adjusted. The new belt driven garage door openers had a lifetime warranty on the belt and the motor, whereas most of the screw driven openers had a five year warranty on the same components.

There is no doubt that technology will continue to evolve, and the belt drive is likely not always going to be king. The good news is that Liftmaster and other brands are still producing replacement parts for the old screw drive garage door openers, and customers that have had them installed recently can still expect them to hold up for another five to twenty years depending on how they are maintained.

Submitted by Nick J. McGregor , CEO of Plano Overhead Garage Door

Tags: 2000SD , 2000SDR Liftmaster , Screw Drive Garage Door Openers , Screw-drive Discontinued , Screwdrive