Side-Mounted Garage Door Opener Frees Up Space

2018 - Volume #42, Issue #4, Page #04

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Dan Eagleton came up with a way to get more overhead room in his garage by converting the garage door opener into a side-mounted one.
  “The entire project took just 1 1/2 hrs. to do, and after many years of use it’s still working flawlessly,” says Eagleton. “I’ve worn out two door openers but never had a problem mechanically. The idea works so well that I don’t know why all garage door openers aren’t side-mounted. They’re easier to install and require fewer parts, and therefore less maintenance.”
  He got the idea soon after he built a large new shop equipped with an overhead door. “Before I was even able to get the door installed, my son had a basketball hoop up inside the garage and every kid in the area was playing basketball there. Unfortunately, once I got the door and opener installed it blocked the basketball backboard and hoop. Needless to say, I wasn’t very popular.
  “One day I was looking at the door opener and came up with an idea. I took the opener and all the hardware down and mounted the opener on one of the door rails, about 1 ft. from a 1-in. dia. shaft that holds the door springs. The opener’s chain was the same size as a bicycle chain, so I bought a new sprocket hub with a 1-in. dia. hole and a set screw on it. I found an old rear wheel bicycle sprocket and welded it to the hub, then slid the hub over the shaft and installed a 2-ft. length of bicycle chain with a master link.”
  The only limitation to his side-mounted garage door opener, says Eagleton, is that there’s no release rope to lift the door manually. “If the power ever goes off, I would have to release the set screw on the hub in order to open the door. But I’ve never had to do that.”
  There are side-mounted garage door openers on the market as well as conversion kits to side-mount any conventional overhead opener.
  Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Dan Eagleton, 361 E. 7th St., Decatur, Neb. 68020 (ph 402 349-5384; deagleton57@gmail.com).

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Side-Mounted Garage Door Opener Frees Up Space BUILDINGS Accessories Dan Eagleton came up with a way to get more overhead room in his garage by converting the garage door opener into a side-mounted one “The entire project took just 1 1/2 hrs to do and after many years of use it’s still working flawlessly ” says Eagleton “I’ve worn out two door openers but never had a problem mechanically The idea works so well that I don’t know why all garage door openers aren’t side-mounted They’re easier to install and require fewer parts and therefore less maintenance ” He got the idea soon after he built a large new shop equipped with an overhead door “Before I was even able to get the door installed my son had a basketball hoop up inside the garage and every kid in the area was playing basketball there Unfortunately once I got the door and opener installed it blocked the basketball backboard and hoop Needless to say I wasn’t very popular “One day I was looking at the door opener and came up with an idea I took the opener and all the hardware down and mounted the opener on one of the door rails about 1 ft from a 1-in dia shaft that holds the door springs The opener’s chain was the same size as a bicycle chain so I bought a new sprocket hub with a 1-in dia hole and a set screw on it I found an old rear wheel bicycle sprocket and welded it to the hub then slid the hub over the shaft and installed a 2-ft length of bicycle chain with a master link ” The only limitation to his side-mounted garage door opener says Eagleton is that there’s no release rope to lift the door manually “If the power ever goes off I would have to release the set screw on the hub in order to open the door But I’ve never had to do that ” There are side-mounted garage door openers on the market as well as conversion kits to side-mount any conventional overhead opener Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Dan Eagleton 361 E 7th St Decatur Neb 68020 ph 402 349-5384; deagleton57@gmail com

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