Automatic Garage Door Opener

Automatic garage door opener FARM HOME Building Techniques 14-5-11 Arnold Feller, Cudahy, Wis., used a collection of old machinery parts to build an automatic garage door opener 35 years ago and it's been working trouble-free ever since. "During all that time the opener has required no maintenance and has never failed. It doesn't have the safety switches that are on modem commercial openers, but the V-belt drive is loose enough to slip if anything should get caught under the door," says Feiler. He attached a gearbox removed from an old Maytag washing machine to the rafters 10 ft. from the door. An electric motor drives the gearbox. A 6-in. sprocket removed from a corn binder is used as the driving wheel. The opener can be operated by radio control from the car, or by a 3-way switch next to the door leading into the house. Another 3-way switch mounted between the gearbox and the top of the closed door controls an automatic stop for both open and closed door positions. Asmall eye bolt is screwed into the switch lever. A 10-in. spring runs from the eye bolt to a 4-ft. long chain which is attached to a pitman rod that runs from the drive chain to the top of the door. The drive chain was salvaged from an old Deering grain binder and lengthened to fit the opener system. The pitman lift rod attaches directly to one link of the chain. The chain wraps around a 12-in. dia. sprocket (from an old IH baler) that's mounted on an adjustable bracket. Moving the sprocket tightens the chain and lets him adjust door travel. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Arnold Feller, 3832 E. Bottsford, Cudahy, Wis. 53110 (ph 414 481-2412).

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.