Which Garage Door Opener Is The Quietest?

Photo by Andre W. Nguyen

Foreword: Ok, so my daily routine usually consists of waking up at 5:30 (way to early) get dressed, hurriedly eating breakfast and then dashing out the house ready for my commute to the office. There’s one part of this daily ritual that makes me wince. My GARAGE DOOR sounds like nails on a chalk board. Remember that scene from Jaws 🙁

So that led me down a research binge into finding the quietest garage doors on the market. It turns out there are a few super interesting options if like me you are in the market for finding a whisper quiet garage door opener.

Often, our regular garage door openers are too noisy. We came up with this article to help you solve that problem.

Popular brands of garage door openers that are quiet

If you are considering replacing your garage door opener for a quieter option, we have a range of widely accepted brands for you to choose from.

Chamberlain WD832KEV

WD832KEV is a quiet garage door opener
WD832KEV is a quiet garage door opener

The Chamberlain WD832KEV is one of the best value for money equipment out there. The device is limited to vital features; it does not contain unnecessary additions that make many garage door openers noisy and more expensive.

What will make you want to buy this garage door opener, is the belt fed rather than chain fed system for quiet operation in addition to the MyQ technology that enables you to operate the door using an app on your smartphone. Appealing, isn’t it? Take note that this equipment is a design for doors measuring about two meters high. If you have taller doors, then you need to buy an extension as well.

Chamberlain B730 Ultra-Quiet & Strong Belt Drive Garage Door Opener

chamberlain B730 is a very quiet garage door opener
chamberlain B730 is a very quiet garage door opener

The Chamberlain B730 Ultra-Quiet & Strong Belt Drive Garage Door Opener is the next in our compilation of quiet door openers. As the name implies, this is a very quiet door opener. You are going to spend a little more on this one because it comes with additional features of technology, but it is definitely worth your money.

Like the WD832KEV, you can access it from the MyQ smartphone app. If you are always worried about the security of your car, then this is the equipment to buy because it has a feature that allows it to turn on lights when it detects movements within a certain radius.

If you want the absolute quietest garage door opener on the market then this is your best best.

Furthermore, if you are very busy and you keep forgetting to close the door, you can set it to close the door after some few minutes. It is a very reliable tool as well because the battery backup will ensure that you keep using technology to operate your door even when there is no electricity.

Chamberlain B970 

the Chamberlain B970 is a quiet garage door opener
the Chamberlain B970 is a quiet garage door opener

The Chamberlain B970 which uses a motor of 1.25-horsepower? You think that heavy-duty garage door openers have to make noise; then you are not thinking about the B970, which has steel enforcement driven by a belt that makes it remain quiet even as it lifts your heavy doors.

Its technology is advanced too because like the other Chamberlains you can access it through the smartphone app. It has a remote control, too. When you order it, you get anti-vibration features so you won’t have to worry about noise. We assess that this device is worth its higher price.

Ryobi Ultra garage door opener

ryobi garage opener with battery backup
ryobi garage opener with battery backup

The Ryobi Ultra garage door opener is another in this collection of quiet garage door openers. Ryobi Ultra products come in a trademark yellow-green color, so if you need to gift your mum a quiet garage door opener for her next birthday, it is not a bad idea.

What makes this opener more than just a colorful gift idea is its flexibility. You can always attach fans, a battery (has to be Ryobi) or even a Bluetooth speaker!

This is my personal favourite out of the bunch.

The Budget Option

the genie is a budget friendly quiet garage door opener
the genie is a budget friendly quiet garage door opener

Now, all the options above may seem too costly for a garage door opener. If you are operating on a low-budget, you can still get yourself a quiet garage door opener in the form of Genie 1035-V. Also called the Genie Chain Drive 500, this opener is relatively lightweight, coming without many features that are available in the other quiet garage door openers.

So you might have to buy some items separately. Its limitations still make it a suitable opener if your door weighs anything below 350 pounds and has a height of 7 feet.

Can you make your existing garage door opener quieter?

One of the most irritating things about garage door openers is probably the noise. If it is not your fence-sharing neighbour asking you to fix the problem, it is the noise waking you up in the wee hours.

What do you do if you do not intend to buy a new opener?

Well, here are a few tips to help you get that garage door opener quieter. Note that you may not make the opener completely quiet, but these tips will help you reduce the noise a great deal.

Simple things to check

The first step is to make sure that there are no loose screws by tightening all bolts and nuts.

Lubrication is also very critical. Lubricate your metals to prevent noise coming from friction. Be sure not to use grease. Instead, use metal lubricants like 10W-30 motor oil. If your garage door opener is chain driven, lubricate the chain. Do lubricate if your garage opener uses belts.

Replace worn-out rollers and tracks.

The rollers are a key secret to reducing noise. Most garage doors have metal rollers running within a track to open and close the door. There is a lot of space for the rollers; creating loud rattling sounds when the door moves. Fix this noise by replacing the metal rollers with plastic or nylon ones.

In case you are not using noise insulators already, it is advisable to install them between motor block and the brace that fixes it to the ceiling.

You should then call an expert to install a belt-driven opener if you are using a chain-driven one. The expert can also install torsion springs in place of your extension.

AC motors or DC motors?

DC (Direct Current) and AC (Alternating Current) motors for garage door openers are both designed to perform the same function; transform energy into motion to move your garage door. AC motors are long-lasting, and you will spend much less on them for maintenance. However, you will prefer a DC motor to an AC one for the following reasons:

DC motors are quieter; because they generally use less energy. Sometimes you will even fail to notice them because of this.

DC motors save energy so you will spend less.

AC motors require so much power, so there is no option of a battery backup. With DC motors you won’t have to worry about power blackouts.

Although both types of motors can reverse the door, DC powered ones have a much quicker reaction. This advantage means that with DC, you have full duration monitoring.

The remote monitoring that is possible with modern garage door openers is only compatible with those using DC motors. The Chamberlain garage door openers, for example, will preferably have DC motors running them.

The fact that the DC motors are smaller, quieter and more flexible gives the DC motors an edge over AC ones any day.

Which are quieter? Chain driven or belt driven garage door openers?

Typically, the traditional chain-driven garage door openers have been the best fit for lifting heavy doors. Seeing as they are cheaper, you might be tempted into buying an opener based on them because they do last longer as well. The bad news about chains, however, is the noise.

Even though you can always lubricate them to minimize, chain drives will usually give you headaches, especially when you have rooms close to the garage, or with picky neighbors. The ideal choice would be the now trendy belt-driven openers.

Manufactures are acquiring stronger belts as well, so the gap of durability keeps reducing with technology. You also want a belt-driven opener because of the compatibility with Wi-Fi and smartphone monitoring. Consider also that the speed of operation is higher with belt-driven openers and that’s one of the reasons why it is quieter.

Reasons why your garage door is noisy

The main cause of the noise emanating from your garage door opener is vibration. The main source of that vibration is the motor that operates it; why it is so critical which you choose between AC and DC motors. The vibration coming from the motor transmits to the framing studs and your walls through the steel structure.

Note that the door can also be a source of noise by itself. These are the causes of regular noise from the garage openers. If the noise is too much, however, the extra noise probably comes from worn-out rollers and loose bolts and nuts.

Sloppy hinges will also account for extra noise. Anyway, regularly check your garage door opener to make sure that every part is working perfectly.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, the traditional garage door openers are known sources of noise that create disturbance to you and your neighbors. With the advancement in technology, however, a remedy is available in the quieter brands of modern garage openers discussed in this article.

The improvements in belt-driven openers to lift heavier doors is vital towards the process of completely getting rid of the loud chain-driven garage door openers. That said, if you want to get a quiet garage door opener then your wish is just an order away!

Steve Foster

Suburbanite, tech geek, handy man, automation enthusiast who started blogging about the stuff I do around my home and found he had a knack for it.

Recent Posts