Our previous Genie garage door opener was a chain drive type that made a god-awful racket when opening the metal door. There's something about metal grinding on metal that makes my teeth itch. So when we moved into our new house my wife persuaded me (i.e. told me) to get a belt drive because they were supposedly quieter. Once again, the wife was right (as if I'd ever say differently) and the Craftsman belt drive garage door opener so far has been a great purchase.

Installation
Installation was a breeze. I simply handed my credit card to the Sears salesperson and told them to do it. Couldn't have been any easier. I didn't even break a sweat.

I learned from installing our microwave that I'm not very good at installing important electronic/mechanical devices. And I'm ok with that. Really.... I don't want to talk about it.

Features
The important part of the garage door opener is the type of drive. There are 3 basic types:
1) Chain drive: basically an extended bicycle chain opens your door resulting in a sound only slightly louder than a chainsaw
2) Screw drive: A giant screw basically unscrews your door up. No matter how much lube they put on the screw, it's still metal on metal which gives my earballs blisters.
3) Belt drive: Same idea as the chain drive without the annoying chain. Instead it is replaced by a rubber belt. This is the type of drive in this garage door opener

The results of having a rubber belt instead of a chain are a major reduction in decibels. It is not silent, however, seeing as how it's a half horsepower motor hauling up a giant metal door. Once it was installed my wife sent me upstairs to measure the volume of opening and closing. It was much quieter and I could only hear the slight hum of the motor and a little grinding of the garage door wheels moving up the track. We're pretty sure our 2-year old won't be jolted awake from her naps with this drive. Instead she can be gently awakened by her older brother beaning her in her forehead with his rescue heroes. But I digress...

Out of the package, the kit includes the opener (duh), a control panel for the garage wall, 2 remotes for cars, and an outside keypad. The opener claims to have a revolving code so that it can never be hacked. But I don't believe it. I watch Alias, I know there are ways for spies to get in. But for the average burglar, it should suffice.

The outside keypad was easy to program. You simply stand on a stepstool, press a button on the opener, run to the keypad within 30 seconds and type in the desired code. Pretty simple.

The remote buttons are small and unobtrusive. They have 3 different sized buttons, the largest being the open/close one. The other two are programmable in case you have another garage door opener somewhere else. The 3rd button can be used to turn on and off the light. The range on these babies is pretty good especially with a fresh battery. But exactly how far away do you need to open the door?

With all garage door openers, there's an infrared beam that crosses the garage that when broken while the door is moving makes it stop. A nice feature of this opener is that when my children run across the beam while the door is moving, not only does it reverse, the light blinks several times as an alert and reminder that perhaps I should leash my children.

On the topic of light, the opener supports two light bulbs. This is actually quite nice since our garage has one puny light socket. The extra bulb is a nice safety feature.

On that note (See how this review just flows along?), if the garage door is left open, the light goes out after a few minutes. Basic feature, they all do this. However, if after the light is off, someone breaks the infrared beam, the lights go back on. Very handy for the times I stupidly leave the garage door open at night. This should deter any would-be burglars from stealing my lawnmower or the stuff we keep meaning to give to Goodwill but just can't find the time to do.

The master panel in the garage is a basic panel. It has a little green light that I suppose is there to tell me that it has power. Or to see it in the dark. The big button is the opener and there's a smaller one that turns the light on and off. The third button is the lock for those times you go on vacation and don't want anyone to be able to open the door either through the outside pad or the car remotes. Pretty minimal pad, but I see no need for Mission Control in my garage.

In Summary:

The Good
* Nice quiet belt drive
* 1/2 HP is ample power to open our super-cheap aluminum garage door
* Good safety/security features
* Easy install - if you have someone else do it.

The Bad
* Pricey: For whatever reason, belt drive openers are the most expensive ones available. Apparently rubber belts are more expensive than chain belts...? I think it’s like blackmail - making me pay extra for its silence (har har).

Conclusion
The Craftsman 1/2 HP belt drive opener is a good piece of equipment. It does the job and seems quite sturdy and durable. If you need a garage door opener for a garage that is directly below a bedroom, I highly recommend this unit.


Recommended:
Yes