"CHAIN DRIVE OR SCREW DRIVE?"
Every body wants to know what is better, the chain or the screw? Opinions vary at every garage door company, in every state, from coast to coast. The fact is, there's too much hype and misconception.
In all my years as an installer, I have never seen a chain break its link. What I have seen is the chain sprockets on some brands break by the hundreds. Any number of things could have caused this. The chains tension too tight, the door to heavy and out of balance or even the spring being broke and the homeowner unaware.
A screw drive opener is not any stronger then a chain drive. The screw drive will work a well balance door just fine in the beginning. It's quite and smooth, just like some chain drives. Screw drives have a long rotating screw encased in an aluminum body. If the homeowner fails to lubricate the screw as recommended, the steel screw will wear away at its aluminum body and start to rattle really bad. If you live in areas that freeze, the screw drive won't work well in winter or cold weather.
The rail on most chain drives are forged steel, upside down t-bars. These are very strong. The rails on the screw drive are aluminum with the long steel screw encased. I have seen garage doors get jammed and screw drives bend. Once a screw drive is bent out balance it will never be the same again. It will vibrate to much and you'll need to replace it. If that same garage door has a chain drive with a steel t-bar, the t-bar would barely even budge. One more very important factor is the power head must be hung secure, with no sway or play at all. The power head must hang in a solid position. If the power head is loose, and the door jams up, the unit can sway before it reverses.
At THE DOOR MAN, I recommend to all customers the GENIE PRO-MAX chain drive. GENIE is AMERICAS #1 brand and the PRO-MAX just blows all other openers away.
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