garage door openers, a rant

[sao95]

The garage door opener crapped out over the weekend, so I took it apart and one of the gears was chewed to pieces, it was gradual over time deal, and it was plastic :roll: My first complaint is why use plastic gears?? I would gladly pay a few bucks more for an opener with metal gears, and this is a Craftsman professional line :axe: so I get the offending gear off, find the owners manual to get the part number and call sears and overhead door, both know exactly what part I'm yalking about without the part number, so it must happen alot, but that gear comes in a kit with the wormdrive that comes off the motor and a bunch of other crap that I don't need, end result overhead door wants 40 bucks and sears wants 30 bucks, for a freakin plastic gear!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!! Everything is working great now, greased, oil and chain tightened, but it still irritates me that you can't just buy the part you need.... (30 bucks is alot of money now-a-days) :(

[SideShowCecil]

Hmmm, I have the same opener.

I’ve run into that kind of nonsense ordering all manner of replacement parts.

This one I could never figure out. The Delta pressure balanced shower valve, the kind used in most Hotels. A replacement handle is $45. A trim kit that contains the handle, the big cover plate, screws, collar and a bunch of o-rings and seals is only $35. :?:

[sao95]

it's all just a way to screw ya, with Delta though there is a way around it, send the part to the plant in Greensburg Indiana with a complaint and normally they'll send ya a new one free of charge :D my cousin works at that one, he says people come in and mail things in all the time, and most times they are taken care of so that Delta keeps in good graces with the public.... Craftsman is good about replacing hand tools, but that's as far as they will go...

[tt3]

I bought a Craftsman hammerdrill last summer... or two summers ago. Anyway, the dang thing burned out on the third hole. Not the first, not the fiftieth, the THIRD! Crap I say.
Nothing to do with garage door openers, I know...
;)

[sao95]

:lol: :lol: that's pretty funny, I'm bettin it wasn't for you, but since I'm not the one it happened to it is :lol: :lol: I don't like most Craftsman power tools or the other crap they make if it involves power. I bought a sander that was supposed to be able to take hook and loop or sticky type paper, they had a hook and loop pad that was supposed to go right on and hold, um ya, that didn't happen, I had to epoxy the damn thing on :roll: also had a lot of drills go out in short time, dewalt isn't any better any more, they used to have good stuff but now-a-days they suck, if I could afford Hilti that's what I'd use but that stuff is way to expensive, although great quality, milwaukee makes a great sawz-all (sp?), and rigid has some nice stuff, delta is good if you use the commercial equipment, the smaller stuff isn't great... okay I'll shut up now... I was gettin way to into that : :wink: :lol:

[SideShowCecil]

Sears power tools are mostly over priced junk. They have a few good looking table saws but they’re 30% more expensive than a good entry level Beaver Rockwell saw.

I think the proliferation of the big box home improvement stores has really driven power tool quality into the crapper.

When I started as a carpenter there were a few good brands that manufactured only professional grade tools. My preference was Makita; it was pretty pricy stuff but it really performed. I still believe my 15 year old Makita 9.6 volt cordless drill is the best drill ever made. If all you needed was an inexpensive tool to knock around a few weekend projects there were cheaper brands that catered to that market as well.

Now the manufactures are trying to satisfy both ends of the market. Companies like Makita started putting out a lot of really cheap crap directed at the DIY market. The big box stores concentrate mostly on the lower spectrum of these product lines. Consumers purchase these cheaper tools expecting them to live up to the performance of their more expensive cousins and are usually disappointed.

Then there’s DeWalt; the TV tool. Outrageously priced, over hyped, mediocre quality and performance. But hey, they look good and every guy on TV uses them.

Ok that’s enough from me, I got house work to finish. :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

[sao95]

i think rockwell bought out delta, or vice versa, rockwell has some nice stuff though, their commercial woodworking tools are incredible. Never had any issues with them in the shop I used to work in....

[dabrewinguy]

Well, to ease your frustration, there is a reason that they use plastic gears, for quiet operation. I just replaced mine this fall, and went with a chamberlain. It's more quiet than the craftsman, it's more powerful, and there's a lifetime warranty on the whole unit as long as you install their surge protector. I love it. The genie excelerator boasts it will open your door in 12 seconds, mine opens in 8!!! and was considerably less expensive.

[sao95]

I'll have to look into one of those at the next house ;) as for quiet gears, I'd gladly deal with the tick tick tick of gears clicking away if I didn't have to replace them :D

[Jackson's Dad]

I think the proliferation of the big box home improvement stores has really driven power tool quality into the crapper.

I read an article about that a few months back (can't remember where). They interviewed various lawn mower companies who explained how Home De(s)pot was requiring them to sell their products at certain "low low" prices. This forced them to either (a) make cheaper products, or (b) not sell through Home Depot. Turns out that many products sold in Home Depot (or Walmart, for that matter) are cheaper versions of products sold elsewhere. Interesting, weird stuff.