· by Michael Blair, Nashville's Garage Door
An opener can keep lifting a door for decades. The motor still hums, the light still comes on, and nothing about it says it is out of date. What has changed is the safety rule it was built to, and on an older opener that difference is the reason to replace it. This is what the federal standard asks of an opener today, how to tell whether yours meets it, and what replacing only the opener involves when the door stays. Fitting a new opener to the door you already have is part of our opener repair and installation service.
What does the federal standard require of a garage door opener?
It requires the door to reverse when it hits something, and a second, separate way to stop it. 16 CFR Part 1211, the federal safety standard for automatic residential garage door operators, applies to operators made on or after January 1, 1993 for sale in the United States. Under it, a closing door has to start reversing within 2 seconds of contact with an obstruction (outside the first foot of travel down from fully open), then return to fully open and stop.
The standard also requires a secondary entrapment protection device, supplied with the opener or as an accessory: an external photoelectric sensor, an edge sensor on the bottom of the door, an inherent sensor independent of the primary system, or an equivalent. That device has to reverse a closing door to fully open and keep an open door from closing. An opener with a feature that closes the door on its own, with no one at the button, must sound an alarm for at least 5 seconds before the door moves, and that feature is not permitted on one-piece or swinging doors.
Is an opener without photo eyes worth keeping?
No. The Door and Access Systems Manufacturers’ Association’s opener safety tips say openers made for the U.S. since 1993 must include a second safety reversing feature such as photo eyes, and that an opener without one should be replaced with a new opener.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s pamphlet on non-reversing openers gives the history in its own dates: openers made or imported for sale in the U.S. after January 1, 1991 had to have reversing systems, and a requirement for external entrapment protection, such as an electric eye or a door edge sensor, was added in 1993. The pamphlet reports about 73 children aged 2 to 14 trapped and killed under automatic garage doors since March 1982, and urges owners to replace older openers with reversing openers that meet the federal standard.
A quick look in the garage tells you a lot. No small sensors mounted low on each side of the door, and no sensor strip along the bottom edge of the door, means the opener has no secondary protection, and that is the opener both organizations point to for replacement.
Where do the photo eyes go?
Low, one on each side of the opening. DASMA puts the photo eyes no more than six inches off the garage floor, and the CPSC pamphlet gives 4 to 6 inches. The federal standard tests a sensor against a white surface 6 inches high and 12 inches long set in the middle of the opening, so eyes mounted higher than that can miss something small in the door’s path.
The wall button matters too. DASMA puts it at least five feet above the floor, out of children’s reach, and the CPSC pamphlet says to mount the push-button control as high as practical.
Replacing the opener and keeping the door
A new opener can go on an existing door when the door itself is sound and balanced. Before we hang one, we check the door; if it is out of balance, that gets fixed first, since the CPSC says an unbalanced door should be serviced by a professional, and DASMA recommends that a trained door system technician install the opener. Then the new unit goes up, the eyes go on no higher than six inches off the floor, the force and travel are set, and we test the reversing before we leave. The CPSC suggests checking the door and opener every 30 days, and the routine is part of our maintenance service.
Choosing the drive, chain, belt or direct, is its own question, covered in our post on garage door opener types. We install openers in Franklin and across Middle Tennessee. For a written price on a new opener for your existing door, ask us for a free estimate.
Sources
- U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Non-Reversing Automatic Garage Door Openers Are a Hazard (Publication 523) — About 73 children aged 2 to 14 trapped and killed under automatic garage doors since March 1982; reversing systems required on openers made or imported after January 1, 1991; external entrapment protection added in 1993; electric eye 4 to 6 in. above the floor; inspect every 30 days; unbalanced doors serviced by a professional; push-button as high as practical; urges replacing older openers.
- 16 CFR Part 1211, Safety Standard for Automatic Residential Garage Door Operators (eCFR) — 1211.1: operators made on or after January 1, 1993; 1211.7(b): reversal begins within 2 seconds of contact; 1211.8(a): secondary entrapment protection (photoelectric, edge, inherent or equivalent); 1211.11(c): 6 in. by 12 in. test obstruction; 1211.14: 5-second alarm for unattended close, not on one-piece or swinging doors.
- Door and Access Systems Manufacturers’ Association (DASMA), Garage Door Openers safety tips — Photo eyes no higher than six inches above the floor; openers made for the U.S. since 1993 must have a second safety reversing feature, and an opener without one should be replaced; trained technician to install; wall button at least five feet above the floor.
FAQ
Replacing an Old Garage Door Opener Safely — questions
When to replace a garage door opener?
When it has no photo eyes or door-edge sensor, when the door does not reverse after hitting an obstruction, or when it cannot be adjusted to reverse properly. DASMA says an opener without a second safety reversing feature is due for replacement, and the CPSC urges replacing older openers with ones that meet the federal standard.
Can you replace just the garage door opener?
Yes, if the door is in good shape and balanced. The old opener comes down, the new unit and its sensors go up, and the force and reversing are set and tested. If the door is out of balance, that is fixed first; the CPSC says an unbalanced door should be serviced by a professional.
What year did garage door openers get safety sensors?
The federal standard, 16 CFR Part 1211, covers openers made on or after January 1, 1993, and requires secondary entrapment protection such as photo eyes. The CPSC’s own pamphlet dates reversing systems to openers made after January 1, 1991, and the external sensor requirement to 1993.
Do garage door openers have to have photo eyes?
They have to have a secondary entrapment protection device, and photo eyes are one option. The federal standard also allows an edge sensor on the bottom of the door, an inherent sensor independent of the primary reversing system, or an equivalent device. Whichever is used must reverse a closing door and keep an open door from closing.