Commercial garage door openers we supply and install

A commercial operator is a different machine from a residential opener, and it is chosen on how the bay is used rather than on how quiet it is. The trade calls them operators rather than openers, and the specification starts with duty cycle.

The operator types

A jackshaft operator mounts on the wall beside the door and drives the torsion shaft. It keeps the ceiling clear, which in a warehouse means clear for sprinklers, lighting and racking, and it is the usual choice on a sectional bay door.

A trolley operator runs on a rail above the door, like a heavy version of the residential arrangement. It suits lighter commercial sectional doors where there is headroom to spare.

A hoist operator drives a rolling steel door, turning the barrel the curtain coils onto. Most rolling doors use one, and a chain hoist is normally fitted alongside so the door can still be moved when the power is out.

Duty cycle and power

Residential openers are built for a handful of cycles a day. A loading bay can run dozens, and continuous-duty operators exist because standard-duty motors do not survive that. Getting this wrong is expensive in a way that only shows up months later, when a motor that was fine on the commissioning day starts overheating in the middle of a shift.

Larger operators are often three-phase, so the available supply at the bay is part of the specification, not an afterthought at installation.

Controls and safety

A three-button station, open, close and stop, is standard, and it usually replaces the single button a house has. Beyond that: key switches where only staff should operate the door, pull cords, radio controls for drivers, loop detectors in the approach so the door does not come down on a vehicle, and photo eyes or a reversing safety edge along the bottom of the door.

A commercial operator will also normally be set to constant pressure for closing unless a monitored safety device is fitted, which is a code requirement rather than a preference, and it changes how the door is operated day to day.

Service

Commercial operators are serviced on cycle count. Chains, sprockets, brakes, limits, contactors and the safety devices all wear, and the safety edge is the item most worth testing on a schedule, because it is the one nobody notices has stopped working until it matters.