I just bought an older home. The overhead garage door has an automatic opener that is over 13 years old (Sears brand). The door doesn't have the now-required safety features, such as infrared beams to trigger reverse should my toddler wander underneath.

Does anybody know if there's any way to retrofit the existing opener with an electric eye? I've found one company online that offers equipment that might do the trick, but I don't know how well it works or if an older opener would work with it. Does anybody know anything about this?
http://www.martecaccess.com/DoorGuard.htm

Or do I have to buy a new opener?

 

baltimoron,

Best advice I can give is buy a new opener and forget about retrofiting. At 13 years old, you never when it will fail and probably soon.

I would rather be safe than sorry as a retrofit would be no guarantee regarding your childs safety.

Just words of caution!

 

baltimoron,

Your old Sears should have an auto reverse. Before you get the old GDO replace you may want to check it out to see if the auto reverse works. To check it put a roll of kitchen paper towels under it and run it down. If it don't reverse adjust the down force screw until it dose.

Roger

 

Thanks, rogerh. I checked, and it does have autoreverse, though it'll require a lot of adjustment.

Still, I'd like the electric eyes, and I'm looking at replacing the system.