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Seven Foot Rail product guide

LiftMaster 8500W Wall Mount Wi-Fi Garage Door Opener

Torsion-bar sectional doors fitted by a trained technician

A wall mount jackshaft opener with a heavy-duty 12 volt DC motor, built-in Wi-Fi, an integrated battery backup, an automatic door lock and a separate myQ remote LED light. LiftMaster rates it to 850 pounds on sectional doors up to 14 feet high and 180 square feet.

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Published specifications

  • Product guide: heavy-duty 12 V DC motor, 63 to 1 gear reduction
  • Product guide: 8.5 in/sec up, 7.6 in/sec down; 120 V AC, 60 Hz, 1.5 A
  • Manual: doors to 14 ft high, 18 ft wide, 180 sq ft; high lift to 54 in
  • Manual: 1 in torsion bar, 4 to 6 in drums, no reverse wound drums
  • Manual: 3 in ceiling to bar centre; 8.5 in bar end to side wall
  • Warranty: lifetime motor, 5 yr parts, 1 yr battery and accessories

Fit and limits

Strengths

  • Carton holds the battery, door lock, LED light, smart panel and sensors
  • Holds up to 40 remotes, 4 keyless entries and 16 myQ devices
  • Remote is tri-band and backwards compatible to LiftMaster openers from 1993

Caveats

  • Timer-to-Close and app control need the remote LED light installed
  • The 850 pound rating assumes backup fitted and a 15 inch radius track
  • LiftMaster says installation is for trained garage door technicians only

What it is, and what LiftMaster puts in the carton

This is a wall mount jackshaft opener that drives the door's torsion bar from the side, so the ceiling above the parking space stays empty. LiftMaster's manual states the scope on its cover: for residential use, install on sectional doors with torsion assemblies only.

The product guide's carton list is the one to trust. One carton holds the opener head, a Smart Control Panel model 880LMW, a 893MAX three-button remote, the Protector System safety reversing sensors, the 485LM battery, the 841LM automatic garage door lock and the 827LM myQ Remote LED Light, at a shipping weight of 38 pounds.

One listing field is worth querying before you order. The listing's title says 8500W but its manufacturer part number field reads 98022, which is a different model number. Its UPC field also holds three different numbers. Ask the seller to confirm which unit ships.

The doors and drums LiftMaster says it fits

The manual's planning page is the buying filter and it is specific. The opener works with doors that use a torsion bar and springs, the torsion bar must be 1 inch in diameter, and it is not compatible with reverse wound drums.

On drums it allows 4 to 6 inch drums and says they are not to be used on tapered drums over 6 inches. High lift is permitted up to 54 inches, standard lift sectional doors up to 14 feet high, doors up to 18 feet wide, and a total of 180 square feet.

The cover adds two exclusions in plain words: the product is not intended for use on low headroom tracks with an outside pickup drum, or on garage doors using extension springs. The listing's disclaimer repeats the low headroom and roll up exclusions, adds a Wayne Dalton TorqueMaster exclusion that the LiftMaster documents read here do not mention, and gives the side clearance as 8 inches where LiftMaster's own manual says 8.5.

Eight things to measure or check before ordering

LiftMaster sets the clearances out as lettered items, and a wall mount opener fits or it does not. There must be a minimum of 2.5 inches between the wall and the centre of the torsion bar, and a minimum of 3 inches between the ceiling and the centre of the torsion bar.

There must be at least 8.5 inches between the side wall or obstruction and the end of the torsion bar, and the torsion bar must extend at least 1.5 inches past the bearing, which LiftMaster says may vary with your installation. An electric outlet is required within 6 feet of the installation area, and the manual says to contact a qualified electrician if there is not one.

Three checks close it. Extension brackets or wood blocks may be needed to mount the safety reversing sensors and the cable tension monitor depending on building construction. The gap between the floor and the bottom of the door must not exceed a quarter of an inch. And LiftMaster asks you to watch the torsion bar while the door moves: any noticeable movement up, down, left or right must be corrected, or it says the life of the opener will be greatly reduced.

Two footnotes that change what this opener can do

The first is easy to miss and it matters more than most specifications. LiftMaster's product guide carries a footnote saying the myQ Remote LED Light must be installed to enable use of Timer-to-Close or myQ smartphone control of the garage door. The light is not a convenience accessory here, it is part of the control path.

The second sits under the 850 pound lifting figure. LiftMaster's footnote says the battery backup must be installed, the door must use a 15 inch or greater radius track, and the door must be properly balanced. Those are conditions on the headline number rather than optional extras.

A third note qualifies the automation. The product guide says that to reduce the risk of injury, the Alert-2-Close and unattended close features should only be used when the opener is installed with a sectional door. The manual's cover also says the door will not close unless the Protector System and the cable tension monitor are connected and properly aligned.

The specification block, in plain numbers

The motor is a heavy-duty 12 volt DC unit with automatic thermal protection and permanent lubrication, driving an internal chain and sprocket mechanism with 63 to 1 gear reduction inside a steel chassis under a plastic cover. Power is 120 volts AC at 60 hertz with a 1.5 amp current rating, UL listed, on a 6 foot three-prong cord.

Travel speed is 8.5 inches per second upward and 7.6 inches per second downward. The myQ Remote LED Light is rated at 1,500 lumens, mounts to a ceiling or a wall, and has a hinged cover. Headroom clearance required is 3 inches from the centre of the torsion bar.

LiftMaster also publishes the device capacity. It says the opener holds up to 40 remote controls, 4 wireless keyless entry systems and 16 myQ devices, and that there are two lock terminals so a second lock can be added, to a maximum of two.

Warranty, radio and who is meant to install it

The warranty is in three tiers: lifetime on the motor, five years on parts, and one year on the battery and accessories. LiftMaster does not define in the guide which of the bundled items count as accessories rather than parts, so ask a dealer where the battery, light, lock and control panel actually sit before relying on the lifetime headline.

The 893MAX remote is tri-band on 310, 315 and 390 MHz under Security plus 2.0 coding, with the opener frequency agile across the same three bands and anti-burglary coding. LiftMaster says the premium remote is backwards compatible with all LiftMaster openers made since January 1993. Operating range is around 200 feet and operating temperature runs from minus 31 to 149 degrees Fahrenheit.

The myQ radio runs 902 to 928 MHz across 50 channels with two-way communication. HomeLink compatibility is version 4.0 or higher and may need an external adapter depending on the vehicle. Finally, the manual's own cover says this product is intended for installation only by trained garage door technicians and may require adjustments to door springs or track configurations. Treat that as the instruction it is.

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Primary sources

  1. LiftMaster 8500W Product Guide, document LMGDENPG8500W 11/17 (PDF)
  2. LiftMaster 8500W Wall Mount Wi-Fi Garage Door Opener Installation Manual, document 114A4961 (PDF)

Primary sources checked .

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