Liftmaster 3900 Vs 8500

The Liftmaster 3900 and 8500 are among the most popular and reliable Liftmaster door openers available on the market today. They might seem alike, featuring the same build and design, but the company still managed to chip in a couple of dissimilarities between the two. In this review, we are going to compare the Liftmaster 3900 vs 8500 to help you determine which of the Liftmaster products best suits your needs.

Door openers are handy tools to have in your garage. Whether you want one for your home or commercial garage, these tools will significantly improve the opening of your garage door, and make it more even comfortable.

In comparison, the Liftmaster 3900 models are particularly perfect for commercial purposes, while the Liftmaster 8500 serves great for residential use. Presumably, you now have an idea of these two units from Liftmaster and how they differ.

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Liftmaster 3900 vs 8500 Door Opener Comparison

Area of Use

The Liftmaster 3900 models are designed for application in light-duty sites or commercial buildings. It’s an industry-grade door opener. On the other hand, the 8500 models are specifically designed for residential purposes and should only be installed for home purposes.

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Mounting Position

Both the 3900 and 8500 are Jackshaft openers in the Liftmaster premium series that can be installed at the side of your door rather than just on the ceiling. That helps to free up some overhead space, making them more suitable for low ceiling and even tall vehicles.

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Door Specifications

Both openers are designed for use in sectional garage doors. The door itself should open with at least one-inch torsion bar and should measure 18 feet wide and 14 inches tall. Also, they should have a maximum weight of 650 pounds.

Sectional doors operate on tracks, and for them to be used with these Liftmaster openers, the tracks should have 12 inches in radius.

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Product Size and Weight

The Liftmaster 3900 features a more compact design, which is relatively smaller as compared to the 8500. However, even with a smaller size, the Liftmaster 3900 is heavier than the 8500 model.

Start & Stop Function

Both openers boast a soft start/stop mechanism. This means that after activation, the opener makes the door to start moving at a low speed. Likewise, when closing the door, the opener ensures it moves at a reduced space as well. The slow start and stop mechanism ensure that the door doesn’t make any contact with the floor due to high speed, thereby preventing unnecessary damages to your door. What’s better, he features ensures that the door starts and closes with the minimum noise possible.

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Control Panel

This is what helps you to control the Liftmaster, and you can use it to open or close the door. There are various types of control panels, and therefore you need to find one that fits you the most. For our comparison, let’s find out how the control panel differs between the Lift master 3900 vs 8500.

The 3900 model can be operated using a single button, commonly known as a push button. It usually involves pressing the button to open, to stop, and to close the door. Contrary, the Liftmaster 8500 features a more innovative control system, more of a smart LCD panel.

The panel is backlit to facilitate usage during the night or in darker areas. This control panel allows the user to program the model’s remote control unit, activate the garage and opener light and protect the remote while being able to control the opener.

The Liftmaster 8500 also incorporates the MyQ Technology that brings you the opportunity to control the door opener straight from your smartphone- this can be achieved using the absolutely free MyQ mobile app. Additionally, the MyQ technology enables the scanner to send text alerts or emails to inform you about the status of your garage door as well as the light.

Internet Gateway (888LM)

The presence of MyQ Technology means that you’ll need internet access, and so they need for the 888LM internet gateway. It’s a wall-mounted panel that’s sold separately. It’s an essential feature which you must purchase, install and set up to access all the benefits of the MyQ technology.

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Remote control

The Liftmaster comes with a convenient remote control unit, which allows you to open and shut your garage doors from the comfort of your car. When the remote control detects a hand approaching it during the night, it automatically gives out a soft blue light to assist you.

Besides, the remote is designed in a way that you can easily clip it on the sunshade of your car. Even so, several users commented that the remote sometimes lost the connection with the opener. As such, a couple of users were displeased with how close the remote must be to their garage door for it to open the door successfully.

Finding a remote control when buying the Liftmaster 3900 is subject to the store you are buying from and the type of package bought. Some 3900 opener kits will come with a remote included in the package while others don’t.

It’s therefore important to know that contrary to the 8500 model whose remote is mainly designed for the opener, the remote provided in the 3900 packages are meant for another Liftmaster model, 371LM. So in case, you have a 371LM remote, you can configure it to operate the 3900 openers.

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Protection

This is an additional feature that makes the Liftmaster more unique. The protection feature allows you to ensure safety when starting or closing your garage door. So let’s find out the type of protection presented by both Liftmaster 3900 and 8500.

Both Liftmaster openers incorporate safety sensors. These safety sensors perfectly monitor the opening of the door by projecting unseen infrared beams during the opening. In case a body or an object moves across the path as the door is closing, the beam gets interrupted, which makes the sensor halt and reverse the door’s motion immediately.

The Liftmaster 3900 offers a safety feature with a light beam that stretches between the ends of the garage door. The feature is designed in a way that if anything interrupts the beam, the door automatically reverses the motion. The safety feature can also give quick emergency release and safety reverse too.

The Liftmaster 8500, on the other hand, will give an audio and visual warning when your garage door is about to close. Again if a movement is detected in the garage, the motion sensor turns on the opener light. Where the door is opened and not closed after a predetermined time, the opener Liftmaster 8500 is designed to close the door and switch off the garage lights automatically.

Security

For both models, the manufacturer strictly warns users not to operate the openers for more than ten complete opening cycles in an hour. The 8500 has a power lock deadbolt to prevent the door from being forced to open and features a rolling security code to make sure that only authorized persons can access the door. Every time the remote is applied, the control panel provides a new security code for the remote to be used to access the opener next time.

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Motor Power and Backup

The motor is the powerhouse of the door opener. It is where the main action takes place. When the opener is connected to the garage door, it’s the action of the motor that makes the door open. So, how powerful the motor is will dictate the weight of the garage door it can lift.

Both Liftmaster openers consume a significant amount of power, usually, 24v DC. But unlike other motors with a high rate of power consumption, these two are extremely quiet during operation. They require electricity to operate and come with a six-foot power cord. What’s better, there is an optional battery backup that is sold separately to keep you going in case of power outages.

Warranty

Both Liftmaster devices have a lifetime warranty on the motors plus a five-year warranty covering all other parts.

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Liftmaster 3900 Vs 8500- Pros and Cons

Pros of Liftmaster 3900

•       Quiet yet powerful motor
•       Can lift a garage door with up to 650 lbs
•       Works with DC batteries
•       Protective safety features
•       Power door lock security

Cons

•       The control panel is just a push-button

Pros of Liftmaster 8500

•       You can open the garage door even when 200 feet away
•       A motion detector that turns on the light automatically.
•       It has a power door lock security
•       MyQ technology keeps you in touch with your garage door

Cons

•       Produces relatively more noise when opening

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Conclusion

We can conclude that the best choice between the Liftmaster 3900 vs 8500 depends majorly on where exactly you are going to install it. They both have different areas of use. From the comparison above, the 3900 is quite a basic unit with limited features, which makes it more suitable for commercial use. On the other hand, the Liftmaster 8500 appears more superior with more features and is recommended for residential application.