Ryobi Garage Door Opener - More Than Just A Garage Door Operator

The Ryobi Garage Door Opener Module System

More Than Just A Garage Door Operator 

Ryobi, a manufacturer of power tools, is stepping into the garage door operator market with a their new #GD200 Garage Door Opener. They have thought outside the box on what a garage door opener can do for the consumer by offering modules that can be added to the operator. The modules include everything from a retractable extension cord cord to a bluetooth speaker.

First lets take a look at the operator itself. It claims to have a 2 h.p. motor. Without being able to find any specs (as of this writing the opener is not being sold yet - it goes on sale at Home Depot 04/15/16) I am not able to confirm the horsepower. My guess is that the opener is equipped with a DC motor (as opposed to an AC). DC motors are rated in Newtons of pulling force instead of horsepower. Since most people don't know what Newtons are manufacturers will show what the equivalent is in horsepower. So if they are claiming a 2 h.p. motor then that would be the equivalent of 2000 Newtons. Again, I'm just assuming at this point that it is a DC motor. Either way this is a lot of motor for a garage door operator. A 1/2 h.p. or 3/4 h.p motor is plenty for a garage door operator so 2 h.p. might be overkill.  I guess you can never have too much though. By the way, the springs on a garage door are supposed to do all the heavy lifting and the motor just puts the door in motion. The operator should actually only be lifting 40 - 50 lbs. while the springs lift the remaining 70 - 150 lbs. (depending on how big your door is).

The operator comes with two (2) 2-button remotes, a wireless keyless entry, a wall control station and photo-electric safety sensors. These are all pretty common accessories but the fact that they include a second remote and keyless entry is nice.  

Here are a few more of the features of the garage door operator:

• Steel reinforced belt driver for longer life
• Lithium-Ion battery backup ready with over 100 openings using a Ryobi One+ P108 4AH battery (sold separately)
• 3-piece rail
• Intelliport technology charges your Ryobi One+ batteries, protects the cells, maintains battery life and conserves energy
• Control your door remotely with the Ryobi garage door opener app; download for free in the iOS app store and Google play
• Lifetime LED light to illuminate the darkest garages
• Wi-Fi and homelink compatible
• Ryobi lifetime warranty on the motor and belt
• Download the Ryobi Garage Door App for personalized settings

A couple of the features above that Ryobi has put in and you will find other brands starting to use is the LED light feature and the built-in WiFi. With LED lighting you'll never have to change a light bulb again (plus it comes on with motion control). With the WiFi you can connect your smartphone to your garage door operator and control it anywhere with a free app that can be downloaded in the iOS app store & Google play.
 
They Ryobi Modules - this is where Ryobi sets itself apart from any other garage door operator currently on the market. You can add one or several different modules to the operator depending on what your needs are. Here are the different modules that can be added to the operator: 

• Garage retractable cord reel
• Bluetooth speaker
• Fan accessory
• Laser park assist
• Carbon monoxide module
• Lithium-ion battery backup

If your garage is more than just a place to park your car then maybe the Ryobi operator with add on modules is for you. For some people the garage doubles as a workshop or maybe it's been turned into a 3-season space to hang out in. Being able to add some music to your workshop (garage) by adding a bluetooth speaker module to the garage door operator is pretty cool. And speaking of cool, if you have a workbench close to the powerhead of the operator why not add a fan module to keep you cool while you're working. The retractable cord reel is a good idea. I don't know how many times I've spent looking for an extension cord. If I only had one connected to my garage door operator.

Even if you don't use the garage for anything else but parking and storing the mower there are a couple of other modules that will come in handy. The lithium-ion battery backup is actually a battery that's used in the cordless Ryobi tools. Attach the battery to the operator and it will charge the battery for your tools. And when you're not using it the battery is acting as a backup to the garage door operator in case there is a power failure. The laser park assist makes sure you park in the same place every time and avoid crunching the bikes while the carbon monoxide module will warn you if the levels are too high. It also measures the temperature and humidity.

THE FINAL VERDICT: the jury is still out. On paper this seems like it could be a very cool operator. If it is indeed a DC motor and has a belt drive system then it should be very quiet. A 2 h.p. motor - it's got power. The base unit comes with 2 remotes, a keyless entry and has built-in WiFi - great value. Add in the modules available to upgrade the unit with battery backup, bluetooth speaker and more.

Without being able to actually test the Ryobi operator we can't give it our full endorsement but overall it looks like it could give the competition a run for its money and consumers a different kind of operator with all the bells & whistles. We hope to be able to test one of the operators in the future and if we do we'll be sure to update our post here and give our honest opinion. If any of our readers happen to purchase & install a Ryobi operator please post your experience with the operator here. We would love to hear from you.

When is the operator available?.....April 15, 2015

What does it cost?.....$ 248.00

Where is it available?....exclusively through Home Depot (view it here)    

Find out more about the Ryobi operator here on the Ryobi website