Garage keypad woes - replacement options

[Greg Portland]

I have a Liftmaster garage door with an external wireless keypad (model 66LM). The keypads that you can buy are of similar quality to the pushbuttons that come with garage doors... in other words, garbage. My keypad lasts about 1-2 years + the battery (A23) is short lived as well. I am tired of dropping $30+ every few years for a device whose buttons occasionally work.

Has anyone used and/or discovered a remote keypad that works 100% of the time? I can also hard-wire the keypad if required.

[Steven DeMars]

If you hardwire install a tamper switch. Otherwise someone will remove the switch & simply jump the wires together. Now your garage door is open.

I use a wall mounted wireless. This way I can take advantage of the security coding built in.

You might also consider building a cover with a door to keep the weather off of it.

You might also try a keyed switch. A round style switch like that on a COKE machine.


Steve

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

I bought one of the Stanley universal remotes years ago - and it's still working fine. It has a lift-cover that protects it, and I made sure to mount it so that it was not in direct sunlight.

There are new ones that use a thumb print instead of a code - I might spring for that if/when my current keypad dies.

[Lee Schierer]

I also have a Stanley wireless remote that has worked for over a year. The door slides up to activate it. If you leave the door up it kills the battery pretty quickly.

[Brian Elfert]

My parents used to have a hard wired keypad for their garage door opener. It came with a metal plate and tube that the wire ran through. The connection was wire nutted at the end of the tube.

The point was that if someone ripped the pad off the house that the wire nuts should seperate and the wire for the opener itself would not be exposed. There was still the chance that the wires shorted as everything tore apart which would open the door anyhow.

[Greg Portland]

Thanks for the help so far. By hardwire I meant the power, not the signal.