Craftsman is the same as Liftmaster or Chamberlain. Same components inside, different rail system for DIY and Professionals. I would recommend the Liftmaster 3850. It comes with the option of a battery back up system for power outages and is extremely quiet. It also has a motion detector on the wall button so that if you walk in the garage it turns on the light. The 3820 is also a very quiet opener, but does not have a DC motor or a motion detector.

You can expect to spend right around $400.00 to have the 3850 installed without the battery back up and probably around $450.00 to have it installed with the battery backup. These are estimated prices of course and are about average where I live.

I would stay away from the Overhead models all together.

I am sorry I meant the 3280 is also a very quit opener, but does not have a DC motor or motion detector.

Thanks for the input. But if Liftmaster and Craftsman have the same components inside and just a different rail, won't I have the same problems with a Liftmaster that I would with a Craftsman? I would think they would use higher quality components with the Liftmaster.

Any particular reason to stay away from Overhead? I don't know anything about either company, other than they each manufacture their own brand and another brand (Overhead makes Genie, Chamberlain makes Craftsman). Consumer Reports did give top marks last year to the Liftmaster 2500, but I don't see that model available anymore.

The Liftmaster 2500 is the same as the 3850. The difference is that they changed the way the battery back up is installed. The 2500 had a big battery that sat on top of the unit the 3850 has a battery that actually slides inside the unit so you can't see it.

I personally don't like Overhead or Genie operators because the parts are harder to come by and usually more expensive to fix. With Craftsman or Liftmaster the parts are virtually everywhere and are fairly easy for a DIY to fix.

Liftmaster, Craftsman, Chamberlain, etc are installed world wide and are the most common of all openers. No matter what brand you choose eventually it is going to have to be worked on at some point and time. So I guess the question is how much do you want to pay to have it fixed when that time comes?

I don't care what the consumer report says if you want the quietest most maintenance free opener that is very durable get the 3850 or the 3280. Trust me, it is money well spent.

Just installed a 3850. One quiet operator! Very nice so far.