Genie, Decades of Lifting Reliability... Literally

Genie, Decades of Lifting Reliability... Literally

How often do you find a working small appliance that lasts 50+ years?  When you hear the Genie name, you will hear and find many stories of our Genie garage door openers, that have lasted anywhere from 20 to 60 years. Here is one story we would like to share with you from Todd . 

He thought that a working genie garage door opener from 1967 was something noteworthy. So Todd scoured the internet looking for someone to email. He stumbled across the email of our company president.

Hi Mike: Please excuse me. I know this question is below your pay grade. Maybe you can pass it along to someone in your marketing department. As you see in the attached picture, we are still using a Genie Model 401 door opener in our garage. I believe it's from the 1960s, and the original homeowner (two owners ago). However, we've decided it's really time to replace it. Is there any chance Genie wants this?... It's really a testament to Genie manufacturing quality that this thing still works in 2020.”

Thanks for your consideration.

Todd K

Deerfield, IL

 

After receiving this email, we reached out to Todd to hear more about his ancient but still running, Genie Model 401 Garage Door Opener.

Todd is the 3rd family owner of the home that was built in the mid 1960’s.  No one that he is aware of in his extended family has ever really bothered with maintenance on the garage door opener, it just worked so it was out of sight out of mind.  His in-laws had the garage door replaced at some point and needed to have a broken spring changed out a few years ago. At that time the spring installer had lubricated the screw drive but that was it for maintenance on the Genie.  Prior to moving into the home Todd never really knew much about garage doors, or garage door openers, and assumed that ALL garage door openers were known as Genies. 

 

Todd shared with us that between he combined with the previous family members who owned the home, had replaced the roof, garage door, all appliances, siding, windows, most electrical, much of the plumbing, doors, and flooring.  Other than the physical framing of the house, the Genie garage door opener was the only other original piece. A Genie 401 garage door opener has outlasted nearly everything else!  Because of this Todd states he would never use any other brand garage door opener.   

The Genie Model 401 Genie Garage Door Opener

“This Model 401 Genie garage door opener was installed in 1967 and ran this long, why would I use anything else?”

So why is Todd replacing his 53-year-old Genie garage door opener?  He has decided to replace and upgrade the garage door as well as re-model his garage. Also, since this Genie garage door opener was manufactured before most modern safety features, he feels it is time to retire this Genie Model 401.   In his next garage door opener, Todd is looking for the new Genie to be quiet but wants to stick with the long-term reliability of a Genie screw drive model.  He sees the benefit of having smart Wi-Fi technology, known as Genie Aladdin Connect, to know if he left the garage door open.  He also mentioned that a battery backup would be nice because he lives in Chicago and does lose power in bad weather. 

Todd will be receiving a new Genie MachForce Connect smart garage door opener.  Do you want to share your story of your ancient Genie that is still working?  Just reply in the comments below or message Genie on social media in order to get more info on how to participate in sharing your story.

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14 comments

I have had a 401 for 52 years. It always works! I had it greased last year and it still works! I had to disconnect it yesterday because we lost power. I haven’t a clue how to reconnect it. The man did it last year and it looked so simple! No manual to tell me and I want to connect it myself. I am 83 and very handy woman!

sally gould

My Genie 401 has worked great since the original owner installed it in the 60’s. I had to replace the remotes with a new receiver unit and remotes. Just set the dip switches inside the remote to match those on the receiver unit mounted on the motor. The problem of a loud screeching noise from the screw might be caused by the screw scraping the rail due to a lack of lubrication. Check the part of the screw nearest the door. This is more exposed to weather. It might have been overlooked during regular lubrication since the trolley doesn’t go that far.

James Lewis

Great article. We just replaced our garage doors and our old single garage door had a fully functioning Alliance Genie Model B4 which the company replacing the doors actually offered to pay us for it. I wanted to reach out and see if Genie wants this unit.

Zach

I have a genie 401 opener. Bought house from original owner from 1956 in 2009.
Genie 401 is still working. Replaced original garage door last year. New door would go up and down holding button after new install. Readjusted the switches on the track. But still not going up or down, for the next six months still used it and one day just started going up and down on its own. By using button. Absolutely amazing.
Would like to post video!

Matt C.

@Idolina – We no longer sell remotes or replacement parts for the 401. If you are looking for a replacement garage door opener, use our Product Selector tool to find the right one for you! https://www.geniecompany.com/product-selector

Stephanie Millage

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