AutoCloser Automatic Garage Door Closer

Great little device for peace of mind. Very well packaged and came with EVERYTHING needed to install. Instruction booklet could use some editing, but good enough to get you through the install. The main unit only takes about 5 minutes to install. Wiring unit to garage door takes another 2 - 5 minutes depending on how long it takes to find the right wire combination. The disable button takes longer if you want to run it all the way over and next to your garage door button. However, the length of time that takes will probably depend on if you have any help, your attic, and how easy you can thread some wire up there. For me, it took another 30 minutes in the attic due to some extenuating circumstances in my attic. For some, this might only be a 5 minute job. In the end, I'm glad I took the time to do it right. If everyone in your household is tall enough to reach the garage door opener, you could simply velcro the delay button right there at the bottom and raise your arm to push the button. However, my wife is only 5', so I had to put it next to the garage door button. What I did was drill a hole into the ceiling next to the garage door opener, ran the included wire up and over to where I was going to come down, drilled another hole, and ran it down. I then untwisted the wire to make it neat and stapled it to the wall for a professional look. Then, painted over the wire to match wall and put some drywall stuff in the holes I made in the ceiling. If not for a unique thing going on in my attic, this would have taken me only 5 - 10 minutes in total. Painting and drywall repair took me another 5 minutes. There will come a time when you have to wire the unit into the garage door opener in the same place as the garage door button. I had six wire going into unit. Easiest way to figure out which is which is to simply pull one wire off/out and then go push the garage door button. If the door opens/closes, you did not find the right set yet. Put it back and pull another wire until you find it. Once you find the set, that's where the AutoCloser will wire into. So far, so good. Works as expected and I'm really feeling good about having it installed and knowing my garage door won't be left open all night accidentally.

The product comes with the sensor, reflector, wire, velcro, and instructions. It took me all of 30 mins and 3 tools (wire stripers, wire cutters and flat tip screw driver) to install it and that was only because I was taking my time. Basically it's a door open alarm that triggers the garage door to close via the same two wire connection used on the wall button. This is such a great idea that I wonder why the new openers don't come with it as a standard feature. You can change the time interval from 2 to 30 mins before it closes the door. Also, if you work in the garage and want the door to stay open there is a disable button that will turn it off. Once the doors closes and re-opens the auto closer is on again. It has a very high pitch beep to warn you before it closes and works with most every garage door opener out there. Great instructions and easy steps to get it installed. This is an very good product that works just the way it should and requires Zero modification of your current garage opener. Great Idea!

I forget to close my garage door - I cannot see it from the house & there is no door from the house to the garage. I was going to buy the other brand, because I saw it in a locksmith trade magazine, but I decided to try this one instead. The product arrived quickly, and came packages in a very fancy box (with foam cut-outs that fit each part). The instructions were very detailed and easy to understand. The inventor of this product really put some thought into it! I took my time and it TOOK some time to install this. My garage door opener is not entirely compatible, but once I got the device installed I did not want to uninstall it and return it, so I researched how to install a key switch on my opener. The manufacturer didn't show how to do this with my model, but after a little playing around a little I was able to hook up the override switch in a manner that works, except it resets the clock on the control panel, so I have a flashing "12:00 PM" on the panel. I did not contact Xceltronix nor the garage door opener company to resolve this - the device closes the door and operates as it should, so I am happy. In fact, I REALLY like this device! Recommended. Pros: Works as described. Adjustable. Reliable. Cons: The override switch I received was not as pictured, and the screws that came with it were useless. They were long but tiny & you needed almost a jeweler's screwdriver to use them. I ended up using big wood screws - looks a little odd, but it holds the button onto the wall, well.

This was my first order from Smart Labs and they did a great job getting me my item. I was in a hurry and it was fast and everything was packaged well. I installed the unit today and so far all I can say is that it does exactly what it says it will do. The installation wasn't especially complicated, just followed the instructions. Works like it says, beeps are loud and annoying but if you were nearby when it was doing its job you'd definitely know there was something going on. I like how it closes the door slightly and then opens it back up and keeps beeping to clue you in as to what's going on. I also like the adjustable delay before closing. I set mine to two minutes. The only slight complication was the disable button. I have concrete walls in my garage and wanted to mount the button to the concrete. I had to go to the hardware store to get some different screws for concrete because the ones in the package didn't look like they'd be good for anything. They say they'll mount in drywall but they just look cheap and flimsy, as does the button itself (more on that later). I ended up using some Tapcon screws that I bought and painted them white with some white appliance touch up paint. It's not too ugly but I wouldn't say it has a lot of finesse. Maybe a mounting kit with a couple different kinds of screws, some wall anchors for drywall, some concrete anchors and a cheap concrete drill bit, and maybe something suitable for wood would really improve the installation experience as would a dozen or so cable ties to keep everything neat and tidy. The disable button itself looks a little chintzy. Little round white button, that's it. Would be nice if they'd work with the manufacturers to create some kind of integrated solution that would look a little nicer. I have a nice home and I like my automation, I just want it to be something you can't really tell is there, until you know. Two buttons to control one door is a bit much for my taste, but I also realize I might be overly picky on this one. Overall, a nice unit, with a couple details that just aren't right for me. Does what it says though and seems reliable.

Revising my review now after months of attempting to use it. I had so many issues and failures, and the incessant beeping was so annoying I uninstalled it. I subsequently bought the Magic Closer Magic Closer it was installed in minutes and has been foolproof and reliable for going on three months. Cheaper and better. I have had this for a while and finally got around to installing. It was very easy, took about 15 minutes, and seems as if it will work fine. It has for testing at least. And I'll feel better having it as a failsafe. We try to be vigilant about closing the garage, but have forgotten twice and had thieves enter and rifle through our belongings. It is a good device, and while I do understand the loud beeping and the half-close + full close, I do not get the full close, re-open, delay, then closing again operation? Once it is down and closed, why not stay there? That is how it works by design: after the set delay of being open: unit begins beeping for 30 seconds partially closes and comes back to full open fully closes a few seconds later but then it immediately fully opens again! it beeps for another 20 or 30 seconds while fully re-opened it then finally closes and stays closed and, of course, it beeps the whole time, *AND* for thirty seconds after it is fully closed for good measure. I am sure there is a government regulation requiring this level of ridiculousness, but seriously, why fully close the door only to fully re-open and re-close AGAIN? Is this in case you accidentally trap a thief inside and you are required to let them escape, because you created an attractive nuisance and they just had to burgle you, and you are violating their rights as victims in commission of a crime by closing the door on them? I am guessing such a lawsuit probably led to this weird close/re-open/close operation. But even given all that strangeness, and what seems like a very unnecessary step in the operation, it does seem like a good product and seems to do what it says it will.

Installed the Xceltronix this morning. Our garage is accessed through an alley, not the safest of places. We've left the garage door open enough times to warrant this product. This is a well made unit, nicely packaged, with enough wire to handle the largest garage. The instructions were written for an older model - there was no need to screw in the adapter plug which was small and light. The disabling button is also of a different design than the photographs. Installation was very easy. The longest (and hardest) part of the install was running the wire from the disabling button back to the main unit. So far everything works as advertised and I am quite happy with this product. *** See Bob Tobias's video review for an alternative method of installing the button under the main unit. That will save you a half hour of wiring time. Loved to have gone that route but with our car in the garage we can't reach over it to hit the button.

I have a Genie Powerlift 900. I don't recall this as being an expensive garage door opener, and I think I bought it about 3 years ago at home depot. My wall mounted garage door opener has three buttons on it: Open/close, lock, and light. Obviously having multiple controls over a singe 2 wire run requires some sort of communication protocol that is more complicated than a typical switch that shorts the two wires to open/close the garage door. This did not occur to me when I read the manual or installed the device. Once I did, and tested it, the device was unable to close my garage door and this problem finally dawned on me. After some research, I determined that I needed to purchase a "Genie 38013R Series III Dry Contact Adapter" which can be found if you google it. This was not mentioned on the product page, or in a manual, but it is buried on autocloser's website and mentioned in another Amazon review. So not I am waiting for this new device ships (cost was $22.45 shipped). If your garage door opener has multiple buttons on it, you'll probably end up in the same boat as me. The second reason I deducted stars was one that other's have experienced. There is no possible way 2 strips of velcro are going to hold this box up for years through Arizona summers. I had to design a bracket that I 3D printed so that I could mount it with screws.

I Installed the Autocloser on April 6th, 2013 and so far so good. We had our bikes stolen a month ago so we decided it was time to make sure our absent minds didn't result in losing more stuff. We set it to a 15 minute delay, because with 2 young kids and groceries 5 or 10 minutes was just not enough time to get everything out of the caravan before we started to hear the warning sounds. Installation: Installation is easy, but the instruction book is a little outdated so it can be confusing. The Autocloser is mounted to the bottom of the garage door opener machine using the supplied Velcro stripes. The reflector is installed on the Garage Door Arm that is connected to your garage door. When the garage door is in the open position the Autocloser must be pointing straight at the reflector. The wiring is also simple. You connect one end of a short strip of wire to the Autocloser as described in the instructions and the other end to garage door opener machine. The book shows a garage door opener machine having screw connections, but on most modern garage door opener machines you don't connect wires to screws, but rather slide the bare wire into a little port. The port that you want is the port that has the wire for the door opener button. Push the button below the port to release the wire then twist together the two wires and slide them back in the port. The second wire goes from the Autocloser to the cancel button. They tell you to install the cancel button on the wall next to the door opener button, but I instead attached it to the bottom of the garage door opener machine using a small piece of the provided Velcro strips. This is big time saver not having to spend time running a wire through the garage. They provided a big spoil of wire but I used less than 2ft of wire for the Autocloser to the garage door opener machine and less than a foot for the other...That was easy! Note: The instructions are old and show a big heave power plugin. That is no longer the case as it is fairly small and has little weight so the threat of it falling out is no longer an issue. After install you should set it to the 2 minute delay and test it. After the time elapses the thing will beep loud for about 30 seconds, then it will start to close, but then reopen as a warning that it is about to close, and finally it will close all the way. So far so good!