Genie KEP-1 Universal Keyless Garage Entry System

by Genie

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

Genie Universal Wired Keyless Entry System

Product Description

This is a universal keyless entry that will wire in to the push button terminals on any garage door opener. This keyless entry requires a transformer which is included to power the keyless. Offers secure garage entry without using a remote control or key.

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000JF9P4I
• Item model number: KEP-1
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (56 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,614 in Home Improvement (See Top 100 in Home Improvement)
  • #52 in Home Improvement > Hardware > Garage Door Hardware > Garage Door Openers

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Secrets of garage door openers revealed (read to end)..., August 12, 2010

By 

Terry Crock (Massillon, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Genie KEP-1 Universal Keyless Garage Entry System (Tools & Home Improvement)

I like these. I have had trouble with wireless openers being finicky and not working all the time. This entry system is wired directly to the garage door opener (I wired mine to the push button instead of running a wire all the way to the opener), so it works all the time without any radio signals that usually work but sometime do not. Also, it works just like a push button and is wired in the same way, so it will work with every garage door opener that I know of.

I have used two of these for about 15 years (on two different doors). Every once in a while the keypad goes bad. Actually, usually only one of the numbers goes bad simply because you have been using the same numbers for so long that eventually one of them quits working, so all you have to do is reprogram the system and don't use that number.

An easy way to check if your keypad is bad is to reprogram the thing using different, various numbers. If that works, you are set for a few more years in most cases. However, if the "star" goes bad, you are out of luck, because you need that for programing and in every code.

Most likely, if this thing stops working, nothing other than the keypad is bad, so do not replace the whole thing until you try to reprogram your code using different numbers, or if that doesn't work (because the star button is bad), then just buy a new keypad. Like I said, I have been using two of these for over 15 years and have replaced the keypads twice in each of them, but the rest of the system is fine.

It would be nice to have a lighted keypad, however, and the replacements keypads do cost too much in my opinion (about $24), so I only give this thing a rating of four because of those two things.

Incidentally, years ago I worked at a door opener company, so I do have a clue concerning this kind of stuff. By the way, don't be swayed by advertising. You do not need a 1/2 HP door opener. A 1/4 HP door opener will work just as well. Your door springs provide all the lift you need. The opener just provides the movement. If fact, because of safety and fear of lawsuit, many 1/2 or 1/3 or even higher horsepower garage door openers have a clutch of some kind (or electronic controls) that regulates the power to no more than a 1/4 HP opener provides (so it can't provide excess "crush" when closing). So you are paying for more HP but are not able to use it anyway. And in fact, some door opener companies use the same motor for several HP ratings. For example, they may use the 1/3 HP motor in both the 1/4 and 1/3 door openers. So if you pay for the 1/4 HP opener you are really getting the higher powered 1/3 HP motor anyway. Some companies do this because it is not worth the cost to use two different motors for the simple reason there is very, very little cost difference between them in the manufacturing process (but sometimes the capacitor or electronics are different so the power may not be the same even though the motor is--it gets complicated).

Like I said, be wary of advertising. If someone tells you that you need a higher HP door opener because you have a double door, laugh at them. Is it harder for you to open a double door than a single? No, it is not, because the double door has stronger springs that make the effort (either manually to you or to a powered door opener) just the same. Then why pay for more HP than you need? Like I said, beware of advertising. The only thing you should pay more for is extra remotes and such. There is NO value in paying extra for a higher HP rated door opener--none. The lowest HP garage door opener sold in the United States will open your garage door just fine. And you will not notice the difference--neither will your door. Really, a 1/10 HP motor would be more than enough to open any properly adjusted garage door. All the rest is advertising malarkey.

In fact, when I shop for a door opener, or recommend one to someone, I would tell them to buy the lowest-powered door opener they can find. This will most likely be a 1/4HP opener. Sadly, because of advertising, it may be hard to find anything less than a 1/2HP opener. This is bad, because if the door malfunctions and things go wrong, you can squish something under a door going down with twice the force using a 1/2HP opener as you can with a 1/4HP opener. And both will open your door just fine. The only thing a higher HP door opener will do better is kill you if everything goes wrong and your opener squishes you under it.

Think about it. A 1/4 HP opener will open your door just fine. So will a 1/2 HP opener. So will a 3/4 HP opener. A 1/4 HP opener will generate about 250 lbs of force. If the springs on your garage door are correctly adjusted, you won't need even 1/10 of that power to open your door. THIS IS WHY YOU NEED TO ADJUST YOUR GARAGE DOOR OPENER FORCE CORRECTLY! You need very little of that 250 pound force to open your door, SO ADJUST YOUR DOOR OPENER CORRECTLY! And you do not want to have 250 lbs of force forcing the door down because if you get under it (or a child or a pet) then it will mash you (and think how that will really mash you if the built-in safety reverse doesn't work for some reason).

Now think of what a 1/2 HP motor can do for you. It can mash you with about 500 pounds of force if things go wrong! Do you really want that? Remember, the 1/4 HP motor will open your door just fine. So what does that 1/2 HP motor do for you? It does nothing but make the door opener more dangerous. And it makes more money for the manufacturer. That is all it does. And you may think, "Yeah, but if my door springs break, it can pull up a heavier door." Well, no it can't. Remember, some door opener companies (maybe all, for all I know), regulate the power of the higher HP door openers so they can not pull any harder than their lower powered door openers. This is for safety reasons. And if you adjust the force of the door opener the way you should when you set it up (again, for safety reason), it really doesn't matter what the HP rating is because both openers will be set at the same pulling force (the minimum you need to open the door when the door springs are adjusted correctly). So the higher HP door opener will not pull any harder than the lower powered one, will it? IT DOES NOT MATTER IN THE LEAST WHAT THE HP RATING IS. I stress to you that all a high HP rated door opener can do for you is make it more dangerous if things go wrong. Personally, I would not for any reason, buy a 3/4 HP door opener. This will have 50% more power than even a 1/2 HP door opener to smash anything under your door. Do you really want that? Many garage door opener companies will not make a 3/4 HP door opener. Note, I said they "will not", I didn't say they "can not". They can, but they won't for safety reasons (well, that and the fact that even a 1/2 HP door opener is more than anyone needs).

[And my guess would be that the available power of a 3/4 HP door opener is regulated (by a clutch or circuit board work or something) so that no more than about 1/3-1/2 of the power is available to actually use anyway. The 1/2 HP door openers I am familiar with regulate power so as not to allow more than 1/4 HP to be available for lifting, so I would assume the 3/4 HP models do the same. This is for safety reasons. So what good is all that power you paid extra for if you can't use it anyway? And if they do not regulate the power, do you really want 750 pounds of force available to smash things under your door if things go bad? I do not.]

If a 1/4 HP opener will not open your door, then your door and/or door springs are not adjusted correctly, and you have a dangerous situation! You do not need a higher HP door opener, you need to adjust your door springs. Also, if you really think you need 500 lbs of force to open your door, then you will also have 500 lbs of available force trying to close your door! This can kill you! Think about the 750 lbs or so of force that a 3/4 HP door opener can generate. Do you really want that when a correctly adjusted door can be opened with about 25 lbs or 10 lbs (or even less) of force? Adjust your door springs correctly and buy a low HP door opener. It is cheaper. It is safer. It will work just as well.

By the way, if you need a lot of power to open your door, meaning your door springs are not holding your door up correctly, then if you ever have to release the latch that holds the doors to the door opener track (like if your door is up and your power goes out and you need to close the door), then the door will most likely slam down as soon as you release the latch and your door will smash whatever is under it. And then you might not be able to lift it back up. So you really, really need to always adjust your door springs properly. And then you can set the door opener to provide the minimum power necessary to open the door. This is not only the correct way to do things, it is also the safe way to do things. Buying excess power to open your door is not how to fix an improperly adjusted door.

Buy according to product quality and other issues--such as metal sprockets vs. plastic, chain vs. screw drive, ease of assembly, opener speed, and things such as that. Do not buy a garage door opener based on HP. It is all advertising gimmickry that just takes money out of your pocket and puts it in the manufacturers pocket.

To sum up: a garage door opener does not have to LIFT your garage door. The garage door springs do that. So it does not matter if your garage door is a single or a double or 8 feet tall or 12 feet tall or wood or steel, because the weight of the door is meaningless. All a garage door opener has to do is MOVE your garage door. That takes very, very little power (no more that you use to open it... Read more ›

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Two units failed within 14 months, April 28, 2007

By 

A. Pope (New Jersey) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

A unit purchased May 2005 quit working 9 months later. A replacement installed at that time quit working 14 months later. The control unit was inside the garage, protected from weather. I recommend looking elsewhere for a keyless garage door opener.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Quits Working after about 7 months, February 10, 2005

By 

Andy O. Williams "andyo" (Wichita, KS) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

I really like the convenience of using a keypad that doesn't use batteries to open my garage door, but I've had to replace this unit twice in the past year. The control box is mounted indoors and has never been wet, and I can't see that the keypad is damaged in any way.