Review of Petsafe Infra-Red Door with Barrier Large

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Petsafe Infra-Red Door with Barrier Large
By: Staywell Average Rating: 1.5 Total Reviews: 6
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Works great but rigid flaps make a lot of noise

On: 2006-11-28

Contrary to the other reviews, I have not had any problems with this door. We have been using it for a month and it has worked great out of the box. My Lab is not afraid to use it. I use the AC adapter and have had no problems with that. It is not meant for wall use so we did have to pay someone to install it and frame in the interior of the wall for us. Also, if you have both a cat and a dog, they do make a cat key for the dog door but it doesnt always trip the lock and the loud factor scares my cat, so she wont use this door.

As far as "intermittent" problems with the locking mechanism, I have not experienced this except while increasing the lock interval during setup. It states clearly in the manual that as long as the key stays within the 2 ft range of the infrared the key will not reactivate the locks. In other words, if your dog runs out and wants to run right back in the lock will activate to let them out but will not activate to let them back in until the key has gone out of the IR range, allowing the lock to reset.

I do agree with the loud factor the other reviewers have mentioned. My dog doesnt tend to run through the door, so going out of the house the flap is fairly quiet. However, when she comes back in the larger plastic molding flap does bang quite loudly. I am going to try some sticky-backed felt to see if this tones things down.

Overall, after a month of use, we are happy with the door. I originally was sent two dog keys and Staywell sent out a dog and a cat replacement key for me which arrived within a few days with the request that I send back the original keys. Fast, friendly customer service.

Works great but rigid flaps make a lot of noise

On: 2006-11-27

Contrary to the other reviews, I have not had any problems with this door. We have been using it for a month and it has worked great out of the box. My Lab is not afraid to use it. I use the AC adapter and have had no problems with that. It is not meant for wall use so we did have to pay someone to install it and frame in the interior of the wall for us. Also, if you have both a cat and a dog, they do make a cat key for the dog door but it doesnt always trip the lock and the loud factor scares my cat, so she wont use this door.

As far as "intermittent" problems with the locking mechanism, I have not experienced this except while increasing the lock interval during setup. It states clearly in the manual that as long as the key stays within the 2 ft range of the infrared the key will not reactivate the locks. In other words, if your dog runs out and wants to run right back in the lock will activate to let them out but will not activate to let them back in until the key has gone out of the IR range, allowing the lock to reset.

I do agree with the loud factor the other reviewers have mentioned. My dog doesnt tend to run through the door, so going out of the house the flap is fairly quiet. However, when she comes back in the larger plastic molding flap does bang quite loudly. I am going to try some sticky-backed felt to see if this tones things down.

Overall, after a month of use, we are happy with the door. I originally was sent two dog keys and Staywell sent out a dog and a cat replacement key for me which arrived within a few days with the request that I send back the original keys. Fast, friendly customer service.

Disaster

On: 2006-08-15

I was so excited to find a door that would give my dogs access to come in and out, while keeping my cat in. After spending a bundle, and having to pay a handy-man to cut a hole in the side of my house, it was incredibly disappointing when the A/C apaptor did not function. The door did run (intermittendly) on batteries while I waited for a replacement adaptor; however, it took less than two days for the cat to learn to walk through the door on the heels of the dogs, completely defeating the purpose of why I bought this product.
In addition, everytime the dogs even walked into the room the door would beep, and the batteries were dead in about ten days. Despite the beeping, the door did not always unlock, and the dogs became timid to use it after they slammed face first into it a few times! I also worried about them being stuck outside in the summer heat if they were unable to get back in.
Staywell was extremely polite and sent a replacement adaptor, but after replacing the adaptor, and also the wiring, the door will still not work - my guess at this point is that there is a problem with the board. Ive contacted Staywell again to see about a replacement door and am waiting for an answer.
Do NOT buy this product if your goal is to keep another animal in, as long as that animal is comfy with the dogs, they will walk right through as well.

HORRIBLE IS RIGHT!! I WISH I COULD GIVE THIS 0 STARS

On: 2006-01-12

It never works for my dogs who have the collar infa-red controllers, but my cat gets out twice a day with out one!!! DO NOT BUY THIS!!!! It is a total waste of money and it will give you nothing but frustration!!!

HORRIBLE!!

On: 2005-10-23

Ok, after the 225.00 spent on this ALL PLASTIC door, and the 300.00 spent carving the glass out of our french door in the back to install it, our dog wont even use it! It makes such a loud noise when it slams, it freaks him out. After trying several days (which has now turned into weeks) to train him to use it, he just pushes his paw against the door, lets it slam, which scares him, and then starts crying. Believe me, after the cost of this door, and the price to install it I feel like crying along with him. To top it off, the "infra red" key collar is a piece of $#@&! Ive gone through three of these things at 25.00 a pop, and when the last one broke, I decided to forget it. (The keys honestly look and feel like you could by them 2 for 1 at the dollar store.) I have finally decided that Im going to have to get a different door. I just hope this one hasnt scared our dog so much, hell never use one again! A piece of advice to you, dont buy this door. Buy something else.

HORRIBLE!!

On: 2005-10-22

Ok, after the 225.00 spent on this ALL PLASTIC door, and the 300.00 spent carving the glass out of our french door in the back to install it, our dog wont even use it! It makes such a loud noise when it slams, it freaks him out. After trying several days (which has now turned into weeks) to train him to use it, he just pushes his paw against the door, lets it slam, which scares him, and then starts crying. Believe me, after the cost of this door, and the price to install it I feel like crying along with him. To top it off, the "infra red" key collar is a piece of $#@&! Ive gone through three of these things at 25.00 a pop, and when the last one broke, I decided to forget it. (The keys honestly look and feel like you could by them 2 for 1 at the dollar store.) I have finally decided that Im going to have to get a different door. I just hope this one hasnt scared our dog so much, hell never use one again! A piece of advice to you, dont buy this door. Buy something else.

Large Syawell infra-red dog door

On: 2005-03-08

I have had many similar problems with this product as the previous reviewer had as well as some of my own. I will say that I received great customer service from Staywell, they even sent me a brand new door when I read off the list of broken parts to them. Within six months those same parts failed on the new door. This door even when brand new works intermittently, and makes such a loud slapping bang noise that it will scare the heck out of you for the first few days. In the long run the noise is just an annoyance. Hyper dog, in, out, in, out...bang-bang-bang, bang-bang-bang. You get the idea.
Weather stripping helped the noise, but it made the cold air leak in even worse, and the locks wouldnt line up properly. There are serious design and manufacturing issues, including the key that is attached to your pets collar, the housing is a poorly designed piece of molded plastic that will not keep the battery and cap in place. Ive gone through three of these, (one of which was graciously sent to me free of charge by Staywell). The new one eventually came apart despite taping it in place. Even if it was working properly, the door itself has so many issues (as mentioned in the above review) that it is not in my opinion worth the money.
I think the concept of this product is brilliant, the manufacturing however makes it fall far short of its potential.
Ive gone to a deluxe double flap old fashioned dog door.
Save your money, go low-tech.

Terrible product!!!

On: 2004-11-17

This product was the worst purchase of my life! The design is full of flaws, the quality is poor, and the service is terrible.

Lets start with the primary feature...The Infra-red locking system. The transmitter and detector worked only intermittently, so that it was confusing to my dog (and me) about when she would be allowed access through the door.
On the odd occasion that the transmitter did work correctly, most of the time one of the locking pins would stay recessed. I had to keep a screwdriver handy with tape on the end of it just to dig it out and hope that it worked correctly the next time. Mind you, these security pins are plastic and only protrude about an inch into the door, which actually doesnt offer much security after all. In any event, after a few times of my dog getting abruptly stopped in her tracks by a door that would not open, I had to remove the batteries and keep the door in the always unlocked position, defeating the purpose of getting a "controllable" entry door.

Also, there are a number of large air gaps between the door frame and the flap. I live in the Northeast where Id much rather prefer to have the winter air on the outside of our house, not streaming into it. And because the flap is rigid plastic, and the magnets that hold it shut are less powerful than those on my refrigerator, any light wind will open it. While a nice breeze during summer while youre reading never hurt anyone, the fresh chill of winter on my face was none too pleasant. To add to my grief, whenever it rained, there would be a puddle on the floor inside my house from all of the rainwater leaking in through the gaps in the door.

In addition, the plastic locking cover that Staywell provides you with is the most brittle thing I have ever seen. The first time that the temperature went below 40 degrees F, the tabs on it snapped off and rendered it useless.

Staywell must have also used the same brittle plastic on the four-way entry knobs. Within two months, both handles had snapped off, relegating me to using pliers to turn the cams. I now had to keep a toolbox next to the door.

I had called Staywell shortly after installing the door to find out if they had any suggestions...they told me to call the vendor I bought it from since it was within 30 days of purchase. When I finally got a hold of the vendor, they told me to contact Staywell because it seemed like a manufacturing defect (no kidding). By the time I was able to get a hold of Staywell again, the 30-day warranty had elapsed (how convenient), and that I would be eligible to have it replaced if I chose. Since I want nothing more to do with this product, I have bought a different style of door and can only cut my losses and try to help others from making the same mistake I have made. This door is not cheap, so you can save a lot of money and frustration by looking elsewhere for a door for your dog. This was not even close to the performance that I had hoped to get from this door.

Terrible product!!!

On: 2004-11-16

This product was the worst purchase of my life! The design is full of flaws, the quality is poor, and the service is terrible.

Lets start with the primary feature...The Infra-red locking system. The transmitter and detector worked only intermittently, so that it was confusing to my dog (and me) about when she would be allowed access through the door.
On the odd occasion that the transmitter did work correctly, most of the time one of the locking pins would stay recessed. I had to keep a screwdriver handy with tape on the end of it just to dig it out and hope that it worked correctly the next time. Mind you, these security pins are plastic and only protrude about an inch into the door, which actually doesnt offer much security after all. In any event, after a few times of my dog getting abruptly stopped in her tracks by a door that would not open, I had to remove the batteries and keep the door in the always unlocked position, defeating the purpose of getting a "controllable" entry door.

Also, there are a number of large air gaps between the door frame and the flap. I live in the Northeast where Id much rather prefer to have the winter air on the outside of our house, not streaming into it. And because the flap is rigid plastic, and the magnets that hold it shut are less powerful than those on my refrigerator, any light wind will open it. While a nice breeze during summer while youre reading never hurt anyone, the fresh chill of winter on my face was none too pleasant. To add to my grief, whenever it rained, there would be a puddle on the floor inside my house from all of the rainwater leaking in through the gaps in the door.

In addition, the plastic locking cover that Staywell provides you with is the most brittle thing I have ever seen. The first time that the temperature went below 40 degrees F, the tabs on it snapped off and rendered it useless.

Staywell must have also used the same brittle plastic on the four-way entry knobs. Within two months, both handles had snapped off, relegating me to using pliers to turn the cams. I now had to keep a toolbox next to the door.

I had called Staywell shortly after installing the door to find out if they had any suggestions...they told me to call the vendor I bought it from since it was within 30 days of purchase. When I finally got a hold of the vendor, they told me to contact Staywell because it seemed like a manufacturing defect (no kidding). By the time I was able to get a hold of Staywell again, the 30-day warranty had elapsed (how convenient), and that I would be eligible to have it replaced if I chose. Since I want nothing more to do with this product, I have bought a different style of door and can only cut my losses and try to help others from making the same mistake I have made. This door is not cheap, so you can save a lot of money and frustration by looking elsewhere for a door for your dog. This was not even close to the performance that I had hoped to get from this door.