Industrial gate opener

[mminter1973]

I am going to buy a gate opener to my property. I live pretty far out in the country and dont need unwanted folks coming and scoping out my stuff while i am at work! Does anyone here have any experience with a good industrial type gate opener that will last and provide good service?

 

[OilHammer]

Mighty Mule® 1-Pc. Automatic Gate Opener - 3602275 | Tractor Supply Company

I used this one for about 5 years and the only problem I ever had with it was the battery connections corroding. If I had actually put the dielectric grease on the terminals, it would have been zero issues for 5 years. If you are doing the remote install, you will need the solar panel option to keep the battery charged up, otherwise the supplied 12v converter works just fine.

 

[fj40charles]

What kind of a gate? Slide gate?

I have good experience with Chamberlain Elite gate opener. Works for a 38 foot gate.

Viking is also a good gate motor too. 32 foot slide gate with battery backup.

 

[OilHammer]

Good point. Mine was a single hinged wooden gate that was about 14' wide. It was a heavy mother, but fairly well balanced. I even had a wheel on the end that would "lift" the gate up a bit and support it when fully closed. The opener had zero issues with that, and I set the tension pretty high so that you couldn't push the gate open and walk through a gap. I should also mention that this was the primary drive, so it got opened and closed about 8 times a day. They have ratings for how often you use the gate, and you might need a larger capacity one for higher usage.

 

[fsusteve]

subscribing, same issue but I have a 14' slide gate and want to put an opener on it.

 

[wob]

I've had a mighty mule double opener for several years. The only issues I've had were a result of my dog eating the wires. It does get kind of squirrelly in real cold weather. Don't know if that's because of the wire patches or not. I've seen some posts here where people complain about the solar panels. Many folks skip on the batteries that come with them and mount bigger ones with bigger solar panels, iirc.

 

[mminter1973]

I had a GTO opener, I think they make mighty mule or vice versa, and it was a piece of S**T. It just did not have enough power to move the gate.

So now i want to go with an AC current worm gear motor instead of the battery and DC current opener.

 

[mminter1973]

Forgot to tell, my gate is an 18' swing and weights 400-600 lbs, but it has ball bearing hinges

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

I had a GTO opener, I think they make mighty mule or vice versa, and it was a piece of S**T. It just did not have enough power to move the gate.

So now i want to go with an AC current worm gear motor instead of the battery and DC current opener.

I have also used the GTO on solar for the last 8 years. Mine is a 400# 11.5ft swing gate that opens 4+ times a day every day.

 

[fj40charles]

I had a GTO opener, I think they make mighty mule or vice versa, and it was a piece of S**T. It just did not have enough power to move the gate.

So now i want to go with an AC current worm gear motor instead of the battery and DC current opener.

I don't see an issue with DC motor. I have a Viking L3 for my 32 foot slide gate.
Has battery backup since we have a pool in the back yard and was required code to have gate on battery backup. This gate motor is very fast and better than my Elite IMHO. You can stop the gate while opening or closing, unlike the Elite.

Tech support is very good from Viking. I modified it so I could close the gate before it timed out and closed automatically when you set the timer.

L-3 Slide Gate Operator « Viking Access

================================================
Elite gate operator info.
http://www.elitegates.net/

This is the gate operator we use for our 38 foot slide gate. Has two 1/2 HP motors. This is the most powerful gate operator Elite makes.
http://www.elitegates.net/proddetail.asp?prod=SL3000UL1HP&cat=10

 

[OilHammer]

38'??? Geez...what the heck are you passing through that opening? That's like a full blown shipping yard that needs two way access for 18 wheelers.

 

[bigndn]

38'??? Geez...what the heck are you passing through that opening? That's like a full blown shipping yard that needs two way access for 18 wheelers.

combine/swather/farm implements???

 

[fj40charles]

38'??? Geez...what the heck are you passing through that opening? That's like a full blown shipping yard that needs two way access for 18 wheelers.

It encloses the backyard, shop, driveway, and trailer parking.

 

[gangstead]

I don't see an issue with DC motor. I have a Viking L3 for my 32 foot slide gate.
Has battery backup since we have a pool in the back yard and was required code to have gate on battery backup. This gate motor is very fast and better than my Elite IMHO. You can stop the gate while opening or closing, unlike the Elite.

Tech support is very good from Viking. I modified it so I could close the gate before it timed out and closed automatically when you set the timer.

L-3 Slide Gate Operator « Viking Access

FJ40, do you have to re-adjust your L3 open and close limits ever?

I just got an L3 installed. It's less than a week old and it seems to be losing adjustment. After one day the slide gate slams shut and this blows the 15A fuse. I don't know what the installer did, but I readjusted the limit set cams and the closing trim. I tightened the bejesus out of the limit set cams to make sure they don't slip. After this it closes but leaves a 2 inch gap. I figured better that than bashing shut until they come honor the warranty. Three days later and it is already smashing shut again. Did yours ever do this? I was wondering if the crazy heat wave in Texas is making the adjustment change depending on the temperature?

Also what did you have to do to be able to close your gate before the timer goes out? I have a pool as well and auto-close is a code requirement. From the Viking manual it appears that your control options are open-stop-close OR timer close (when in timer close it states that all commands are open commands). How did you get around that to have a close command and still have the timer work?

 

[fj40charles]

FJ40, do you have to re-adjust your L3 open and close limits ever?

I just got an L3 installed. It's less than a week old and it seems to be losing adjustment. After one day the slide gate slams shut and this blows the 15A fuse. I don't know what the installer did, but I readjusted the limit set cams and the closing trim. I tightened the bejesus out of the limit set cams to make sure they don't slip. After this it closes but leaves a 2 inch gap. I figured better that than bashing shut until they come honor the warranty. Three days later and it is already smashing shut again. Did yours ever do this? I was wondering if the crazy heat wave in Texas is making the adjustment change depending on the temperature?

Also what did you have to do to be able to close your gate before the timer goes out? I have a pool as well and auto-close is a code requirement. From the Viking manual it appears that your control options are open-stop-close OR timer close (when in timer close it states that all commands are open commands). How did you get around that to have a close command and still have the timer work?

I have not had any issue with the gate slamming. It does close a little more when it is very hot, but never slams against the catch post. I have mine adjusted so it leaves around 1" gap when the gate is closed.

I purchased an external hold timer relay and wired it to the gate closer. I have the part # and schematic to install it if you need it. Parts were around $55.xx from McMaster-Carr.

PM me you email address and I'll scan the document and send you a PDF document.