mighty mule 200 gate opener

[tglass]

Anyone have any advise about the mighty mule gate openers. I have a 12 ft. gate about 175 ft. from the house, and they look to be the cheapest. Thinking about solar panel to power the battery and what not. Do I have to buy a panel from M.M. or will any 5-10 watt work. What about a battery, gel, lawn mower, deep cycle and from what I understand some will fit in the box where the board is stored. Another question, what is the appoximate price of these add ons or needed to operate the opener?

 

[Ken45101]

They come with a small battery that fits inside the control box. That's basically for coverage during power outages ONLY.

For a lightly used gate (only a few times a day), I would be tempted to just use an automotive battery and recharge it once a month, but I don't know if that would work well or not.

Ken

 

[weldingisfun]

A deep cycle is best.

 

[DennisArrow]

I dont know about the MM; but for my Apollo system all is heavy duty. After 3 years of trouble free use, I noticed the gate was getting slower and slower. It is driven by a medium size marine battery from Walmart and charged by a perhaps 12"X12" solar panel that gets perhaps 4 hours of direct sun per day.

Again, I know NOTHING about the MM, but although the Apollo is a heavy duty dependable unit, the operation and mechanicals should be quite similar.............God bless......Dennis

 

[Redbug]

Another Apollo guy. I have had an Apollo for about 16 years. No problems in all these years. My gate spans a 16 foot opening...meaning the gate itself is about 24 feet long. I use a marine deep cycle battery and have 2 solar panels hooked up to it. 1 panel was not enough. Make sure you have a battery regulator hooked up to your battery...so you don't cook it, (overcharge), and have blocking diodes on your solar panels, (at night, without blocking diodes the solar panels would release energy). In the winter with a few days of cloudy skies, I sometimes have to swap batteries and charge the one I bring in.

 

[anojones]

I have a mm 350, using it about 5 years now. I use the mm solar panel to charge a deep cycle battery and have had to replace the battery a couple of times. The opener has worked well, but it took me a bit of messing around to get it adjusted right. I had mine opening out due to it being on a hill, never could get it working right so now it opens in after making a flat area with the tractor. It's not a commercial grade opener but i'd get one again.

 

[tglass]

Was thinking about hooking up a solar panel to it too. Is there a regulator included with most panels or do I even need one. Don't know much about them, and if I need a seperate battery, any good ideas of how to put it out of sight? Seems like this is getting a little pricey considering the options needed to make it operate will almost double the cost and time installing.

 

[Fireman550]

I have used mine for the past 11 yeears. After using multiple batteries I finally put a deep cycle unit that is charged with a solor panel. It has been in use for 2 years without any issues. Best of luck!

 

[Redbug]

Tglass...Some solar panels have the regulator with them. You need to check the panel when/before you get it. Most solar panels have the blocking diode added onto the wiring. But read the specs or directions when you get it. You don't need one of those expensive regulators.

This regulator is simuliar to what I have been using all these years. It will cut off the incoming voltage when the battery charge gets up to a certain voltage, (such as 14.2 volts), and when the battery voltage gets too low it will also cut power. These things don't have to be too expensive for such a small amount of solar power...
Amazon.com: Sunforce 7 Amp Charge Controller: Automotive

 

[tglass]

Tglass...Some solar panels have the regulator with them. You need to check the panel when/before you get it. Most solar panels have the blocking diode added onto the wiring. But read the specs or directions when you get it. You don't need one of those expensive regulators.

This regulator is simuliar to what I have been using all these years. It will cut off the incoming voltage when the battery charge gets up to a certain voltage, (such as 14.2 volts), and when the battery voltage gets too low it will also cut power. These things don't have to be too expensive for such a small amount of solar power...
Amazon.com: Sunforce 7 Amp Charge Controller: Automotive

That helps answer quite a bit. How big or amp deep cell battery do I need? and thanks for everyone's input. The solar panel regulator you referred me to seems like a good price.