solar options for driveway gate

[snowninja]

I have a 12' gate installed and last year my neighbor gave me a brand new mighty mule gate opener but I have been stalling on installation due to lack of power (it's over 300') to the nearest source which is my well, over 600' if I bring it up to the main. I want to explore the solar option and have found some 10w panels online for under $100. i will run this to a deep cycle 12v battery and install <50ft from the gate. the gate opener is an older model and i doubt it has any built in circuitry for controlling the solar to battery. do i need to consider a tender or any other components to keep the battery from over charging? am interested in how others have done this.

thanks

 

[J_J]

The Mighty Mule gate opener that I have has it's own battery, and will last for weeks going in and out 2 to 3 times a day.

A marine battery should last for 2 to 3 months. A standby battery would work, Just switch them out when voltage is low.

You can install a solar charger on any battery, and you can install them in parrallel.

 

[dave1949]

There are solar battery charging kits for electric fences, boat battery maintenance, etc.

Here is one example source: Solar Charger | Multi-Use Solar Chargers For all Applications

Now that LED lights are getting reasonable in price and they don't use much power, you could add some lighting to the gate area too while you are at it.

 

[Travelover]

I'd buy a solar panel from a place like Solar Blvd or Ebay of about 15 or 20 watts.

Solarblvd

http://www.ebay.com/itm/20watt-w-Solar-Panel-PV-Mono-Off-Grid-Aluminum-Frame-12V-System-/221368235377?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item338a933571

I'd couple it with a cheap PWM controller like this off eBay : Solar Panel Charger Controller Regulator 10A 12V 24V Auto Switch CE TSR Safe | eBay

 

[Gary Fowler]

I had a spare 15 watt 12 volt solar panel that I gave to my brother in law to keep his battery charged on his mighty mule gate opener. He uses just a cheap car battery and the solar panel hooked directly to the battery. It is equivalent to 1.25 amps so it is like a battery minder charger. It has never overcharged his battery. I kept the same panel on my JD 332 all the time when not in use and it was always hot and never boiled out any water.

 

[BeezFun]

I have a 12' gate installed and last year my neighbor gave me a brand new mighty mule gate opener

Not sure what kind of climate you live in, but I had no end of problems with my mighty mule in the winter here in the chicago area. Worked fine in summer but in cold weather there was a problem with differential contaction between a bushing and a shaft as I recall. The company was good about trying to resolve the problem, but I got worn out being a test bench and took the thing off.

 

[snowninja]

good links and thanks for the feedback. I looked at the control box and it has an integrated battery storage area with connectors built in but the original batter might be bad, its on the charger now and only showing 7v. I am in the northwest so pretty mild temps in the winter compared to the central/east states but with many overcast days charge capability is the most concern. this is why I am looking at the 15-20w panels. I did find one locally at harbor freight which is a 15w for around $60. reviews are good with many reports of people using for gate openers.

 

[cqaigy2]

The Mighty Mule gate opener that I have has it's own battery, and will last for weeks going in and out 2 to 3 times a day.

A marine battery should last for 2 to 3 months. A standby battery would work, Just switch them out when voltage is low.

You can install a solar charger on any battery, and you can install them in parrallel.

A friend of mine has the Mighty Mule w/battery and solar charger. It's been working well for three years so far, even in the winter.

 

[NC4AB]

I have the Mighty Mule opener, started out with one of their solar panels, worked fine during the summer but would not keep the battery charged in the winter. Added a second panel and all is well.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Not sure what kind of climate you live in, but I had no end of problems with my mighty mule in the winter here in the chicago area. Worked fine in summer but in cold weather there was a problem with differential contaction between a bushing and a shaft as I recall. The company was good about trying to resolve the problem, but I got worn out being a test bench and took the thing off.

B.IL. also had problem with his Mighty Mule during our recent freezing weather, the lock froze up and then the opener overloaded, burning out a fuse. Every time we have moisture and freezing temps his fouls up somehow. His worked ok for about 3 years but he has had lots of calls to the MM folks in the last year with a lot of minor issues but they still keep the gate from opening or cause a constant beeping indication of something is not right.

 

[mark02tj]

What kind of options are there to Mighty Mule?

 

[snowninja]

I completed the install of my opener/solar panel yesterday and so far it's working great. It took some time to adjust the open/close stops but working great so far. I must say not having to get out of the car to get through the gate is pretty darn nice. wife can't believe it took 2 years to do it.

I finished up the install last night and it was pouring rain so this morning I did some power tests and here are the result:

Voltage reading at the controller box coming from Solar Panel: 21V (panel is wired to 50' of 16G LVW)
Voltage reading at battery leads inside control box: 13.9V (this is after voltage regulator)
Voltage reading at batter (disconnected from control box): 12.6V

So in all it seems the system is doing it's job. I am impressed with the output of the solar panel as today is typical PNW overcast.

Since the gate opener was given to me at no charge from my neighbor here is what I have into this project:

12v battery - $22
Solar Panel - $45
LVW 50' - $14
Keychain Openers (3) - $54