deerseeker001
Super Member
- Joined
- Jul 20, 2011
- Messages
- 5,699
- Location
- Central wisconsin
- Tractor
- International 2500a with Loader
Good Job
Barn door opener followup
- Thread starter jmc
- Start date
- Views: 10398
Cool build. It looks great with nice work.
I was part of doing one with the same idea a few years ago. It worked great for the owner and he was very happy.
The only change I see we had is that on the lower chain/cable at the operator we had a idler near the operator to hold the chain up as it could jumping on the operator sprocket. We didn't run the cable tight as it will strip the gears in the operator. Door operators don't like heavy loads (the reason doors have a spring) or to much side weight.
Enjoyed the pics. Tks for sharing.
Al
I was part of doing one with the same idea a few years ago. It worked great for the owner and he was very happy.
The only change I see we had is that on the lower chain/cable at the operator we had a idler near the operator to hold the chain up as it could jumping on the operator sprocket. We didn't run the cable tight as it will strip the gears in the operator. Door operators don't like heavy loads (the reason doors have a spring) or to much side weight.
Enjoyed the pics. Tks for sharing.
Al
OP
jmc
Elite Member
- Joined
- Jul 21, 2003
- Messages
- 3,106
- Location
- SW Indiana
- Tractor
- Ford 1920 4x4 (traded in on Kubota). Case 480F TLB w/4 in 1 bucket, 4x4. Gehl CTL60 tracked loader, Kubota L4330 GST
OP here. I had lost track of this thread.
The Sears unit is still working like new after 10 or 11 years, although those Morton doors can be pushed open with one finger if the opener is disconnected, and it probably only gets used about twice a month. The biggest stress on the mechanism is that the doors "lurch" at startup. The abrupt starting force is at the top and the doors' center of mass is 6 feet lower. Thought about inserting a compression spring inline somewhere to soften the surge but so far, so good. Also, another TBNer PM'ed that some of the current opener units have a soft start circuit or mechanism built into them.
The track is a solid apprx 1 inch bar with a nice, cold drawn finish. DOM tubing would be better because the solid bar sags a little with its own weight over each 10 foot unsupported length. Good luck finding tubing at the junkyard though. The carriers are standard black pipe with oilite/bronze bushings in each end. Remarkably, they still work despite the dust buildup that must occur on the track.
Can't say how much built in travel an opener unit has without modifying the limit switch. It also might be possible to double the sprocket rotation externally with a Vbelt arrangement.
My buddy's customers are mostly farmers and he wants me to make these so he can sell them. Can't image what it would look like with all the safety features!
Thanks for the comments.
The Sears unit is still working like new after 10 or 11 years, although those Morton doors can be pushed open with one finger if the opener is disconnected, and it probably only gets used about twice a month. The biggest stress on the mechanism is that the doors "lurch" at startup. The abrupt starting force is at the top and the doors' center of mass is 6 feet lower. Thought about inserting a compression spring inline somewhere to soften the surge but so far, so good. Also, another TBNer PM'ed that some of the current opener units have a soft start circuit or mechanism built into them.
The track is a solid apprx 1 inch bar with a nice, cold drawn finish. DOM tubing would be better because the solid bar sags a little with its own weight over each 10 foot unsupported length. Good luck finding tubing at the junkyard though. The carriers are standard black pipe with oilite/bronze bushings in each end. Remarkably, they still work despite the dust buildup that must occur on the track.
Can't say how much built in travel an opener unit has without modifying the limit switch. It also might be possible to double the sprocket rotation externally with a Vbelt arrangement.
My buddy's customers are mostly farmers and he wants me to make these so he can sell them. Can't image what it would look like with all the safety features!
Thanks for the comments.