DC gate openers

[aarolar]

I need some reviews on DC gate openers, we want to put one on our main gate into our property but I'm concerned with the longevity of them. We use this gate everyday 4x a day possibly more on some days and I'm curious how many years of service I could expect out of one. Money is not really the determining factor here I see then listed for 400$ up to near 1000$ and I'm sure they go even higher if you look in the right places.

 

[Gary Fowler]

The Mighty Mule is going to be your cheapest by far. I have one that is about 2 years old without any problems. I have a solar panel to charge the 12v car battery. My brother in law has had one for about 7 years and has had to replace some of the components and last year just bought a new unit because of some issue with the control card. I think the new unit was less than $200 (about 160 IIRC) so it was not a bad price. We both use them on our driveway gate and they get used daily to get the mail and sometimes 5-6 times per day.

 

[JRobyn]

I'm a fan of Apollo. Their model 1050 is engineered specifically for 12vdc and solar. About $1000+ depending on entrance/exit accesories. Ours is over 2 years old.

 

[Jimbrown]

You did not say single or double gate. I really like this Apollo. It has been up 10 years or so. I have had to replace the circuit board twice because of lighting strikes. But that is not the openers fault.

APOLLO 36ETL Dual Gate Opener w/ Free DIY Kit (36ETL) - 836 Board


I also have a mighty mule it is not the same quality as the Apollo and without the extra cost auto lock device can be pushed open and damaged by the wind blowing it.

 

[aarolar]

It's just a single 14' gate right now galvanized panel. Eventually I'm planning to build a decorative iron gate in the near future.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Just curious. I worked on one last summer. Some italian make. Are they all hydraulic as this one was? The special oil cost a fortune! But I like the concept. Especially, if in a snow environment.

 

[Soundguy]

I lil Apollo, but people keep running our control boxes and arms over, so I don't know if the last more than 2 us

Have a mm at home, single gate. Forget the #, but its the larger of the 2 single arms. Current one must be 3-4 ys old. It opens at less 6x per day, some days probably double that. Runs on a lawn tractor bat and its solar kit.

Between dogs chewing wires and wife backup incedents, this is my 3rd one in about 14 yr s.

 

[TractorGuy]

On my second Mighty Mule FM350. It is rated for gates up to 16 feet long or 550 lbs. depending on hinge design. Don't remember when I bought the first but I think about 5 years ago. Lightning blew the board in the first one and the cost for replacement was so close to a new unit I just replaced the whole thing. Haven't had any other problems from them so far. Bought both at Tractor Supply for about $250. I also use a $25 lawn tractor battery from Walmart with a 30w Instapark solar panel bought off Amazon. The gate controller has it's own solar panel charge controller built in so you don't have to buy one with your panel. I had a 15w panel on the first one and would have to remove the battery and charge it if we had a lot of cloudy days or during the winter. Haven't had to charge the battery once since going to the 30w panel.

Off topic but I moved my 15w panel to the zero turn and it sits in the shade most of the day. Went to start the zero turn the other day after it sitting all winter and it busted right off. Batteries seem to last much longer when you keep them charged. I am on the original gate battery.

 

[RedNeckGeek]

+1 on the Mighty Mule, mine from Tractor Supply on sale, with additional components from Amazon:
FM350 Gate Opener
FM121 5 W solar battery charger
FM137 Digital Keypad
FM138 Wired Vehicle Sensor
FM143 Automatic Gate Lock
FM135 Single Button Entry Transmitter
FM132 Push Button Control

I didn't keep track of the costs, but I bet after all's said and done, it's not far off what someone quoted for the Apollo.

I made my own gate using 2x2 thin wall steel tube, and made up ball bearing hinges so it opens/closes very easily. I estimate the gate weighs about 300#, right at the limit MM says that the opener is good for. I hear it strain every time it starts or stops the gate, but it doesn't seem to be doing it any harm.

The wired vehicle sensor isn't reliable after the ground is saturated with water; I probably shouldn't have buried it a foot deep. And I'd put a 50' lead on it instead of the 25' I have now.

The MM has been working well for the past 5 years, but it only sees a half dozen cycles a week. I'm using a WalMart deep cycle marine battery charged by the MM solar panel, and have never had a problem with a low battery.

Programming in opening codes and other things is a bit of a PITA through the digital keypad. A cell phone or laptop interface would make this a whole lot easier, but that's probably a big buck feature.

I have two neighbors that also use MMs, and I haven't heard any complaints from either one.

One of these days I'll be adding another fence, and it'll probably get another MM opener.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

I suggest you drive around and see home many swing gate operators disconnected in your area and base you decision on that.

There are a ton of newer products out there. Some of the newer features are app'd to your smart phone, soft start and soft stop, more wireless features, etc. World Fence News dot com will give you a ton of advice and sources.

The biggest issue I've found with gate operators is the garage door industry has discovered them. That has introduced the high pressure sales techniques and people to those with gate operators. The object of the sales/repair call is to replace the unit or have a repair that cost more than a new unit. I don't do much in that in any more, just friends and family. But some of the tactics used by the repair/sales people are despicable at best.