Gate opener

[tile]

Hi guy's

I am going to buy a gate opener was looking at the Mighty Mule 350 Single Gate with a Solar Panel Kit.

This will be my 1st opener and would like to buy one that will last for a years to come.

I see I will need a marine battery for it to work off of. And would like to know would I get at lest 10 to 15 open/close with a good marine battery.

Also my gate is a 16' Wire Filled Gate I got at Tsc.

Thanks Ron.

 

[cowboy357]

Howdy Ron , I,ve been looking into doing the same thing . I Cant answer Your Question From Experience , but from What I have heard from Others , If You have a Really good Marine Battery You should not have to worry about it Keeping up with Many Multiple Opening & Closings .

If Possible Could You Share the Info & Possibly pics as to What You Decide on & Install , Thanks .

Bob

 

[jinman]

Ron, my wife has an older GTO Pro gate opener that is very much like the Mighty Mules. The new MMs are different, but I don't know how much. Anyway, I'd like to give you some observations of Kathy's gate opener that I rebuilt once for her before we were married.

1. She has a solar panel and a small SLA 7.4 ah battery that does fine. It fits right into the control box. She bought one new battery in the 10 years she's owned the opener. I think the price was $24 when ordered online. The one at TSC was something like $65 for the same battery we ordered online. We do have to dust the solar panel about once a quarter to make sure it works efficiently.

2. The gate opener is going to come with hardware for a rigid mounting hardware (no shock mounting). I suggest you do some "southern engineering" and create a shock mount that will keep the full load from being instantaneously transmitted to the opener when it starts up. With a heavy gate, that shock is significant. I'm attaching pictures of how the opener self-destructed about 4 years ago and how I built a spring-loaded damper to reduce the shock load. The repaired opener has worked perfectly for over 4 years with no signs of cracking or shock destruction.

The first picture is of the gate. The 2nd is the broken opener. The 3rd-5th are the internal parts and some of the shock damage. The rest of the pictures are the details of the damper I put on the gate end of the opener. I first use grade 2 bolts and they just bent easily. I redid the damper using grade 8 and they have stood up fine to the stress.

Good luck with your gate opener, Ron. They can be frustrating, but they sure are convenient to have.

 

[Jimbrown]

I have a mighty mule 500 and an Apollo 3500 there is no comparison the Apollo is a far better unit. The mighty mule is currently inop because it has plastic (nylon) device on the gear drive that strips from either being pushed or the wind blowing on it. If you get the mule be sure to get the thing that locks the gate closed or it will not last long. A good battery will open more times per day than you will need. Both of mine have the small gell cells that fit inside of the controll box. The box will hold two of those if you need them.

I do not have any experience with the GTO pro series they do look better than the mighty mules.

http://www.segogto.com/apollo.html

 

[Ronbo]

I have the same one Jinman does. I have also doen the modification. I have a deep cycle battery on it and the only time I run out of power is when I have no sun for 6 weeks. I then just charge it up . I also have the in ground pickup so I do not have to push the button to open the gate. the greatest improvement I made. I have the keypad on the gate post too. It was installed when my dad had cancer so the church could come out and visit when they wanted. If my gate opener broke today, I would have a new one within a month.

Oh yeah, mine has been in use for about 8-9 years. It is currenlty disconnected becays I have no fence due to the hurricaine. It will be used again as soon as my fence is back up.

Ron

 

[wushaw]

I also have the same as Jinman does, I have two 10' Prefert gates that are pretty light, I have a standard 12v battery in a box below it to power it that is charged with two solar panels. Everything including the battery is six yrs old and still working.

Someday I will change to a different gate system.

 

[8934]

I have Mighty Mule that I purchased from TSC years ago with the solar cell. Worked great, untill the oak tree grew enough to shade the solar cell. I trimmed the limb and it started working again.

Until the aluminum housing broke during one of our hurricanes due to the wind loads. I would also suggest some kind of shock absorber and or an electric lock that removes the stress from the opener when closed. Funny thing is I purchased one (also made by Mighty Mule) but never got arround to installing it.

 

[Stimw]

I have a Harbor Freight double gate opener that I have had for four years. It has a lot features, two remotes, key panel, light circuit, side entry gate lock, one can open in the other out. And the good part, it's made in Italy where they have villas.
I have two 12' gates. The instructions say only 8' max but that is for solid gates not open panel.
The only problem I have had was not the openers fault. The remotes were acting up and erratic. I complained to my neighbor and he told me because the superbowl was in Jacksonville the feds were jamming some signals. No wonder I can't stand football!

 

[weldingisfun]

We have two Mighty Mules openers, a 350 and a 500, one is solar and one AC. They have worked just fine for the past four years. I am sure there are better quality openers than the MM, and they cost a whole lot more too.

 

[tile]

Thanks for all the info guys.

Been looking at the Mighty Mule FM500 is says it has Soft Start/Soft Stop.
(so I wont have to make a damper I hope)

Hope to be going out fri to pick it up maybe install it on sat.

Ill post pic's when I am done.


Ron.

 

[jinman]

Been looking at the Mighty Mule FM500 is says it has Soft Start/Soft Stop.
(so I wont have to make a damper I hope)

Cool! That's a far better product than our old GTO Pro. I think you are on the right track. Be sure to get plenty of remote controls to go with it. We keep one in all of our cars and have others we carry when on the tractor or on a UTV/ATV. You can put up a keypad, but extra remotes are our preferred way to easily open/close the gate.

 

[meadowlarkponds]

I agree the 500 is the way to go....but if you ever need technical help, be prepared for very long waits on the phone.

If you have cows/calves, you might want to protect the external wiring, especially the wiring to the receiver. Something in that is irrestible to calves.

 

[firefighter9208]

I have a Mighty Mule 500. Check with JT Gate Operators: GTO/PRO SW2002XL Dual Swing Gate Opener out of Florida. They had the best price and free shipping when I bought mine. You can get extra transmitters from them for $24.00 .

My MM 500 has worked well, but I have had a time with the electronic lock. My gate is mounted on on an 8" wood post that is braced and concreted in the ground. For some reason when the weather changes the post "moves" in the ground just enough that the lock sticks. It's like the gate moves up and down on a horizontal axis. I can adjust the lock and it will work ok for a few weeks and then the weather will change and I have to adjust again.

I can shake the post and it doesn't move, but the ground moves just enough to change the alignment.

The next time I buy an opener I will go with a pro series. The MM500 sometimes has trouble overcoming the wind and I only have it mounted on a tube gate that is 12' long. I don't know if it could handle a 16' wire panel gate in a strong wind.

I have a 12 volt marine deep cycle battery that sits on the ground by the gate. I only have to charge it once a month. I was going to buy the solar panel, but the guy at JT Gate Openers told me that most people just run them off a trolling motor battery.

Chris

 

[Redbug]

I have an Apollo gate opener with a 30' cantilever gate, (20' opening). The 5' high chain link gate opens on rollers. It weighs around 300 pounds, (I think). I have 2 solar panels hooked to a battery controller, (which keeps you from over charging the battery), and deep cycle battery. I mounted the antenna on top of one of the main posts for better coverage. I have used this gate for about 15 years. Sometimes I swap the battery out with a spare during long periods of overcast skies. Just grease the fittings a couple times a year, and battery maintaince now and again, and check the solar panel voltages occasionally. Never had a problem with it. I always wondered about getting hit with lightning, but it never has been affected, even with several trees being hit nearby.

After having an automatic gate...which keeps out the uninvited rif-raf, helps keep the place secure, and the dogs happy inside, I could not live without one. It has made a world of difference. A closed gate makes a statement to the outside world. And...if someone knowingly goes past the gate uninvited, past the dogs, then they are probably up to no good and can visit the end of my gun...Ain't America Great!!