Looking for automatic gate opener

3pedal · Mar 7, 2016

I have a pretty basic swing gate, and a busted Mighty Mule opener. I need to get a new automatic opener, and and wondering if people have suggestions on what has worked for them. It needs to be solar, but I imagine most can do that these days.

xtn · Mar 7, 2016

Get a midget. Strap him to the gate such that his feet just barely touch the ground. Plant a shade tree in the right place. Now whenever the sun is up, the gate will open.

JRobyn · Mar 7, 2016

Absolutely love my Apollo, 1550. About 2-1/2 years and 2500 cycles now. NO problems.

TnAndy · Mar 7, 2016

OSCO brand here.....20 years, very few problems.

Whatever brand you go with, you'll have less trouble out of the "arm" type (picture your own arm....shoulder is the opener point, elbow is the linkage to the gate that pivots in the center like your arm, hand connects to the gate) openers than you will out of the linear actuator type (screw out shaft) like the Mule. I had a Genie linear actuator before the OSCO, and it was something broken all the time.

Howling · Mar 7, 2016

xtn said:
Get a midget. Strap him to the gate such that his feet just barely touch the ground. Plant a shade tree in the right place. Now whenever the sun is up, the gate will open.

Or the Truck Monkey

TractorGuy · Mar 7, 2016

I'm on my second Mighty Mule FM350 here. Lightening got the first one and I imagine it could take out any brand circuit board. I live in the town they are made in and it wasn't worth the price to let them fix it when I could get a whole new unit at TS for $250. I see they went up a little now but still 1/4 or less of the other two mentioned above.

tractchores · Mar 7, 2016

I use FAAC hydraulic openers for my gate. Very expensive, but the design life is 20+ years in commercial operation. They come in low voltage for solar. Expect to pay about 2k per.

Stimw · Mar 7, 2016

I had an opener from HF that worked great but it lost the codes and I could not get them back. (they don't sell them anymore)
I bought a Mighty Mule and it worked just past the warranty period.
I should have been suspicious when they had the disable instructions printed on it!
I have the double opener and to send it in for repair all I need to do is dig up my driveway because they were too cheap to put plugs on the operators.
If I weren't moving in the near future I would be looking for one that is NOT a toy!!

3pedal · Mar 7, 2016

Thanks for the feedback so far. Having gone through two mighty mules already, I don't think I will do a third. I think the hydraulic is a bit overkill for a farm gate.

Do the bending arm openers all work from a pedestal on the ground? That's all I've seen, and they way the previous owner setup the fence and gate there isn't room for that.

I like the idea of a Trunk Monkey, but so far, haven't found one on Amazon.

3pedal · Mar 7, 2016

JRobyn said:
Absolutely love my Apollo, 1550. About 2-1/2 years and 2500 cycles now. NO problems.

I have been looking at the 1550 a bit. Something I read said the control box has to be within 4 feet of the arm. Any idea if that can be extended? I need to place the the control box much farther away.

txdon · Mar 7, 2016

I have a Patriot, made in the USA. Excellent service and whenever I had a question just a phone call and it was answered quickly. It is solar/battery operated. Batteries last about 3 years. I have had it 7 years and use it about 120 times a month. Even during the cloudiest weeks when the neighbors mighty mule had to be disconnected the Patriot was still was strong.

https://www.usautomatic.com

I have the slide gate opener but they also make swing openers.

troutsqueezer · Mar 7, 2016

Recommend USAutomatic as well. Costs more than a Mighty Mule but for good reason.

joefromga · Mar 8, 2016

3pedal said:
I have a pretty basic swing gate, and a busted Mighty Mule opener. I need to get a new automatic opener, and and wondering if people have suggestions on what has worked for them. It needs to be solar, but I imagine most can do that these days.

What's busted in it? They are generally easy to repair and are basic 12v electric motor actuators.

3pedal · Mar 8, 2016

joefromga said:
What's busted in it? They are generally easy to repair and are basic 12v electric motor actuators.

I am not totally sure what the problem is right now. I did some light diagnostics and could not sort out the issue. I think it could be the board again, like the last one. After having 2 fail, I am ready to try something better. I wouldn't mind having a remote that has a range longer than 12 feet.

txdon · Mar 8, 2016

The range of the remote on the Patriot is about 200ft. I also have an exit wand buried about 100 feet from the gate and a keypad at the entrance.

JRobyn · Mar 8, 2016

3pedal said:
I have been looking at the 1550 a bit. Something I read said the control box has to be within 4 feet of the arm. Any idea if that can be extended? I need to place the the control box much farther away.

Doubt it would matter much. The cable would just need to be extended. Comes with a 4 ft one. 6 conductor IIRC.

drssg · Mar 8, 2016

My second Mighty Mule was a significant redesign from the first one, and it is more heavy duty. It also slows down the gate operation at the beginning and end of the cycle to reduce wear.

If you haven't already, it might be worth looking at the new ones to see if it's still the same product that you have. The range for the remote is about the same, though.

KYErik · Mar 8, 2016

How far are you from 120V power? I ran a standard craftsman garage door opener as a gate opener for a couple of years (mounted on its side with a rain cover over the motor end).

3pedal · Mar 8, 2016

KYErik said:
How far are you from 120V power? I ran a standard craftsman garage door opener as a gate opener for a couple of years (mounted on its side with a rain cover over the motor end).

Too far. I would guess it is 400 feet or more.

RalphVa · Mar 8, 2016

We have an Apollo. Had to put in a 2nd solar panel and take down a couple trees. Am experimenting with use of just a small utility battery instead of the big marine battery. So far, the utility battery is holding fine. Think the marine battery has too much potential internal leakage: too runs for a long time but difficult to get back to bull charge.

If the gate is to be farther than 500' from the house, you need a real radio intercom (about $2500). Our intercom just could not be made to work. Finally just put a little note on the keyboard to call us to come out to open the gate. With one of our remotes, we can just step outside and push a button to open it.

Ralph