mighty mule 200 gate opener

tglass · Jun 10, 2011

Anyone have any advise about the mighty mule gate openers. I have a 12 ft. gate about 175 ft. from the house, and they look to be the cheapest. Thinking about solar panel to power the battery and what not. Do I have to buy a panel from M.M. or will any 5-10 watt work. What about a battery, gel, lawn mower, deep cycle and from what I understand some will fit in the box where the board is stored. Another question, what is the appoximate price of these add ons or needed to operate the opener?

Ken45101 · Jun 11, 2011

They come with a small battery that fits inside the control box. That's basically for coverage during power outages ONLY.

For a lightly used gate (only a few times a day), I would be tempted to just use an automotive battery and recharge it once a month, but I don't know if that would work well or not.

Ken

weldingisfun · Jun 11, 2011

A deep cycle is best.

DennisArrow · Jun 11, 2011

I dont know about the MM; but for my Apollo system all is heavy duty. After 3 years of trouble free use, I noticed the gate was getting slower and slower. It is driven by a medium size marine battery from Walmart and charged by a perhaps 12"X12" solar panel that gets perhaps 4 hours of direct sun per day.

Again, I know NOTHING about the MM, but although the Apollo is a heavy duty dependable unit, the operation and mechanicals should be quite similar.............God bless......Dennis

Redbug · Jun 11, 2011

Another Apollo guy. I have had an Apollo for about 16 years. No problems in all these years. My gate spans a 16 foot opening...meaning the gate itself is about 24 feet long. I use a marine deep cycle battery and have 2 solar panels hooked up to it. 1 panel was not enough. Make sure you have a battery regulator hooked up to your battery...so you don't cook it, (overcharge), and have blocking diodes on your solar panels, (at night, without blocking diodes the solar panels would release energy). In the winter with a few days of cloudy skies, I sometimes have to swap batteries and charge the one I bring in.

anojones · Jun 11, 2011

I have a mm 350, using it about 5 years now. I use the mm solar panel to charge a deep cycle battery and have had to replace the battery a couple of times. The opener has worked well, but it took me a bit of messing around to get it adjusted right. I had mine opening out due to it being on a hill, never could get it working right so now it opens in after making a flat area with the tractor. It's not a commercial grade opener but i'd get one again.

tglass · Jun 11, 2011

Was thinking about hooking up a solar panel to it too. Is there a regulator included with most panels or do I even need one. Don't know much about them, and if I need a seperate battery, any good ideas of how to put it out of sight? Seems like this is getting a little pricey considering the options needed to make it operate will almost double the cost and time installing.

Fireman550 · Jun 11, 2011

I have used mine for the past 11 yeears. After using multiple batteries I finally put a deep cycle unit that is charged with a solor panel. It has been in use for 2 years without any issues. Best of luck!

Redbug · Jun 12, 2011

Tglass...Some solar panels have the regulator with them. You need to check the panel when/before you get it. Most solar panels have the blocking diode added onto the wiring. But read the specs or directions when you get it. You don't need one of those expensive regulators.

This regulator is simuliar to what I have been using all these years. It will cut off the incoming voltage when the battery charge gets up to a certain voltage, (such as 14.2 volts), and when the battery voltage gets too low it will also cut power. These things don't have to be too expensive for such a small amount of solar power...
Amazon.com: Sunforce 7 Amp Charge Controller: Automotive

tglass · Jun 12, 2011

Redbug said:
Tglass...Some solar panels have the regulator with them. You need to check the panel when/before you get it. Most solar panels have the blocking diode added onto the wiring. But read the specs or directions when you get it. You don't need one of those expensive regulators.

This regulator is simuliar to what I have been using all these years. It will cut off the incoming voltage when the battery charge gets up to a certain voltage, (such as 14.2 volts), and when the battery voltage gets too low it will also cut power. These things don't have to be too expensive for such a small amount of solar power...
Amazon.com: Sunforce 7 Amp Charge Controller: Automotive

That helps answer quite a bit. How big or amp deep cell battery do I need? and thanks for everyone's input. The solar panel regulator you referred me to seems like a good price.

Redbug · Jun 12, 2011

I have a couple 5 watt solar panels, each placed apart for better sunshine use around the bushes. Nothing fancy. We go out of our place sometimes several times a day and no problems. I would guess the gate weighs around 250 or 300 pounds, on rollers. I keep the rollers greased every 6 months or so, and occasionally swap out a battery. It's good to rotate batteries anyway and use them. Just letting a battery sit is not good. I just get a battery now and again...about every 4 or 5 years from Wally World. I think around 720 amps, deep cycle. I use them in my boats, too.

It ain't purdy...but it works! After having a gate...I cannot see ever living without one. The idea of security really goes up. We don't want to be bothered, (in the compound)...except by friends.

Any questions...just ask away. The folks on this forum have more collective knowledge than you can imagine.

Pitbull2166 · Jul 2, 2014

2 month old Mighty mule solar panel not charging battery

Does anyone have suggestions on how to diagnose why solar panel does not keep battery charged?

Jimbrown · Jul 2, 2014

Re: 2 month old Mighty mule solar panel not charging battery

Don't have any idea. But, before I beat my head to death. The circuit board has a built in regulator for the solar panel. I would just buy a small regulator by pass the circuit board and hook directly to the battery.

Something like this

Morningstar Sunguard 12V 4.5A charge controller - Energy Matters

Not sure which circuit board it uses but they are all pretty close try this.

http://support.gtoinc.com/Uploads/Documents/1000 Low Voltage Solar.pdf

ultrarunner · Jul 2, 2014

Anyway to load test the battery?

Might be a bad battery if it won't charge.

Brother's place has one and he was having some work done with lots of people coming and going.

The charger was ok with just family... was not up to the high numbers of opening and closing without upgrading the charger...

JRobyn · Jul 5, 2014

Getcha a cheap voltmeter and check the voltage out of your solar panel. If it seems ok (should probably be at least 14+vdc with even a little sun on it), then the charge regulator is probably your problem, so do like JimBrown suggested. Harbor Freight also markets inexpensive solar charge controllers.

- Jay

Gary Fowler · Jul 5, 2014

I have a 15 watt with built in diodes that has been used on a might mule for 6 years. It takes a new battery (lawn mower battery) about every 2-3 years. The circuit boards have had some problems with this one (brother in law). I just put one on my gate with the same set up. I will see how long it last.

Gary Fowler · Jul 5, 2014

It doesn't take a big battery for normal use. If you go in and out 100 times a day, you may need a bigger charger, but the battery should not need to be a big marine battery.