MightyMule Gate Openers - Good or Bad?

[txdon]

"He could save about five hundred off of what it costs me to get something that looks similar but that I've had good luck with." - wroughtn_harv

Harvey, which gate opener have you had good luck with and will it work in a "country" setting - gravel roads, cows, weeds, and battery.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

"He could save about five hundred off of what it costs me to get something that looks similar but that I've had good luck with." - wroughtn_harv

Harvey, which gate opener have you had good luck with and will it work in a "country" setting - gravel roads, cows, weeds, and battery.

Evening Don,

I like the Patriot and the comparable one from Apollo. Keep in mind all of the screw drive gate operators are basically satellite dish locators. They all have twelve volt d.c. motors. What makes them work is the motor turns on and stays on until a switch shuts if off. The next time the motor turns on the current is reversed and the gate moves accordingly.

The ones without the solar charging panel have a small trickle charger inside to keep the battery charged up.

If I was in your shoes I'd have either the Patriot or the Apollo with a programable key pad. That way you can program in a different code for different visitors. If for some reason they become persona non grata then just their code is deleted.

I'd also want a free exit coil. What this does is allow a vehicle to leave the property without using a code or a remote.

If the gate is visible from the house then I'd want a speaker to communicate with the people at the gate. I'd locate the speaker where they'd have to get out of the vehicle to use it.

The constant charging of the trickle or solar chargers wear out deep cycle batteries long before their time. That's why I recommend clients who have deep cycle batteries in other things like boats etc rotate them through the gate operator occasionally.

I buy my stuff from Automatic Gate Supply in Dallas. I've found them great as a supplier. They're also friends. I like calling in and talking to someone who knows me. I'm not much for the catch the next caller kind of business. I have enough of that in my life already.

Another good source is King Metals . com. The only hiccup with companys like King is they're great for selling and not so good in the tech and support department. AGS has that aspect of the business down pat.

I've had great luck with Apollo and Patriot. They're simple and generally anything that's gone wrong has more to do with the person operating the gate than the operator itself.

 

[txdon]

Thanks for sharing your experience Harvey! I figure I need to design the entrance within the specifications of a good gate opener. My auto opener is getting tired of getting in and out of the vehicle.

Could a cow activate a free exit coil and escape?

 

[PBinWA]

I've had great luck with Apollo and Patriot. They're simple and generally anything that's gone wrong has more to do with the person operating the gate than the operator itself.

That's what I was asking for! Thanks Harv.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

Thanks for sharing your experience Harvey! I figure I need to design the entrance within the specifications of a good gate opener. My auto opener is getting tired of getting in and out of the vehicle.

Could a cow activate a free exit coil and escape?

Well......, maybe, if it's collared right.

Let me explain: some years ago I had a client call asking me to check out the operator because when him and his wife got home in the evenings the dogs, great dane and large german shepard, would be out and waiting at the gate to get back in.

Just on the off chance I changed out the free exit coil but that was all I could figure to do. There seemed to be no way the dogs could get out except through an open gate and it was controlled by an operator.

The free exit coil is in a piece of pvc with coax running back to the operator control box. It's buried level in some pea gravel with a couple of inches of top soil over it so the grass can recover.

After about an hour or so of serious head scratching and phone calling back to Eric at AGS I started to leave, tail tucked firmly between my legs. I stopped outside the gate and was on the phone when I noticed the dane walk over to where the free exit was buried. He laid down right on top of it.

The gate opened and the two dogs joined me outside the gate looking back in.

It was the perfect storm you might say. I'd adjusted the free exit so the homeowner could activate it with his four wheeler. And the dane had a chain collar with about a pound of tags I swear on it. So when the dog passed it's collar over the free exit coil there was enough metal to activate the gate.

The solution was that night the dog got a nylon strap collar.

True story.

 

[mudcat]

Check out this opener. Free Automatic Gate Opener Plans by Keith Vickers on the Natural Handyman home repair and do it yourself website

 

[Soundguy]

I'm not sure of the brand.. but my stepfather has an electric gate that is battery/solar powered also.. it's a larger motor.. big as a cantelope... pretty fast too. Has a seperate control board and rf module. Clearly more expensive and more electronics to get working together.

Over tha past 15 ys.. I've replaced every part of it at one time or another.

1st time the rf reciever went out.. next was one of the 2 wireless pads.. replace dthem both.. then the circuit board went out.. then the motor.. all in a span of 15 ys.. etc. Probably a 1000$ system if you add the components up.. etc.

I just finished re-installing my MM350 tonight after the wife pretzled the gate on it 3 wks ago..

Sunk new corner post and a brace post.. tied them together with 4 5/8" rods and then used about 500# of concrete inthe holes... posts are burried 3.5' or a few inchs more deep.

Only takes a minute to flip the MM350 over, open it, erase the old gate stop mark, close it, set a new mark,.. and then cycle it to save it.

Got it perfectly opening to the edge of the drive, then closing securely.. the electronics ar ethe easy part.. it's getting the adjustable hinge, and the gate adjustment to all line up and play nice.. I ended up drilling a new 'kustom' hole in the hinge adjuster so i could get a space between their predrilled holes... worked great..

soundguy

I guess for a battery powered system that should get 5 years out of it the price is right. If I have to replace a MM350 every five years that isn't too big of a deal. The price and ease of installation is good.

I guess my biggest worry is that I would go through all the expense and hassle (big expense and big hassle) to install a hard wired opener and it would only last 5 years too.

Considering, I'm fairly handy and can fix it myself I'm not seeing enough negatives about the MM or GTO being posted here. I'm not overly concerned about having to fiddle with things to get them working right or occasionally walking out and opening the gate manually. It won't get used that much.

I'm still curious that there aren't any other "high-end" brands that are solar/battery driven.

 

[heehaw]

the GTO gate openers have all the accessories mentioned: auto out, wireless intercom etc etc etc: and their cost is pretty good if you compare them to some of the others mentioned: the ckt board for the MM350 cost @ $175: but the whole unit sells for $269 occasionally at local stores: they are definitely not hard to work on. all made in China, like most things today. i've got garage door openers that have lasted over 20 years: and they cost considerably less than any gate opener, so maybe modifying a garage door opener is the best solution.
heehaw