Which Businesses Need Gate Closers On Their Property

Just about any business concern today needs perimeter security, and gate closers to keep unwanted influences off their land, but towing and impound companies that repossess vehicles, and tow illegally parked cars are high on the list in needed this type of protection. Disgruntled owners of automobiles will try anything to get their car or truck back without paying the fines that are levied against them for not being responsible in the first place. Usually there are two sets of gate closers involved, as there will be another fenced in area on the property where the actual auto will be kept secure.

Armored car companies are constant targets even if they are not carrying any money at the time, and when all the trucks are parked at the headquarters, the need to be secured with high fences with security gates. People always assume these bullet proof delivery vehicles are full of money, and will try and break into them in the middle of the night when sitting idle. It is rather fruitless, unless the thief is an expert locksmith as if Harry Houdini was during his time. Drug addicts and petty criminals will actually do external damage trying to break in, but this is still costly to company, and using a double gate opener on the entrance gates will be the best defense.

Apartment complexes around the world use automatic gate openers to help protect their tenants twenty four hours a day, and gives a visual sense of defense fro the wrong doers, and comfort for the people living within the gated community. There times when the police for fire department needs to make an emergency entrance, and there is a universal code for all apartments that is different in each city. Usually each apartment community has a pay a yearly automatic gate fee to ensure that the codes are kept up to date.

Automatic Gates Maintenance

Since I've decided to do make this  website, I know I have the task of adding useful content to it.
Today, I'll talk about the automatic gate openers maintenance.

As you know; everything on earth need maintenance... ok, scratch that; maybe you don't know.
I understand there is some people who doesn't care to change the engine oil because the car is working fine... if ain't broken, why fix it?

Well, everything in the world need maintenance; even living things as yourself. Why do you think woman spend so much money on makeup creams and hair products?
Why some others seems frustrated with their BMI (body mass index) and watch closely what they ingest?

Your body is a machine, and like your car, it requires more things than just food.
Same thing with your gates, or even your  bathroom door.

One common thing that doors require is lube the hinges and lock mechanism, which people commonly forget. Normal wear and tear because general use, degrade lubricants and dis-adjust stuff, lose screws and if we add to this equation weather (water, UV sunlight, snow etc.) there is a chance that things start to get faulty.

Door hardware components require maintenance at some point, among the most common types of repairs for these components are lubrication,  alignment and weather sealing. Lube is required once or twice a year, depending on the type of door and its level of use. Hinges and door closers should get a few drops of penetrating oil at the top so it runs down into the wearing surface between the pin and the housing.
Lubricants prevents freezing in cold weather while avoid grinding of moving parts caused by friction. A good time to schedule lubrication is just before cold weather starts.
Now...  specifics to automatic gate openers, DO NOT lubricate electronic locks with graphite (as done on common doors) because it is an insulator and will interfere with current flow through contacts. For this type of lock, my rule of dumb is 2 drops of wd40 on the top of the latches (the portion of the door lock that extend into the door frame through the strike plate).

Many automatic gates do not have a lock system other than the actuators; who lock themselves on the position they are wen are off. Usually, there is a captive screw that need to be loose in order to be able to open the gate while the actuator stands by.... read on your user manual how to find it.
About the user manual, commonly the user manual has the maintenance instructions for the actuators... so that's a good place to start looking on what to do in concern of the electronics and motors/actuators.

About sliding gates; these type requires attention on the ball bearings as well as the hanging mechanisms. Again, because normal wear and tear, the bearings begins to loose their lube grease, and the weight of the gate itself start to pull the gate down, giving some undesirable force on the motor pinon... which translate on a slow sliding door. Maintenance steps should include checking the levels of this hanging mechanisms as well as lubricate ball bearings.

Giving the proper maintenance to your automatic gates will warranty it's endurance and will prevent faulty operation.
Automatic Gates Maintenance

Since I've decided to do make this  website, I know I have the task of adding useful content to it.
Today, I'll talk about the automatic gate openers maintenance.

As you know; everything on earth need maintenance... ok, scratch that; maybe you don't know.
I understand there is some people who doesn't care to change the engine oil because the car is working fine... if ain't broken, why fix it?

Well, everything in the world need maintenance; even living things as yourself. Why do you think woman spend so much money on makeup creams and hair products?
Why some others seems frustrated with their BMI (body mass index) and watch closely what they ingest?

Your body is a machine, and like your car, it requires more things than just food.
Same thing with your gates, or even your  bathroom door.

One common thing that doors require is lube the hinges and lock mechanism, which people commonly forget. Normal wear and tear because general use, degrade lubricants and dis-adjust stuff, lose screws and if we add to this equation weather (water, UV sunlight, snow etc.) there is a chance that things start to get faulty.

Door hardware components require maintenance at some point, among the most common types of repairs for these components are lubrication,  alignment and weather sealing. Lube is required once or twice a year, depending on the type of door and its level of use. Hinges and door closers should get a few drops of penetrating oil at the top so it runs down into the wearing surface between the pin and the housing.
Lubricants prevents freezing in cold weather while avoid grinding of moving parts caused by friction. A good time to schedule lubrication is just before cold weather starts.
Now...  specifics to automatic gate openers, DO NOT lubricate electronic locks with graphite (as done on common doors) because it is an insulator and will interfere with current flow through contacts. For this type of lock, my rule of dumb is 2 drops of wd40 on the top of the latches (the portion of the door lock that extend into the door frame through the strike plate).

Many automatic gates do not have a lock system other than the actuators; who lock themselves on the position they are wen are off. Usually, there is a captive screw that need to be loose in order to be able to open the gate while the actuator stands by.... read on your user manual how to find it.
About the user manual, commonly the user manual has the maintenance instructions for the actuators... so that's a good place to start looking on what to do in concern of the electronics and motors/actuators.

About sliding gates; these type requires attention on the ball bearings as well as the hanging mechanisms. Again, because normal wear and tear, the bearings begins to loose their lube grease, and the weight of the gate itself start to pull the gate down, giving some undesirable force on the motor pinon... which translate on a slow sliding door. Maintenance steps should include checking the levels of this hanging mechanisms as well as lubricate ball bearings.

Giving the proper maintenance to your automatic gates will warranty it's endurance and will prevent faulty operation.

Build your own solar panel for your gate opener

Yes, you can build your own solar panel for your gate opener

If you think I'm kidding, well I'm not. It is very possible to build your own solar panel to operate your automatic gate opener

Solar panels are basically a device that can transform ultraviolet light into electricity. Calculators use it since I don't remember when... wait... that is actually not true.

Solar panels are made of solar cells...who are the actual device who makes the energy transformation. Solar cells are cheap; but have the problem of providing low energy output.

Yes, I know... mankind sucks transforming photons into electricity, but hey... it is a numbers game.

If you look online, there is a bunch of providers who sell these solar cells as well as the solar panels... but hey, 1 or 2 days of light work that will save you some bucks won't harm anyone.

The sun’s energy is the source of all energy being used here in our planet. By garnering the energy it produces, you can cut back on your bills. You do not even have to invest too much money in order to make use of this readily available source because you can do it yourself. You can build your own electric solar panel. The total cost of the project was about 160 dollars; including the beers!

Although the current rating or amperage of each cell can vary, a single PV cell, no matter how large or small, will only put out .5 volts (half a volt). Watt output is equal to volts x amps, so for example, .5v x 1.78a = .89 watts.


Calculating the amount of cells you need:

Depending of the voltage you want, you'll need X amount of cells. For understanding purposes, think about these cells as common batteries. If you connect them on parallel, your voltage output will stay at half a volt in this case. Solar cells need to be connected on serial circuit.

Now... how much voltage does your gate opener requires?

Common voltages are 12 and 24 volts. I usually go for 24 because I could attach something else to the solar panel, such as alarms and motion detectors; but that depends.
The correct way to do it (word from an electric engineer) is to take advantage of the free energy. The solar panel is working every single second it is receiving solar light.... and you are not opening/closing your gate every time either... so a pack of rechargeable batteries comes to mind.


In this project, we will use 48 single crystal solar cells, each .89 watt and 4" square. This will make a solar panel that, with full sun, will put out 24 volts at almost 2 amps. That's more than sufficient to charge a battery supply system.

We now know the output of the panel (24v) and the size of the cells (4"), so next we need to plan the panel layout. Since we will use 48 cells, we can lay them out in a pattern of 6 across and 8 down (6 x 8 = 48).


What about power?

Well... let me tell you that this setup can provide around 40 watts. (48 cells,.. each providing around .89 watts... do the math please!)

This only means one thing; this setup can work without any help for something that consumes 40 watts... enough power to run a motor... or an electric swing arm. NICE


I'm not sure how much will be if you buy the panel already build... but I can bet is way more than 160 bucks.

Especially now that the economic recession has affected most of the US, the use of solar panels can prove to be a good way to cut back on expenses. Solar panels can also help reduce global warming since they reduce the need for other sources of electricity. It is wise to use solar energy as a source of electricity because money is not easy to earn these days