Automatic Gate Openers for Private Estate Owners

Having a lavish home with a long drive usually means added security, as these homes and neighborhoods are frequent targets of burglars and home invaders. Installing automatic gate openers to your new security gates will help you weed out people that do not belong on your property. Combined with other security equipment you can make your home the safest on the block. These units can be installed at the time of the gate and fence installation if you are doing new construction. Review the proposed model that the fence company suggests, carryout your own due diligence to make sure you will have a worry free experience with your new gate opener.

Some features and options to look for are: length of service, weight limitations, optional driveway alert, wireless remote entry, automatic opening for exiting, intercom master controls, and manual bypass switches. You do not have to buy the most expensive model to get all of the aforementioned items, but some ancillary products will have to be purchased to complete the set. Optionally if you have an entry gate for the walkway to your front door, you can install one of the smaller automatic gate openers to prevent door-to-door sales people from pestering you. In addition, small wireless color cameras installed at each gate to verify visually who wants to obtain entry to your property is a great-added layer of protection.

One of the hottest products in the automatic gate arena today is the Mighty Mule product line. They have turnkey packages for home, business, farm, ranch, and agricultural applications that are setting the pace for the rest of the competition. Their products are nationally distributed through the large home improvement stores, and tractor supply, and hardware stores. They have residential packages that you can even buy their brand of gate to go with their line of automatic gate openers. Buying all the products needed from the same manufacturer makes for a seamless and smooth installation, as all the parts are pre designed to work together.

Do a cursory search online for message boards that cater to automatic gate openers. You can obtain copious amounts of information, and impromptu reviews about the opener you are considering. You might also, want to post a message yourself, letting them know your specific requirements, and someone with the same or similar set up will chime in and let you know how theirs is working, and what they might do differently the next time.

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