 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
and what you are needing in an automatic gate operator. Every
manufacturer makes at least two different types of gate operators: swing or
slide. Knowing which type you need is important if you are going to inquire
about a gate operator. Knowing what type of a warranty is also important
and it does make a price difference. The higher priced models usually come
with a 7 to 10 year warranty for residential use and a 5 year warranty for
commercial use. Knowing how often you will be using your operator is also
important in choosing an operator.
The continuous duty ground mounted ELITE and the VIKING operators are
the most widely used and trusted residential and commercial gate operator.
As an installer, I love installing these products because I very rarely have to
go back for service calls. They are super dependable and have a true life
span of 10 or more years. They are trouble free and you won't have to worry
about down time for a long time. Just looking at the construction of these
products will certainly indicate the high quality protected electronics and
craftsmanship compared to lessor priced products. These products are
workhorses and can operate continuously in high traffic situations.
There are also medium and light duty operators which typically have two year
warranties. If your gate is hinged on a metal post, you can go with a post
mounted gate operator. The post must not be imbeded in a brick, stone or
stucco column and must have proper clearance when the gate is in the open
position. LiftMaster, US Automatic, Apollo and VIKING all have reliable post
mounted gate operators when they are hard wired to a power source.
However, I prefer Apollo and US Automatic when used in a solar application.
Why? Because, once again, as an installer I do not want go back and so a
service call. And with Apollo and US Automatic, I seldom go back.
Powered or solar, these post mounted gate operators are DC battery
powered and batteries will have to be replaced eventually. The batteries are
kept charged with a trickle charger if the unit is hard wired. A solar panel
keeps the battery charged when you have no power. The Apollo and US
Automatic uses a deep cycle marine battery and therefore, the control box is
more bulky than the LiftMaster and VIKING which uses smaller batteries. One
great advantage using a post mounted system is that it always has power
because of the batteries. If you loose power in your area, your gate operator
will continue to work.
ELITE does also have battery powered systems: RoboSwing and RoboSlide.
But, they are not continuous use and have a maximum number of cycles per
hour. The CSW-200 and the SL-3000 do have optional battery backups
however, they only open the gate while the power goes out and will close
when the power comes on. VIKING products have an advantage because
they come with a standard built in battery back up.
There are many other types of gate operators available and we can install
them all. However, the operators mentioned here have proven in my opinion
to be the most reliable gate operators I have installed.