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General Gate Opener Information |
Swing Gate Operators:
Swing gate operators are by far the most popular and come in three general styles:
Box operators that sits behind the gate with a compound arm on the top or bottom.
Linear Arm ttat is mounted directly to the gate and comes in electric motor or elctro hydraulic
Underground operator that is below grade and comes in electric motor or elctro hydraulic
Swing in gates can use a large variety of operators, where as swing out gates work and look best with linear (ram) arms and underground operators. The box type operator commonly seen behind gates do not look good in front of gates where they would have to be placed to open a gate outward.
Swing in up-hill driveway gates will need special consideration. For those type of installations a box type operator is the only one recomended. Several models have optional articulated arms that have ball joints to change as the geometry changes when the gate is opening. These installations have to have special "up-hill" hinges installed on the gate. The maximum lift that is advisable is up to 12" with a 14' gate. A 2" space should be maintained beath the leading edge of the gate in the open position.
Slide Gate Operators:
Comes in two basic types:
Rack and pinion style is used primarily in Europe. It uses a rack gear mounted directly to the gate and the operator has a drive gear that moves the rack. This is identical to rack and pinion steering on many cars. The advantage to this type is a very tight and exact drive of the gate. The cons to it, is it is a more difficult installation.
Chain drive is the type overwhelmingly used in the U.S.A. It is a much easier and forgiving installation. There are two types of chain installation. The most common is the operator sits at the end of the gate in the closed position. A chain is mounted to the bottom of the gate that passes through a set of chain guides and a drive sprocket in the operator. The other is called an "end of track" or "back track" installation. The operator sits at the end of the track. A chain is installed a-la clothing line style with an idler near the end of the gate. The gate is shuttled back and forth on this chain clothing line. This make for a neat installation where the operator is not obvious, and there is no chain at the bottom of the gate. It takes a little more time and material to install in this fashion, but the result looks great.
