Automatic Gate Openers?

[Kell-inKY]

Anybody use one? We are being forced to put a gate in up front due to yahoos coming on our property doing things they shouldn't.

Reviews are great on these until you start digging, then it seems everyone has expensive trouble after 2 years. Any thoughts? I will be putting a double gate in, so that doubles the moving parts, and my wife insists she does not want to get out of the car all the time to unchain something, women.....

 

[callmefence]

Apollo 1500 is hands down the best for the money out there. I install a couple a week average. Has good warranty and good customer service. I have four on my property.
Don't be scared of solar. It's actually more trouble free than the plug in.
It's not uncommon for them to go 10 years and only need battery replacement.

Stay away from the nice transmitter and receiver. It's new and problematical.

To give you a idea. I don't the Apollo 1500 installed with 2 remotes for 1550.00. On a good existing free swinging gate.
Keypads and exit loops should run you 300.00 to 500.00 installed. There's a bunch of different ones. Feel free to ask any questions I'll be tickled to help. I do recommend staying away from exit loops. They cause lots of trouble.

One note the mighty mule can be had for a fraction of the cost. When a customer request it , I refuse. I would much rather my competition have to deal with that piece of chit than me.

 

[cowgirl8]

We've had a mighty mule for around 6 years. The only problems we've had were few. One is keeping it adjusted after adding a latch for another problem. A storm destroyed the cylinder because we did not have it latched when it was shut. Bought the latch and had a time with keeping it adjusted. But what you have to do is make it adjustable at the stopping point, and not try to reprogram the gate to shut further or shorter. Our gate is technically too heavy and long for our opener, but it still works.
When we installed it, i could shut if from the house with a remote which is 1/10th of a mile from the gate. But we changed the code and since i have to be close. We also have a touch pad, that works great and you can keep it closed and if someone comes over you just give them the code....Ours is solar, and that's worked great too.
If you're handy, there is nothing wrong with the mighty mule. Total price, on sale was around 300....we installed it ourselves and had our own solar panel...

 

[dun]

Mine is 66 years old, works great. Very low maintenance

 

[Kell-inKY]

Thanks for the input, I just checked on the Apollo, like the others it had some really bad reviews, will have to research more but it sounds like you (fence) haven't had much trouble.

The solar would be handy, but they sure are ugly. I am 75 yards? from nearest electricity with criss crossing water lines. Maybe I could hide the solar somewhere behind it. Cows are on both sides of drive so I can't put them over there. If I can talk the wife into it it would be easier to have a single gate.

 

[TexasBred]

Apollo 1500 is hands down the best for the money out there. I install a couple a week average. Has good warranty and good customer service. I have four on my property.
Don't be scared of solar. It's actually more trouble free than the plug in.
It's not uncommon for them to go 10 years and only need battery replacement.

Stay away from the nice transmitter and receiver. It's new and problematical.

To give you a idea. I don't the Apollo 1500 installed with 2 remotes for 1550.00. On a good existing free swinging gate.
Keypads and exit loops should run you 300.00 to 500.00 installed. There's a bunch of different ones. Feel free to ask any questions I'll be tickled to help. I do recommend staying away from exit loops. They cause lots of trouble.

One note the mighty mule can be had for a fraction of the cost. When a customer request it , I refuse. I would much rather my competition have to deal with that piece of chit than me.

Absolutely agree with you Fence. We began with one of those TSC el cheapos and were buying new batteries about ever 30 days it seemed. Had the Apollo 1500 installed and zero problems. AND it has a deep cycle marine battery in it that will last a couple of years minimum. "Exit Loop".....is that the buried line that automatically opens the gate when you're going out? We haven't had any problems with that either but when the man installed the Apollo he pulled up the old one and put the new one in and it's run inside pvc pipe. I'm sure you can get more expensive gate openers but for all practical purposes ours has been completely trouble free since we had it installed.

 

[TexasBred]

Thanks for the input, I just checked on the Apollo, like the others it had some really bad reviews, will have to research more but it sounds like you (fence) haven't had much trouble.

The solar would be handy, but they sure are ugly. I am 75 yards? from nearest electricity with criss crossing water lines. Maybe I could hide the solar somewhere behind it. Cows are on both sides of drive so I can't put them over there. If I can talk the wife into it it would be easier to have a single gate.

I honestly never even notice the small solar panel so don't really see it as ugly. Thing isn't 12" square.

 

[True Grit Farms]

I have a Mighty Mule 500, and it's on a 16' bull gate. I'm on my 3rd. swing arm opener, and 4 or 5 battery's. But I've fixed the battery ordeal by using a trolling motor battery and a good solar panel, been close to 3 years with no battery problems. We have alot of traffic coming and going all the time.
Our gate opener is one of our must have working pieces of equipment.

 

[callmefence]

Apollo 1500 is hands down the best for the money out there. I install a couple a week average. Has good warranty and good customer service. I have four on my property.
Don't be scared of solar. It's actually more trouble free than the plug in.
It's not uncommon for them to go 10 years and only need battery replacement.

Stay away from the nice transmitter and receiver. It's new and problematical.

To give you a idea. I don't the Apollo 1500 installed with 2 remotes for 1550.00. On a good existing free swinging gate.
Keypads and exit loops should run you 300.00 to 500.00 installed. There's a bunch of different ones. Feel free to ask any questions I'll be tickled to help. I do recommend staying away from exit loops. They cause lots of trouble.

One note the mighty mule can be had for a fraction of the cost. When a customer request it , I refuse. I would much rather my competition have to deal with that piece of chit than me.

Absolutely agree with you Fence. We began with one of those TSC el cheapos and were buying new batteries about ever 30 days it seemed. Had the Apollo 1500 installed and zero problems. AND it has a deep cycle marine battery in it that will last a couple of years minimum. "Exit Loop".....is that the buried line that automatically opens the gate when you're going out? We haven't had any problems with that either but when the man installed the Apollo he pulled up the old one and put the new one in and it's run inside pvc pipe. I'm sure you can get more expensive gate openers but for all practical purposes ours has been completely trouble free since we had it installed.

Yeah, glad yours has been trouble free.
The exit loops tend to give false signals when the ground is very wet. Also someone in the know can drag a post piece of chain etc. Along side your road and open your gate.
Saw one old mare with shoes that learned to open the gate. Also guest will sometimes drive quickly over the loop and meet the opening gate, damaging car and gate.
I prefer two keypads entry and exit. I have different codes for each for added security.

If I install a opener that has to be adjusted or tweeked I have to do that for free. The Apollo is rock solid. The price I have as a example includes solar , marine battery and complete labor. The mighty mule is cheaper for sure but 300.00 completely turnkey :bs:

Mine is 66 years old, works great. Very low maintenance

How much did it cost you???

 

[True Grit Farms]

Fenceman, is the key pads and or remotes compatible between the mighty mule and Apollo gate operators?

 

[callmefence]

Fenceman, is the key pads and or remotes compatible between the mighty mule and Apollo gate operators?

I'm going to say no..
Apollo runs on a 300 megahertz frequency
Mighty mule runs on a 3hundred and something frequency. With that being said I'm not going to say impossible. Your unit is one of the more expensive mules. If it has a external receiver. Like the Apollo does. Then yes you could remove the receiver and wire it to Apollo circuit board and it would work.
It would be a rig. But it should work.
If it has a integrated receiver. No won't work.

 

[Dave]

Mine is 66 years old, works great. Very low maintenance

I have a newer model. Mine is only 63. Works great every time too.

 

[backhoeboogie]

Mine is 66 years old, works great. Very low maintenance

I have a newer model. Mine is only 63. Works great every time too.

Mines only 56. Red. A little cantankerous but if you are gentle with it.....

 

[callmefence]

Mine is 66 years old, works great. Very low maintenance

I have a newer model. Mine is only 63. Works great every time too.

Mines only 56. Red. A little cantankerous but if you are gentle with it.....

Mines blonde and chunks rocks if you you tell it to hurry up.

 

[greybeard]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mipJzKUBJQY

 

[cowgirl8]

I love the gate scene in the movie The Gods Must Be Crazy...i have a few gates like that...

 

[Dave]

Back when I was trapping coyotes there was a ranch I was on. They had a regular old barb wire gate that when you opened it about a quarter mile of fence laid down. The standard blonde gate opener might have been able to open it but I highly doubt it would work to close that gate.

 

[greybeard]

I have a newer model. Mine is only 63. Works great every time too.

Mines only 56. Red. A little cantankerous but if you are gentle with it.....

Mines blonde and chunks rocks if you you tell it to hurry up.

Seeing all the rocks you have, bet it didn't take you long to learn to keep your mouth shut...

 

[cowgirl8]

Back when I was trapping coyotes there was a ranch I was on. They had a regular old barb wire gate that when you opened it about a quarter mile of fence laid down. The standard blonde gate opener might have been able to open it but I highly doubt it would work to close that gate.

Where i live thats called a gap... I have a few gaps i have to go through. When my husband builds a new one, he always makes it so tight i cant get it shut.

 

[dieselbeef]

put in a cattle gap..the kind in the road...

as for a gate opener my gtopro has been running goin on 20 yrs andfor the amount of work it does its been very reliable investment