Electric Gates, the good and the bad?

[Rancid]

Was wondering if any other members had installed an electric opener on their gates? Good and bad reports would be helpful as was considering doing this and wanted to see if anyone else had gotten a good and reliable system or likewise a nightmare that never ends. Thanks...

[jvs]

We had a double swing gate installed about 8 years ago,it has worked without flaws ever since.It did cost around 38000 Baht and is US import.It came with 3 remotes and we replaced the batteries twice .

Great system and i can recommend it to anyone, also very safe because you do not have to leave your vehicle.It has a battery back-up in case the power goes off.

[aussiandrew]

Ì have been lucky in love in Thailand but unlucky with electric gates. Just make sure you know the name and full contact details address of the supplier all before purchasing and most important the full warranty period. Mine just made to the 12 months and then developed a mind of its own.

[Rancid]

Thanks for the feedback, seems as in most things in life that quality pays for itself in the long run.

[mikebell]

I got a very expensive gate owner - the wife.

[mikebell]

And she's electric.

[jacko45k]

Mine works fine, but has given problems.

They are expensive to fix.

Roll not swing type.

The remotes are old now and it is hard to find replacements as newer models are on different frequencies.

The convenience is worth it, particularly in the rain!

Edited January 28, 2016 by jacko45k

[jeffandgop]

We installed a powered double wide swing gate 2 years ago. We love it and after service support has been excellent- one time had to do a little grinding of the floor plate due to rubbing and the other time a much larger issue when one of the hinges pulled out of its' mount due to poor anticipation of the load/stress of the weight. But it was fixed promptly and well

[THAIJAMES]

Installed 8 years ago, paid 32K the circuit board failed once because rain got in. replaced it (3k) and sealed very well has worked well since. The supplier that installed the gates disappeared after a couple of years. However it was relatively easy to get a local electrician to replace the board. Same problem with the remotes, I have looked everywhere including overseas impossible to get replacements so get extras while you can! Also keep the wheels oiled regularly with w-40 spray or equivalent as rust will make the rolling action difficult and a strain on the motor.

[pbassham]

I got a sliding type in Bangkok at tasautotech.com for like 10k and it has worked great for a year so far. 5 year warranty too, which I had to use for a sensor issue.

[Surasak]

Had a system insalled 9 years ago and only had one minor problem in that time. Including the Stainless steel gate at 4 metre width the cost was 140,000. IMHO it was worth every baht.

[Muhendis]

And she's electric.

How many buttons do you need to press to make it work?

[ronaldo0]

Installed 8 years ago, paid 32K the circuit board failed once because rain got in. replaced it (3k) and sealed very well has worked well since. The supplier that installed the gates disappeared after a couple of years. However it was relatively easy to get a local electrician to replace the board. Same problem with the remotes, I have looked everywhere including overseas impossible to get replacements so get extras while you can! Also keep the wheels oiled regularly with w-40 spray or equivalent as rust will make the rolling action difficult and a strain on the motor.

Are the keys the 4 button fob type?

If so you can get ones on ebay that you programme with your existing keys. I bought them for my garage door . Videos on youtube show you how to set them up , but check it is programmable as some are just set at a frequency .

[scorecard]

Installed 8 years ago, paid 32K the circuit board failed once because rain got in. replaced it (3k) and sealed very well has worked well since. The supplier that installed the gates disappeared after a couple of years. However it was relatively easy to get a local electrician to replace the board. Same problem with the remotes, I have looked everywhere including overseas impossible to get replacements so get extras while you can! Also keep the wheels oiled regularly with w-40 spray or equivalent as rust will make the rolling action difficult and a strain on the motor.

We decided to install same system on sliding gate just after new house completed. The gate did slide OK, however when the installation people came the technician said he wanted to replace the rollers to stainless steel, better quality (Hafele) and a spec. designed to carry more weight.

My daughter in law said go ahead and it cost all up 1,000Baht but my son was a bit concerned it was a rip off.

But the truth is that the gate slid much more easily after new rollers installed, and moved with very little hand pressure to get it rolling.

I just took a good look, five years later the SS rollers have no rust whatever and when I isolate the auto closing the gate moves with a very small amount of hand pushing.

Overall It's been worth the extra 1,000Baht.

Our closer is PAT, never had a moments trouble. We have once replaced the battery in the sensor which instantly stops the auto closing or opening if something interrupts the signal.

[scorecard]

And she's electric.

Do you charge her batteries regularly?

[bark]

Thanks for the feedback, seems as in most things in life that quality pays for itself in the long run.

Yes, buy good quality. Also make sure the gate, has a manual unlock if the Electrical power goes off. They should provide a key which will

unlock the whole gate; so that you can slide it open.

[northernjohn]

Installed 8 years ago, paid 32K the circuit board failed once because rain got in. replaced it (3k) and sealed very well has worked well since. The supplier that installed the gates disappeared after a couple of years. However it was relatively easy to get a local electrician to replace the board. Same problem with the remotes, I have looked everywhere including overseas impossible to get replacements so get extras while you can! Also keep the wheels oiled regularly with w-40 spray or equivalent as rust will make the rolling action difficult and a strain on the motor.

I have not got one but from time to time I have seen posts asking where to get a repairman for them. If I was to get one I would look into the ability to locate a repairman if it went wrong and the company was no longer in business.

[jvs]

Installed 8 years ago, paid 32K the circuit board failed once because rain got in. replaced it (3k) and sealed very well has worked well since. The supplier that installed the gates disappeared after a couple of years. However it was relatively easy to get a local electrician to replace the board. Same problem with the remotes, I have looked everywhere including overseas impossible to get replacements so get extras while you can! Also keep the wheels oiled regularly with w-40 spray or equivalent as rust will make the rolling action difficult and a strain on the motor.

Our worker left a remote in the basket of his motorbike in the rain and it died,very easy to get a replacement.Go to a place where they can make copies of car keys

which have a chip inside,they have a machine that can read your remote and the install the same number on a remote control for a car door.Costs us a thousand baht but it it nice to have extra remotes.

[PETERTHEEATER]

If you get the sliding type the motor/gearbox unit should be mounted on a solid concrete foundation block on four studs to allow the unit to be adjusted up or down incrementally. The output gear on the unit engages with a long toothed rail at the base of the gate.As the bearings in the gate rollers wear and even collapse, the weight of the gate bears down on the output gear causing an unwanted load which, if uncorrected will cause output gearbox bearing failure and an expensive repair. Gate rollers can be bought at most local hardware shops and are simple to replace. I use my car jack to lift the gate to enable that job.

There is a fuse in the Control Box so, if the gate stops working but their is power to your home then check the fuse, usually a 10 amp glass cartridge type spares available at places such as Home Pro. Of course, some gate models have a backup battery which is switched in automatically during a power outage.

Make sure that the electrical feed from the Control Box to the Motor/Gearbox is run through tough rubber sheathed flexible conduit if hidden underground and that the end connecting to the MGB is properly weathersealed.. Termites got into mine after just two years and put a low resistance short across the feed. Since I did not want to dig up the driveway I isolated the old feed and ran my own through concealed surface conduit by relocating the CB. During troubleshooting, I found that the installer had chosen to weatherproof the input to the motor inside the CB by squirting in a whole tube of silicon sealant (NOT electrical grade) The acetic acid in the sealant gradually ate away the copper cores of the input cable causing another problem!

At both ends of the gate is a sealed black monoblock magnet. When the gate is fully OPEN or fully CLOSED the magnet operates a reed switch mounted on the CB to stop the gate. Each magnet can be adjusted laterally to stop the gate before it travels too far and 'clashes' when fully CLOSED or jumps the fully open stop bar at the end of the monorail.

The keyfob remote has a A27 Alkaline Battery that should be replaced if the gate starts failing to respond to the button press. Spare batteries and spare complete remote units are available from any good key-cutting kiosk found in shopping centres and malls. The have a small hand scanner that can 'read' the dipswitch settings of the unit so that they can transfer your code to a new unit.

Remember, the remote is a radio Transmitter operating in the UHF band and the Control Box has the Receiver Unit, UHF signal are attenuated by structures, vehicles and trees etc so to give you maximum range (if that is important) try to site the CB high up on a wall to give line-of-site to you remote. I extended the aerial feed to my control box using screened coax RF cable and mounted a homebrewed stub UHF aerial high up giving me reliable gate operation at 50 metres.

Of course, this could be dangerous since the gate might be obstructed by people, animals or vehicles so always be sure it is clear before operating. All sliding gates have an adjustable gate closing force (potentiometer inside the CB MAX/MIN) and if the set force is exceed during travel the gate will stop.

Lastly, some gates have an AC motor, usually stepped down from the mains supply, others have a DC motor. It is important to ensure that the MGB is properly earthed (grounded) electrically for safety.

[callaway]

Bought a unit for 10,000 baht at Global Hardware in Surin. Only problem have had is wife ran into it and cracked the cover. Went and bought a new unit and used the cover from it to repair. Now have a spare motor. Apart from that have had no issues with it at all in the 4 years it has been installed. It is the sliding gate set up. So good when teeming down with rain and just open and into the garage with out getting wet. Same sitting on sofa at pool area and have visitors so open and close without even having to put my beer down or even move my ass. Lazy I know but that what life is about isn't it?

[THAIJAMES]

Installed 8 years ago, paid 32K the circuit board failed once because rain got in. replaced it (3k) and sealed very well has worked well since. The supplier that installed the gates disappeared after a couple of years. However it was relatively easy to get a local electrician to replace the board. Same problem with the remotes, I have looked everywhere including overseas impossible to get replacements so get extras while you can! Also keep the wheels oiled regularly with w-40 spray or equivalent as rust will make the rolling action difficult and a strain on the motor.

We decided to install same system on sliding gate just after new house completed. The gate did slide OK, however when the installation people came the technician said he wanted to replace the rollers to stainless steel, better quality (Hafele) and a spec. designed to carry more weight.

My daughter in law said go ahead and it cost all up 1,000Baht but my son was a bit concerned it was a rip off.

But the truth is that the gate slid much more easily after new rollers installed, and moved with very little hand pressure to get it rolling.

I just took a good look, five years later the SS rollers have no rust whatever and when I isolate the auto closing the gate moves with a very small amount of hand pushing.

Overall It's been worth the extra 1,000Baht.

Our closer is PAT, never had a moments trouble. We have once replaced the battery in the sensor which instantly stops the auto closing or opening if something interrupts the signal.

Good point about getting stainless steel rollers, wish I had thought of that at the time.

[THAIJAMES]

Installed 8 years ago, paid 32K the circuit board failed once because rain got in. replaced it (3k) and sealed very well has worked well since. The supplier that installed the gates disappeared after a couple of years. However it was relatively easy to get a local electrician to replace the board. Same problem with the remotes, I have looked everywhere including overseas impossible to get replacements so get extras while you can! Also keep the wheels oiled regularly with w-40 spray or equivalent as rust will make the rolling action difficult and a strain on the motor.

Are the keys the 4 button fob type?

If so you can get ones on ebay that you programme with your existing keys. I bought them for my garage door . Videos on youtube show you how to set them up , but check it is programmable as some are just set at a frequency .

I tried that, I ordered the remote and copied the codes but did not work. I even created my own arduino RF sensor to capture the RF code sequence and play it back. that did not work either, although I have been able to capture other RF signals and play them back without a problem from other devices. Next step is to add my own RF relay to it.

I still have working remotes and the gate is also hard wired to switches in the house so not really a problem.

[THAIJAMES]

Installed 8 years ago, paid 32K the circuit board failed once because rain got in. replaced it (3k) and sealed very well has worked well since. The supplier that installed the gates disappeared after a couple of years. However it was relatively easy to get a local electrician to replace the board. Same problem with the remotes, I have looked everywhere including overseas impossible to get replacements so get extras while you can! Also keep the wheels oiled regularly with w-40 spray or equivalent as rust will make the rolling action difficult and a strain on the motor.

Our worker left a remote in the basket of his motorbike in the rain and it died,very easy to get a replacement.Go to a place where they can make copies of car keys

which have a chip inside,they have a machine that can read your remote and the install the same number on a remote control for a car door.Costs us a thousand baht but it it nice to have extra remotes.

Thank you for the tip, I will try that

[Thorgal]

Good news : the quality brands available in EU and US are also available here in Thailand.

Bad news : you need to be lucky to reside close to one who can provide supply and service in case of problems...

Just an example of some reliable brands with an interesting chart for selecting the right technology :

http://www.pratooautanomati.com/id3.html

[MikeOwen]

And she's electric.

How many buttons do you need to press to make it work?

The one that opens your wallet should do nicely ?

[Ghostnigel]

When we bought a new house 100 metres down the road, i asked our electric gate guy how much to move the old one to our new house, he said 20,000 bht, i said "how much to fit a new one?" He said 20,000 bht, so i told him we'll have a new one then...he set the remotes to work both gates, so we have 6 remotes.

[ableguy]

This is a good question, had a roller installed in Hua Hin for a double car drive with Avery heavy gate cost 24,000 Thb , had nothing but problems. All the problems in the rainy season when you want it most.

Now live in Korat with a two car park side by side drive with a roller gate never had a problem cost me 17,000

Thb , I should add the gate here is much lighter than the one in HH.

When they work perfectly which is what you want they are a godsend, stops the wife moaning about getting out in the rain to open the gate, only if you are a chauvinistic pig.

[kannot]

On 1/28/2016 at 7:36 PM, callaway said:

Bought a unit for 10,000 baht at Global Hardware in Surin. Only problem have had is wife ran into it and cracked the cover. Went and bought a new unit and used the cover from it to repair. Now have a spare motor. Apart from that have had no issues with it at all in the 4 years it has been installed. It is the sliding gate set up. So good when teeming down with rain and just open and into the garage with out getting wet. Same sitting on sofa at pool area and have visitors so open and close without even having to put my beer down or even move my ass. Lazy I know but that what life is about isn't it?

"Went and bought A new  unit"...New Wife?  well done!!

Seriously Im looking at the same model I think, the   Global House one   has the "Orange" sensor for remotes like a Police  car  flashing roof light? were they called  "Suresafe" something like that

[INDI12]

my 2 cents....

I am pretty frugal and went with the PAT gate i think the sl 800 model was the cheapest one but enough in specs to open close my slide steel gate. think it was around 10.000 bht 3years ago.

i had one issue with it . but after investigating not really the equipment failure per say. i woke up one night after the gate seemed to get a mind of its own opening and closing randomly back and forth all over the place after 2 years.

i installed the gate and opener and mounted as previous poster said on four thread rods and adjusted the motor height to rail and poured cement base.

anyway back to failure. pulled it apart and had a look. nothing looked bad on board but motor was hot enough to cook eggs on..

however after removing board on the back was a medium sizes takob?? (centipede) the nice red and orange kind shorting out across the 2 open and close relays causing my gate to have a mind of its own

a quick clean up of solder connections and resolder and all back to normal...

so all in all for the money has worked pretty well.........

concerning replacement remotes....

i went on ebay and bought a 3 remote with transmitter for $35 or so . was cheaper than buying replacement remote quoted at 600 bht each. I have a video door phone with a button to push to open the gate from in house. just wired tranceiver 2 wires to gate push button.... easy

alternately the sim card based gate trancievers are pretty cool to for about same money as rf transmitter and remotes. but dont even need remotes anymore just your mobile phone and call the phone number of sim in gate unit to open /close .

 

[sfokevin]

On 1/28/2016 at 0:51 PM, scorecard said:

Do you charge her batteries regularly?

 

My guess is she is hard wired and requires a 4 digit pin to work properly