Will be fitting some new wooden gates to my drive at the weekend and am interested in motorising them. The gates in question which I've made myself are approx 1.5m wide by 1.3m high and weigh about 40 kg each. Has anyone any experience of fitting a motorised set-up with remote controls? Any recommendations on which is the best/cheapest kit would be more than welcome.

Thanks :)

I've installed a few motorised gates supplied by Cannock gates before, and since found out who their suppliers are. A company called BPT. You'll need an electrician to install them, but the kit they supply is very sturdy and versitile.:thumb:
Be warned though, motorised gates are not cheap if you want them to be reliable. Don't skimp on quality:nono:
Welcome to BPT Automation (http://www.bpt.co.uk/automation/kits-standard.htm)

You can't go far wrong with Chamberlain products, they are a little bit old in the way they work, but they are reliable and quite a good buy.

A kit from Screwfix (http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/pro.jsp?cId=101723&ts=17250&id=98656) is only £399 .

Chamberlain are marketed as quite a few brand names and are a very large concern Stateside, I have fitted lots of the Chamberlain garage door operators, and have very little in the way of problems. When I did have problems, it has been sorted very quickly :thumb:

Thanks for the replies, some excellent info there. :)

I'm considering this for my new house; has gated drive and I think that I'll get fed up with having to open and close them every time I leave the house.

I've been bidding on items from an ebay seller called baldwinpines; I guess ebay links are not allowed so you'll have to search.

Anyone had any experience with the kit he sells?

Think I'll be ordering a Chamberlain Liftmaster from these people,

Electric Gates, Automatic Garage Door Openers gate automation kits (http://www.gateauto.co.uk)

As John and Nate have said, it's best to steer clear of the cheaper products.

I've seen the openers on ebay and to be honest, they don't give me much confidence.

...I've seen the openers on ebay and to be honest, they don't give me much confidence.

Any reasons you care to share as to why this is? Feedback on ebay doesn't suggest any problems (not that this is the only thing to consider, of course).

ps isn't the liftmaster for garage doors, not gates?

Any reasons you care to share as to why this is? Feedback on ebay doesn't suggest any problems (not that this is the only thing to consider, of course).


This is what their ad says on ebay,


GATE KEEPER® THE #1 SELLING GATE OPENER WORLDWIDE


Apart from Ebay can you find any retailers selling their products anywhere? I cannot.

Also, the Liftmaster range covers swing gates.

Good point! If I can get them cheap enough I'll take one for the team and report back. :D

They always seem to sell too high (for me) though. :(

Just scored a pair of gate opener units for £140! Result (I hope...) :D

When I finally get around to fitting them (haven't even moved into the new place yet...) I'll report back.

I got Aprimatic. Not sure why, but they seem OK :)

If you have solid gates which risk catching in the wind, better to pay more for the stronger hydraulic openers. If they are just barred gates, you can get the cheaper electromagnetic - which apparently risk being wrecked if the wind catches your solid gates. All AIUI.

The gates on this new place are pretty naff, will replace them before 'motorisation' (:D) takes place.

Don't really fancy solid gates, so will have some bar types. Hopefully these will be okay with my ebay openers.

I have a VERY heffty pair of gates and have a set of FAAC rams. One of (if not the) best in the business.
I went for gate mounted rams as opposed to underground. Granted the rams are still sitting in the garage but I'll get round to it soon :D

Do you people have a seond gate for pedestrain access etc.? My new place only has the main gates, and I'm not sure what I'll do for the postman etc.

I'll either have to hack a small gate into the hedge somewhere else, or have a remote postbox thing... (note; previous owners cars)

http://www.btinternet.com/~rumoon/House/Gate.jpg

Security comms with video link and a postbox recessed in to the wall.
The automation is as much to do with security as it is convenience so an alternative gate kind of defeats the purpose.

I'm motorisationing :D my gates as I will be too lazy to open/close them all the time; security isn't really that much of an issue, but I do want to take advantage of the off street parking.

I have a separate pedestrian gate operated with an entryphone (Chubb lock and buzzer behind, sort of thing), which is currently audio but I'm considering changing to video. My postbox is built into the front wall, ie where you have your hedge. Building the new gate will probably cost you more than picking up the entryphone parts on ebay!

Dainty little gates you have, BTW ;)

The gates on this new place are pretty naff, will replace them before 'motorisation' (:D) takes place....

:razz:

Well, I've received the gate openers from the eBay seller; look pretty heavy duty, shame about the 'made in china' label!

I'll post back when I'm in a position to fit the things, but I'll have to do a fair amount of work before then (including replacing my dainty little gates, lol) :D

What isn't made in China these days. :eek:

Ordered some Liftmaster gate openers today which weren't cheap, probs also got a made in china sticker on them. :Suspiciou