Electric gate conversion to manual ?

[Deschodt]

There is surprisingly little to no info on this on google... Must be the electric gate lobby ;-)

I "inherited" an electric gate that, over the past 5y has been nothing but trouble. It swings both doors open inside, and the electric arms/motors are what keeps it shut...

First it was not closing well, sometimes reopening, not always synced properly for each door, then the integration to house button failed, later the motherboard burned out and all the remotes had to be replaced (new brand, that one was NLA), now the motors died.. The replacement bill is too high for my tastes (not crazy but never ending) and it's not used much. I want to use it manually permanently..

Q for gate pros:

I understand you can leave the motors and arms in place but disconnect each with a bypass key, and go manual (like when power is out). That still offers a lot of resistance to opening by hand but it would "hold" the doors closed/open with no extra anything... Will it "last" used that way or is there a reason not to ?

You can also completely unpin the arm of each gate and now there's almost not enough resistance and the think needs to be held open/closed cause it's super light. I'd need to figure out how to lock it open (pour some concrete and install some pin at each end)... I am planning on buying 2x $50 bayonet style pins to lock it in place closed in the center and similar when open... $200 of pin/concrete vs new equipment.

The only hesitation in my head is it was made for electric operation so it's super light aluminum, drilling thru it for the center lockpins won't look fantastic but I look at a $1800 savings here (or more, as it'll keep breaking I am sure).

Any electric gate pros here thinking that's a bad idea ?

[Scott Douglas]

Not an electric gate pro, just an interested DIY'er who's built a few fence gates.

Are these hung so there's nothing touching the ground at the opened end?

What type of hinges are used to hang the doors from?

[Deschodt]

Scott, yeah - hung - nothing touching the ground (they hit a center stop when closed but do not sit on it). I was wondering also if the arms helped support the weight but i don't believe so... I'm wondering if using them manually with the arm/motors still on but not powered (which is acceptable when power is out) will somehow damage the threads/plastic bits sooner...

[Deschodt]

[Arizona_928]

Weight supported by the hinges.

Taking off the arms will make the gate swing free, which might be good or bad depending if stops were used to limit excessive motion…

[Scott Douglas]

I could see coming up with a simple latch mechanism to keep them closed then removing all the arms/motors etc just to make them easier to open/close manually.
Where are the threads/plastic bits you're worried about located?
How often is the gate used?

[gregpark]

I've been through 2 mighty mules and a ghost control...all failed. I gave up and disconnected the arm. I get out of the car and hold it open with bailing wire :^(

[dad911]

If you're not worried about security, spring them closed and use pins into the ground to hold them open.

Those linear motors are not that expensive. Perhaps you can measure the specs and get cheaper from vevor, Amazon, or Aliexpress.

[Pazuzu]

Our house had an electric swing gate when we bought it. The existing unit wasn't working well, so I replaced it with a cheap swing-arm system from Amazon. Turns out that our gate is *ever so slightly* out of balance, and the unit I bought is a whiny little girl and doesn't want to deal with a bit of imbalance.

Problem solved, pull the pin, use a brick to hold the gate open and closed each morning and evening.

Yes, I'm aware that a brick pinning the gate closed at night is not actual security, but from the street it *LOOKS* like the gate is closed, and that, 99.9% of the time is actual security.

[KFC911]

To prevent (minimize sag), I make sure a gate isn't using the hinges for support when fully opened or closed.... 'cause gravity sucks