What Should You Consider When Buying a Gate Motor?
Whether you want to buy a gate motor to install as a DIY project (and you have the skills!) or you plan to hire a pro to do the installation for you, if you are shopping for gate motors, there are a few things you should know.
This is our quick guide to choosing the right gate motor for your automated gate.
Your Gate Size and Type
The first thing you need to consider when buying a gate motor or gate operator, as they are sometimes called, is your gate itself. How big is it? How much does it weigh? How often will it need to open and close? Is it a swing or sliding gate?
Most gate motor manufacturers and gate automation specialists will be able to tell you what size and type of gate each gate motor is designed for. If there’s ever any doubt, or your gate falls at the end of the range for the equipment, it’s always best to choose the more powerful option.
Your Power Supply
The next thing you need to consider when you’re buying a gate motor is what kind of power supply you have. Is it ordinary residential single-phase power? Or do you have an industrial three-phase power supply?
Some gate motors can even work with solar power, so if that’s something you need, you will need to look for a manufacturer that offers them.
The Weather
A gate motor or gate operator that is designed to work in a hot climate will usually not work in a cold one, and vice versa.
Gate operators that are used in northern hemispheres are usually equipped with heaters and designed to keep gates moving in the snow.
Gate motors in hot climates usually use a completely different type of mechanism, and they usually aren’t insulated and often even have cooling fans built in.
This is one of the reasons why it’s a good idea to buy the gate motors or gate operators that are made in your own country. Imported products are rarely built to cope with whatever your gate will face!
Spares Availability
It’s very tempting sometimes to buy the cheaper, imported gate motors you sometimes see advertised. However, in most cases, while those are cheaper to buy, finding spare parts is difficult or even impossible.
If you have to import spares every time you need your gate operator repaired, you’re very quickly going to spend a lot of money!
Locally available gate motors or gate operators, whether they’re via an official distributor or a manufacturer, are a lot easier to get parts for when you need them. That not only saves money but ensures that your gate will have less downtime while you wait for them to arrive!
Warranty and After-Sales Service
Finally, when you’re selecting a gate motor or gate operator, you want to consider what the warranty on the equipment is and what kind of after-sales service is offered.
You will need to have access to technical support in case you need to troubleshoot a problem. You also want to have a long warranty period so that if something goes wrong with the equipment, you can get a specialist on-site to do a repair.
Price
As you can see, price is at the very bottom of this list. Price is always a factor when you are doing something like automating a gate, but it should never be one of the deciding factors.
In this case, you really do get what you pay for, and if you buy a gate motor or gate operator based on price alone, you won’t be getting the right product or equipment for the job.
When in doubt, defer to the specialists. Gate automation companies usually have relationships with suppliers, so they can get equipment at a better price than you would anyway. Or if you choose to go direct to a supplier, don’t automatically choose the cheapest option. Allow them to guide you to the right product for your gate.
