Gate Openers: The gate opener is the core of your system, without the right leverage and power all the accessories in the world won't make you gate function correctly. The main factors to take into account are the length of the gate, wind resistance and hinges. Most individuals think weight is the largest bearing in which opener is right, and while it is part of the decision, the other factors can play a larger role. The longer the gate, the closer to the hinges the gate opener will attach and the less leverage it will have ¨C even if your gate is light as a feather! Having well lubricated, ball bearing hinges takes tremendous strain off your motors and add years of life span to your system. The wind can gather force rapidly and if you have a gate face with heavy ornamentation or thick pickets or planks a gate opener that is larger with more leverage like the GTO/PRO 3000 or 4000 would be highly recommended.

Entrance: Take into account all you wish to accomplish before determining what entry device you want. Do you have guests? Do you get a lot of deliveries? Is your gate just to keep deer out? Deciding all the functions you want first will virtually design your entrance system for you, and Gate-Openers.com has your bases covered for everything you may want to do. Hands-free entry for the designer or deer properties not worried about security. Keypads for the occasional guest. Keypad/intercoms for the deliveries and frequent guests.

Exit: The same is true for exit as it is for entrance, knowing the functions you want leads to the correct product choices. However there are other factors to consider with exit. Do you have horses, kids with bikes, dogs with metal colors, etc? Then maybe an exit wand should have a photo eye added because of the metal detection may let residents exit that are not supposed to be leaving. Most gates swing in, how much room does this leave? Maybe a keypad works better since there wouldn¡¯t be enough room for a sensor. Do you have a property with a secure inside? Save money and get an RB-101 push button for exiting.

Safety: Safety is always desired and with GTO / Mighty Mules UL 325 approved gate openers you will rest assured that safety is a top design concern with their engineers. However added safety may be required. Shadow loops can be installed to prevent the gates from moving if a car is parked in the way. Photo eyes can be installed with great ease and create a safety zone that stops the movement of the gates if cars enter. On the other side of safety is security. You can easily add an automatic gate lock to your system and prevent people from attempting to force entry and vandalize your property, or worse.

Power: Your gate opener needs to be powered, but how to do it is the question. All the GTO/PROs and Mighty Mules are versatile in this area. If you are a long distance from a power source, give solar a shot; the larger the Wattage panel the faster it will recharge the battery. You can also add second batteries directly in the control box or get a larger box for a deep cycle marine battery for extra storage for those cloudy days. Or for maximum usage you can plug in the provided transformer up to 1000 feet away for constant charging of the batteries.