Solar Gate Operators: Best & Worst Brands | Butler Contracting

Solar Gate Operators (a.k.a. Automatic Gates) are awesome! But not all of them. In this video we share with you our vast experience in working with different brands and can tell you which ones you’ll be happy with, which ones you should stay away from and even something in between.

If you need an automatic gate opener installed on your property, give us a call at [phone] or fill out some info on our website to get the ball rolling for a FREE quote!

0:00 Intro
0:09 What The Heck Is A Solar Gate Operator?
1:11 The 1st Thing To Know About A Solar Gate Operator
2:10 LiftMaster
2:44 USAutomatic
3:05 Nice Apollo Gate Openers
3:33 Mighty Mule
4:33 Ghost Controls
5:34 Amazon

[ridemfast]

Installed Ghost gate opener three years ago. No problems to date. Installed on a light 12 ft x 5 ft aluminum Gate Crafters gate. Made my own solar charging system with a 20w solar panel, Morningstar charge controller and a $25 Walmart small lawn tractor battery. The Morningstar quality four stage charge controller will make the battery last a lot longer.

[ramyswar]

Ive had 2 different mighty mules and im so tired of them, thats im here. Thanks!

[magicmanchloe]

So just an update regarding ghost control. They now have heavy duty options for gates up to 1000lb or 20ft I’d love to see you revisit this now that ghost controls has had time to flush out their portfolio.

Edit: doing so more digging on there site shows some fine print. You cannot use a ghost control gate operator if you have a solid panel gate. It’s not designed to be able to handle the possibly of the wind pushing the gate. Even on there heavy duty options.

[leweezo]

Thanks for the vid.. Can I ask you if you have run into Liftmaster CSVs having issues with motors? I had one installed years ago and have had to change out the motor twice. The symptom is when the gate first starts to slide, it shudders and shakes for the first foot. Then it rubs smooth util the last foot of extending and then it shudders and shakes again. Most of the time it reverses as if monthsyears but my last motor only lasted something had been in the way. The alrm goes off sometimes and then the gate stops working.. I -change the motor and it works perfectly.. I would not mind changing the motor every

[erolaksel]

great job. thx for sharing you guys in advance.

[michaelmccotter]

My Amazon purchased Topens gate system has been working very well here in Alaska.
1/3 the price of Lift Master.
I use it on a 10' 350lb gate at my lake house property.
Solar Panels and 2 12v batteris comprise the power source.
I installed it myself.
RFID- Keypad - Fob- or Switch can control the gate. Fob works 500' from the gate using their wireless kit. The only drawback is it doesnt work below freezing temps. In the winter I simply mechanically override the actuater with the T wrench and disengage the actuator and operate it manually. Im going to use 12v pad heaters this winter to keep the actuator arm warm, but for less than $500. Im on year 2.

[l.g.duboise]

We have a LiftMaster here at our facility and have had nothing but issues from the day it was installed. I think the longest it has operated continuously is 3 months. Issues from not opening, not closing one side opens the other doesn’t, it’s so bad now we just don’t even bother closing it. We have had the folks that we bought it from come out again and again and never could get it operating correctly and just stopped coming. Installation was shoddy. Nobody wants work on it. LiftMaster sucks.

[MrTaylorfenoglio]

Wish i watched this before. Bought the mighty muel and saw it had a smart app. I have no clue why they even advertise it as such because 1 its an additional $120 for the modular so you spend the $$ on that only to find out that 2. It doesn't support the current android version and doesn't support any smart home app. The app on apple looks like it was designed 15 years ago by a highschooler and doesn't work. The remote stopped working about 2 days in. Also i understand why it needs a battery but why on earth does it not have a place to put the battery it requires? The old gate had a place in ghe control box but not fhis one. So now you have to build a housing for something it requires. I could go on but it feels like the company jusy doesn't care.