Recommend an automatic gate opener (with integration into Home Assistant...)?

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NZJon

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#291952 15-Dec-2021 14:38

Tēnā koutou!

So, we are wanting to get an automatic gate opener for the gate at the end of our driveway:

Gate

Our house is about 50m behind the photographer's back. (The reason we want an automatic gate opener is because my wife's "pet" pig has a tendency to escape her paddock and wander out of this gate and then down the road... to market...)

The post on the right hand side is fairly chunky, so I assume we'd mount any mechanism there. Given the distance to the house, and the fact that there is no power available at the gate, we'd need a solar powered option. We'd also want to have the ability to open the gate remotely so we don't need to get in & out of the car while coming & going. We'd also probably need a button (illuminated?) somewhere so that visitors can manually open/close the gate.

Given I am a geek, I want to be able to hook it up to my Home Automation instance, natch. So, being able to see whether the gate is opened or closed, whether it was opened/closed manually or remotely, what the charge status on the solar powered power source is, ... all that kind of stuff.

Is there a gate opening system you would recommend? Is there a system you would avoid like the plague?

Many thanks,

Jon

wellygary

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#2832883 15-Dec-2021 14:48

How much space is there to the right of the shot??-

The reason I ask is because it is quite a wide gate and making a gate roll or slide is usually a lot more efficient than trying to swing it.... It also means you don't have to remain well back for a big swing arc while the gate is operating....

chevrolux

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#2832886 15-Dec-2021 15:01

Kia ora Jon!

I got our gate and opening hardsware form these guys.. https://www.getagate.kiwi/gate-openers.html
But that was for a sliding gate with 230V available, so pretty easy. But I see they have solar options too. Super well priced, and I genuinely can't see the benefit of the mega expensive name brands when this stuff is like a quarter of the price.

In terms of automation, have you got any WiFi coverage out there? Because if so, you can just attach a Shelly 1 to one of the gate motor relay inputs, and then you have control in your Home Automation. Super easy install, and set up in the likes of Home Assistant is insanely easy. Downside of Shelly in this scenario is you won't get accurate "state" information of the gate itself as there is no option for input.

If you wanted to get a little bit more hacky, an ESP8266 with a relay and a reed switch and you'd be able to open/close and get state information of the gate. Load up ESPeasy on the 8266 and feed it back to your automation via MQTT.

davidcole

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#2832974 15-Dec-2021 16:42

Rather than diy - it does look like it might be possible to get a reed switch connected to a Shelly 1. So it can open the gate and report the state.

https://community.home-assistant.io/t/configure-garage-opener-using-shelly-1-and-reed-switch/212198

I have not tried. But I’d think about it when my garage door is replaced. Similar logic should work for a gate. As long as there’s an input terminal on the gate that when shorted opens the gate then a relay should work. Then Add the reed switch to detect when open.

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FailedWOF

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#2833016 15-Dec-2021 19:38

With an opening that wide I strongly suggest a a double swing or a sliding gate due the moment arm such a wide gate leaf would have. You'll need to check the specifications of any opener to make sure the motor can handle both the leaf width and the weight, noting that the max weight will decrease as width increases. The strong the motor, the higher the price.

A sliding opener is in theory easier - only 1 location to hook up (rather than having to run a power cable under the driveway for the other leaf) and it will follow a straight path, even if sloped. But it means you need to lay a concrete track for the wheel guide to sit. Double swings can be attached to existing posts, assuming they're solid and the dimensions are right, buy need even height measures on two sides. And don't do what I did - check the swing path of BOTH leaves before bolting up the first one 🤦‍♂️

For automation, I went with a raspberry pi in an IP56 rated box from JA Russell as it gives heaps of flexibility. The pi connects to a relay that sends a pulse to the gate open trigger on the openers control board (all boards should have this). My gate motors (like most) use amp rise, linked to runtime, to determine obstruction and open/close limits so I have aluminium magnetic sensors from aliexpress wired into other GPIOs on the raspberry pi to determine both fully open and fully closed. Some gate motors have limit switches (and will have 4 wires instead of just the two for +/-). You might be able to tap into those but I've never looked into that.

The whole thing is controlled by Node-RED giving me integration with HomeKit as well as MQTT for Home Assistant. Heaps of example Nodes for garage door openers and the logic for a gate is pretty much the same. I have an old touch screen tablet in the house that permanently displays the HA dashboard with buttons for triggering the gate (and using the custom button-card it flashes red when open, yellow when opening/closing, and solid green when closed).

Old school opening is through traditional remotes and an exterior wireless keypad with the receiver connected directly to the openers control board.

A warning though - most gate openers need 230v, either directly or hooked into a transformer. So you'll need a sparkie to wire everything up. Unless you go solar, but that may limit your options for adding the components needed for automation.

NZJon

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#2833291 16-Dec-2021 10:23

Wow -- thank you all for your thoughts, they are all very useful!

Have a great end to the week 👍

sultanoswing

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#2836901 22-Dec-2021 14:47

Shelly1 + Home Assistant + my BFT gate = brilliant:

https://community.home-assistant.io/t/how-to-driveway-swing-gate-automation-shelly-bft-working-perfectly-with-states/332642

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giveitago

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#2860627 2-Feb-2022 13:20

What did you end up going with? I'm in the same situation.

Gordy7

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#2860748 2-Feb-2022 15:45

I would go with a sliding/rolling gate. I have a BFT controller on a heavy 6m rolling gate.

The controller and drive system has been ultra reliable over the last 8 years (plus some years by the previous owner of my property)

Mine is powered by 230v but I see on the BFT website you can get solar options.

Although my gate controller had a wireless remote, I changed the wireless remote to one from Jaycar so that I can use the same remote Fob for my garage door.

I am sure you could set up other automation options, especially with a more modern gate controller.....

https://bft.co.nz/

https://www.bft-automation.com/en_AU/products/

https://www.jaycar.co.nz/4-channel-wireless-remote-control-relay-with-2-key-fobs/p/LR8824?pos=2&queryId=b0d1ce42ac9035ccf6695a0d440536b1&sort=relevance

Gordy

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NZJon

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#2860788 2-Feb-2022 17:07

giveitago:

What did you end up going with? I'm in the same situation.

Hey @giveitago,

Nothing yet... Splurging over Christmas has temporarily put an automatic gate on hold... 🤣

Jon

Dingbatt

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#2860795 2-Feb-2022 17:30

NZJon:

Nothing yet... Splurging over Christmas has temporarily put an automatic gate on hold... 🤣

Jon

Oh goodness, you didn’t end up having Christmas ham did you? 😬

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NZJon

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#2860813 2-Feb-2022 19:03

Ha!

No such luck...

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Gordy7

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#2861298 3-Feb-2022 16:14

How about a non electronic solution? .....

I did a Google search on: pivoting a farm gate at the bottom so that you can drive over the gate....

This youtube video might give you some ideas 😀

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeDmjGFWjm0

and another:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeDmjGFWjm0

Gordy

My first ever AM radio network connection was with a 1MHz AM crystal(OA91) radio receiver.

Gordy7

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#2861428 3-Feb-2022 20:09

Second ride over gate...

https//www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLlhdRFnNVE

Gordy

My first ever AM radio network connection was with a 1MHz AM crystal(OA91) radio receiver.

TommySharp

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#2862345 6-Feb-2022 07:48

I did something similar at our old place which had a big sliding gate. Our new rural place has no wifi or power by the gate so I'm going to have to be even more imaginative if I'm to automate it... I'm thinking I'm going to need to go solar with a Lora module to get it talking to the house....