Advice: Garage door wiring

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rscole86

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#310958 3-Dec-2023 13:01

I have an ismartgate set up that has not worked well from day one, it is a mixture of wired and wireless sensors.

I thought I would try and tidy it up over the Christmas/New Years break, so might as well look at replacing the original wiring and buttons.

After any advice or comments on my plan.

Would 24 AWG/ 0.2mm CSA be the right gauge? Something like this? Any recommendations on suppliers?

Joining cables, would it be ok to use Scotchlok connectors? (I would rather not solder).

The existing buttons are similar to these, I am happy with something similar but cannot find them online where they do not cost +$20 each, which seems ridiculously expensive. Again, any recommendations on suppliers?

Lastly, any recommendations on mounting the magnet, for a magnetic reed switch, to the roller door? I cleaned/prepped the door but double sided tape doesn't seem to last any longer than a month or two before it falls off. Unfortunately I have a limited space I can mount it in due to the corrugation ridges being narrow with wider troughs. Should I drill holes and rivet it onto the door with a bracket made from sheet brace strap

larknz

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#3167618 3-Dec-2023 17:14

Is the wiring just for the sensors, or is it for the gate motor?

larknz

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#3167619 3-Dec-2023 17:15

Also, is it going to be enclosed or exposed to UV?

SomeoneSomewhere

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#3167679 3-Dec-2023 18:18

For sensor/switch wiring, skotchloks will be fine, as will the 0.2mm^2 copper-clad aluminium (CCA) cable you've linked.

Any momentary push button is fine. You could go with something like this or a momentary 'press' mech in a light switch plate.

You might not need to use the magnet that came with the reed switch. Assuming it's a steel door, have you tried just sticking a really big magnet to the door in the right spot?

rscole86

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#3167702 3-Dec-2023 20:19

@larknz it's all inside the garage, so no UV issues. It's for the sensors back to the controller. IIRC the controller has spring loaded terminals for the sensor wiring.

@SomeoneSomewhere good thinking, I'm sure I've got some old HDD magnets somewhere.

Ruphus

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#3167825 4-Dec-2023 09:50

How many garage doors do you have? If there's only a single door, you'd only use a wired or wireless sensor, but not both. I built my own garage door opener and just grabbed the wiring and reed switch from Jaycar. If you're installing a momentary switch, that would be wired directly to the garage door motor unit and not the ismartgate.

Which cables to do you think you'll need to join?

SomeoneSomewhere

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#3167857 4-Dec-2023 10:54

Ruphus:
How many garage doors do you have? If there's only a single door, you'd only use a wired or wireless sensor, but not both. I built my own garage door opener and just grabbed the wiring and reed switch from Jaycar. If you're installing a momentary switch, that would be wired directly to the garage door motor unit and not the ismartgate.

Which cables to do you think you'll need to join?

I think OP wants a pushbutton to open the door, and a reed switch for some kind of automation detecting that the door is closed, and possibly allowing remote open/closing.

Should also have a beam sensor/photo eye to detect that the door is unobstructed, but they're not very common here and the manufacturers require specific ones and charge through the nose for them.

SomeoneSomewhere

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#3167861 4-Dec-2023 10:56

I didn't read your post well enough...

OP might want multiple buttons in different locations, or the reed switch might have flying leads that need to be spliced to the cable.

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rscole86

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#3168026 4-Dec-2023 15:34

The ismartgate is set up to control and monitor two roller garage doors, via the existing wired push button and an extra reed switch to monitor the open/closed status. Each door is independent of the other.

The ismartgate also monitors the open/closed status of the gate via wireless sensor.

Part of my reason to tidy things up is due to the continual, random, disconnection of the wireless sensor, so I'll need to reposition the ismartgate hub. There'll likely be more cutting/joining of wires along with the replacement runs, of course if I can avoid it I'll only join/twist where needed as the wires go into the garage door controller or the ismartgate.