| You can add years of life
to your gate with simple annual maintenance. Some of the maintenance
requires access to your gate operator. If your operator has key
lock cover or access door and you have lost track of the key, contact
us for a replacement |
Before working on gate make sure power is turned off.
Lubricating Sealed Bearings on Driveway Gates |
Hinges take the brunt
of usage in your gate installation. Almost all hinges have a grease
joint (zirk fitting). Use of a a standard grease gun and a tube
of heavy grease available at any hardware or auto parts store is
all you need.
Pictured here is a sealed flange bearing. Many times there is a
plastic cap over the zirk fitting. pump grease in until you see
some coming out of the bearing. You are not actually greasing the
the bearing because it is sealed, but rather the gimbaled joint
that the bearing moves around in.
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Garden & Driveway Gate Block Pin Hinge Lubrication |
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There are several sizes of these
popular hinges. Smaller ones are found on garden gates and larger
ones can hold a driveway gate. The Hinge pin is usually stainless
and sits on one large ball bearing. These hinges take a lot of lateral
weight (sides of pin on wall). They wear rapidly when not greased
and the cylindrical pin hole becomes oval shaped and the gate starts
to sag. This type of hinge requires that you stay on top of keeping
it greased. You should do it annually.
The grease fitting (zirk fitting) is located on the bottom. Use
of a standard grease gun and a tube of heavy grease available at
any hardware, or auto parts store is all you need. Pump grease in
until you see some come out around the pin. |
Driveway Gate Slide Chain Lubrication |
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Chains should be greased annually.
Use heavy axle grease. To keep the job from getting messy, place
a liberal amount of grease in a cloth and wrap cloth around chain,
Run cloth with grease along length of cain. Make sure you get entire
chain. You will have to move the gate to get to the part of chain
the passes through the operator |
Slide
Gate Chain Tensioner Adjustment |
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All slide gate with chains, have
tensioners. Most of them have one at each end of the chain. As the
gate operates over time the chain stretches. The chain should be
tensioned periodically as needed. You can tell when it needs tensioning
by how much the chain sags. 2" of sag is normal in a 12'-16'
gate and more in longer gates. There should always be a little sag
in the chain. A chain that is too tight (looks like a strait line)
will wear the idler wheel and the sprocket inside the operator.
If the tensioner is fully tightened and there
is still too much slack in the chain, you will have to remove some
links. They should be removed at the end of the chain. This is a
difficult task and you should consider having a professional do
it. It requires grinding the head off of one of the link pins and
removing as many links as required to reset the tensioners to their
begriming position. There is a master link at end of the chain connecting
each tensioner. |
DoorKing 6100 Series Gate Operator Maintenance |
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Use heavy grease on the rim gear
(large diameter plastic gear). Check to see if there is any plastic
dust or shavings coming off the gear. That indicates misalignment.
The aluminum cast housing below the gear assembly has a zirk fitting.
That should be greased using a grease gun.
Check the motor V belt tension. it can have a bit of play in it
and still function fine. If it is too loose it will start to slip.
Look for cracks in the belt, which indicates that replacement is
needed.
The two nuts you see on the top of the plate of the ring gear, is
the clutch adjustment. If the gate is slipping, or has too much
or too little force, you can adjust it here. Test your gate by holding
the end of it while it is in motion. It should have about 8 - 15
pounds of force. You can measure it with a fish scale. Be very careful
with this adjustment. It is the key safety feature of your operator.
The emergency lock located on the bottom arm should be lubricated
with graphite. A little oil around the lock pin that goes through
the arm is good to keep the pin from seizing up. It will also make
it easier if you need to remove the pin should an emergence occur.
Squirt some graphite into the cover lock as well.
Remove any insects and webs. Critters like to get under the circuit
board. Any unused open conduit holes should be plugged |
Top
Arm Type Operators Such As: Elite, Ramset, and Eagle |
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Grease all chains with heavy grease.
Check tension of chains. Replace if there is excessive slack. Remove
insects, webs, and the occasional dead critter. Some of these operators
have sealed flange bearings for the drive axle. These bearing generally
have a grease fitting. They should be greased using a grease gun.
Put a little light oil on the shaft where the collar from the gate
arm assembly slides over. This will keep it from rusting and making
it hard to remove in the future.
Check the motor V belt tension. If it is too loose, tighten it.
Look for cracks in the belt, which indicates that replacement is
needed.
Check cover of circuit board compartment to make sure it is fastened.
Any unused open holes in the control box should be plugged to prevent
insects and lizards from entering.
Elite Roboswing & and Other Battery Models:
Inspect battery for corrosion around the
terminals. Battery should be replaced every 5 years. The gate may
be working fine, but will not operate very long when there is a
power failure because it cannot hold a charge. Use a permanent marker
and write the replacement date on the new battery. You can purchase
these batteries through us. If your Roboswing is using a solar panel,
clean it at least once a year. Windex works fine. |
Solar
Panels and Batteries Maintenance for Driveway Gates |
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Clean solar panels at least once
a year. Windex works fine. In very dusty locations it should be
cleaned more frequently. A thick layer of dust and dirt lowers its
efficiency dramatically. A good high end solar panel lasts about
20 years. Cheaper ones may only last 5 years.
If your gate is loosing power check the battery.
Batteries should be replaced every 5 years. Most operators use gel
batteries pictured here. Some use car batteries. Replace older batteries.
Use a permanent marker and write the replacement date on the new
battery. You can purchase gel batteries through us.
If your battery is new and it does not hold a charge, it can be
one of two things. It may be the voltage/charge regulator (if there
is one) or the solar panel is at the end of its life cycle. If your
solar panel is connected directly to your battery, there is no regulator.
Most 12 volt panels put out 18 volts. Voltage coming out of a regulator
(after the solar panel) is around 13.85 VDC. Batteries getting less
than 13 volts will not charge properly. |
