Power Options 

All our motors can have 240V or low voltage power run out to the gate or can be Solar Powered making them suitable for DIY installation. See: Power Options for Gate Motors

Good Value for Money

Below is a list of what we consider to be the best value for money sliding gate motors available in Australia for different size gates and different applications that can be trusted to give years of reliable service based on decades of experience installing them. If you buy from us you're not just getting a tried and proven motor that will give you years of reliable service, you're getting decades of experience installing them too.

What Each Sliding Gate Motor comes with:

Two remote controls, 4m rack and battery backup, extra remote controls and rack can be added as needed. 

Pricing includes GST but not installation. See below for an installation price guide.

To learn more about installing sliding gate motors yourself see: How to Install Sliding Gate Motors

Replacing old motors that are no longer working

If your old sliding gate motor no longer works and you'd like it replaced we can help with this see here 

What Sliding Gate Motors have in Common?

• Most come with 2x key ring remote controls with four buttons. Extras can be bought at any time.
• All motors have a keyed manual release in case of any type of failure allowing the gate to be opened by hand, although this is from inside the property so a pedestrian gate is recommended or some other access. 
• Most come with 4 metres of rack, which is god for gates up to 3.6m wide. Extra rack can be bought for gates wider than this.
• The rack used for sliding gate motors all have the same tooth size so you can use different brands on any motor. The Rack connects together in different ways so best to stick with one brand per gate. 
• All our sliding gate motors will work with 240V Power at the gate or can have low voltage power run to the gate or can be solar powered. They all run off a built in battery so won't work unless a charged battery is installed. See: Power Options for Gate Motors
• All our motors have a 24 month Warranty.  
• Option of Auto-close after a time delay (photocell recommended)
• Option of Open only or Condominium Mode, necessary if a gate is being shared by more than one residence, so if two vehicles approach a gate at the same time and both are using a remote control, rather than have one start to open the gate and the other closing it, both will open it only keeping things working nicely.  The gate will need to be set up to auto-close with photocells to prevent the gate closing on a vehicle. See Photocells for automatic gates for more details. 
• Optional Photocell to prevent gate closing on a vehicle.
• Option of Pedestrian Entry.

What our Sliding Gate motors DON'T have in Common?

Remote controls from one brand of sliding gate motor are generally not compatible with another brand nor are they compatible with garage door motors although if you stick with the same brand they could be but this isn't guaranteed either because some brands have different remote controls for different models or have improved them over time and the old ones won't work with the new ... read more about remote control compatibility

Not all sliding gate motors have the option of low voltage power at the gate or can be Solar Powered, although all the motors we sell do.

The height the rack fits on one motor may be different from another so if you're replacing a motor you will most certainly need to pull the rack off the gate and refit it for the new motor.

Smart Gate Control 

Very few sliding gate motors have the option of opening a gate with a phone but all sliding gate motors can have this feature added either using a stand alone device or Intercom. See IP Intercoms for Gates or Smart Controls for Gates for more details.

Motors for Driveways that slope across

The rating for maximum gate weight a motor is suitable for is based on a single piece sliding gate on a level driveway. So a gate rated for 500kg is suitable for a gate up to this weight on a level driveway. If the driveway slopes across at all then this reduces the maximum weight rating of the motor depending on the slope. A 1/100 slope generally has little effect where as a 1/10 slope will reduce the maximum weight a motor can handle to 1/5th its rated weight, so a 500kg motor will only be able to handle a gate up to 100kg that's assuming the driveway is straight and that the guides and wheels run smoothly. The slope is calculated by the amount of rise divided by the gate width, so a 3000mm wide gate rising 300mm is a 1/10 slope whereas 3000m wide and a 30mm rise is 1/100.

If a sliding gate is telescopic, that is it has more than one panel stacking in front of the other, then the motors maximum weight is also reduced even of level ground. A two panel telescopic gate reduces the motor rating by 67% and a three panel telescopic by 43%, so a motor rated for 500kg can only push a two panel up to 335kg and three panel 215kg on a level driveway. If there is a slope this make it even worse. An extreme example we use based on an actual job is a two panel telescopic gate where both panels weight around 90kg but the gate slopes 1/6.5 requires a motor rated for gates to 2000kg to run reliably.  

Cost of Installation

Installing a sliding gate motor is typically $400 to $500 assuming there is a level concrete or metal pad and power at your gate. Cost of installing mains power to your gate varies, if getting a new driveway done mains power can be run just under the concrete before being poured so can be cost effective, if mains power is installed after then it will cost a lot more. Normally for established properties its more cost effective to install Low Voltage power to the gate, which is around $200 to $400 extra including installing a transformer box and low voltage cable in conduit just below the surface ... read more about installing low voltage cable.

Installing a set of photocells for a sliding gate is around $100 if the cable is run inside the gate track or $200 if the cable has to be installed by other means. 

If you'd prefer to go solar then its around $100 to install a solar panel including running a short length of solar cable to the motor and the same again for an extra battery box, not including the supply of the solar panel or battery box.

Using Two Motors for Bi-parting gates

With Bi-parting gates (double sliding gates opening apart) two sliding gate motors are needed and they need to be synchronized together. If two un-synchronized motors were used that shared a remote control and one motor didn't respond but the other motor did then one will open and the other not. Now on the next button press the open motor may close and the other motor open, so they have become out of sync. Bi-parting gate motors can be synced by using the open indicator output of one motor that is the one with remote controls to control a second motor using an open only input. The second motor being set to auto-close with a very short delay.

This can be done with all models of motor we sell.

Speed of the motor 

If you are in a quiet street and can sit and wait for a gate to open without causing a problem for traffic then the time a gate takes to open doesn't matter too much. But if you're on a busy street and waiting for the gate to open will hold up traffic, then firstly you want to be able to start opening the gate before you get to it so want good remote control range and secondly you want it opening quickly so you can drive straight in.

Also when there is a lot of people sharing a gate there will be certain people that will try to get through the gate before it is fully open and could hit the gate with their vehicle by mistake in the process (we've seen it happen many a time), so the faster the gate opens the less likely this will happen.

If a motor has a fast maximum speed it should also have a soft start and stop to reduce wear and tear and noise when it closes.

Are really Cheap Gate Motors any good?

We've been installing sliding gate motors for decades and one thing we have found is the really cheap gate motors you can get online are rarely worth it, they tend to be rated for gates much larger than they can handle and if they work at all in the first place not for long. With budget in mind how do you know what's good and what's not? Well all motors listed on this page from our experience are the best value for money for proven and reliable motors for different applications that won't give you any grief, so long as they are installed properly!.

To replace an old motor that is no longer working

It's best to match your old motor with a new one as close as you can so you don't have to change cabling ie. if your old motor plugged in at the gate, order a new motor that plugs in too, if it is solar powered you may not need to replace the solar panel if its the same voltage and wattage required by the replacement motor.

The rack can normally be reused because it all has the same size teeth but if the existing rack has any teeth missing it will need to be replaced, normally all of it because different brands of rack may not fit together.

Enquiry

Difference between 240V and Low Voltage Motors

All sliding gate motors can be powered with 240V at the gate but not all have an actual 240V motor. All the motors we sell are 12V or 24V even though they can be powered from 240V, in which case they have a transformer that drops the voltage down. 12V and 24V DC motor have a lot more torque than a single phase 240V motor and they can open and close a gate many times in a row without over heating. They also have a battery backup, low voltage and Solar power options.

Other advantages of low voltage motors is they tend to be more compact physically, have better obstruction detection and can have their speed changed electronically without loosing torque. 

Maintenance 

Sliding gate motors generally don't need any maintenance unless they get a lot of use, where the motor should be checked for oil leaks every 12 months or so, depending on how much use it gets and how large a gate it is being pushing. If a motor runs from a battery or has a battery backup then the battery will need to be replaced every 3 to 5 years with the exception of some battery backups that use Lithium Ion Batteries that will last a lot longer. For motors that run off a battery if the gate starts to run slow, stop short or reverse when it shouldn't then the battery may need replacing. To test battery backups simply turn the power off the motor then open and close the gate to see how well it works.

Extra and Replacement Remote Controls

Sliding gate motors can have more than the two remote controls that come with them. You can order extras when the motor is ordered or get extras later on or replace any that are lost or broken. Extra and replacement remote controls must be the same brand as already being used because a remote control from one brand won't work with another.

Remote controls that come with all motors available on this website have a compatible receiver unit that can be used to make the remote control work with another brand of gate motor or another device such as a garage door operator, lights or more...

Choosing Remote Controls and Receivers 

What makes a motor last longer?

If a sliding gate motor is close to its maximum weight limit it won't last as long as if its way under, so the larger the motor used the longer it will last basically. The quality of components such as the electronic control board, electric motor and gear box also play a strong part in making a motor last longer.

If the electronic circuit board uses components that are rated way higher than needed then it will last longer as they are much less likely to blow in extreme conditions.

The quality of components in the electric motor and how well it is engineered can effect how long it lasts too as well as the design itself, if the motor isn't very efficient and tends to get hot if used a lot even for a short period then this can cause issues that deteriorate over time and cause the motor to stop working pre-maturely.

Oil filled gear boxes tend to last a lot longer than ones that have just a small amount of grease on the gears.  Also the materials the gearing itself is made of and how well they are engineered makes a large difference. You may think steel gears are the best but these are noisy and if not engineered or lubricated properly can fail just as fast as anything else.

The best way to know how longer a motor will last is to look at its track record, if the brand and model is known to have a long life span and has been around long enough to have a track record then generally this is a good buy.

What causes reliability issues?

The electronic controls are normally built into a sliding gate motor so they must be in a separate enclosure to protect them from ants, slugs, small lizards, frogs and condensation as all these can damage a circuit board. The body of the motor should also be sealed and allow for any cables that are run into the motor be sealed as well to give that extra layer of protection.

A sliding gate motor that is of poor design can give constant problems in some circumstances but work fine in others.  Poor design can result in such things as being effected by interference from other wireless equipment causing the gate to open by itself or other issues with the way it works like poor remote control range, just not responding to the remote control sometimes and stopping part way when it shouldn't.

The way a motor is installed also plays a strong factor in reliability, so if you're installing it yourself you need good clear instructions.  Common mistakes is installing the gate near a tree with large roots so as time goes by the track is lifted a little and touches the bottom of the gate at some point as it opens causing it to jam. If the rack isn't fitted correctly it can either flog the bearings in the motor causing it to fail or the rack looses contact with the output gear of the motor so the gate stops at that point.

installing a sliding gate motor

Differences in Open and Close Limit Detection

Different sliding gate motors have different methods for determining where the fully open or closed position is so they know when to slow down and stop.  The most common method being a strike plate fitted to each end of the rack that contacts a spring loaded wand sticking out of the motor that activates limit switches inside the motor. The advantage of these is if the power goes off, when the gate is open, once power is restored the motor will know it is open so will then go to close when activated instead of trying to open. The disadvantage of these is the strike plates can get knocked out of place causing the motor to want to keep going.  Another issue with the striker plates is they take up a fair amount of space at each end of the gate, which can be an issues if space is limited.

Some motors use a magnet fitted at each end of the gate working much the same as the limit switches but there is no physical contact. The magnets are a lot more difficult to knock out of place so tend to be more reliable and take up much less room on the gate so are better suited when there's limited space.

Other motors use one magnet and an encoder where the magnet is fitted near the closing end as a reference or origin marker only not a limit. The 'encoder' is a rotation counter on the motor that the control board uses to count the number of rotations of the motor to determine the open and close position at any time with the reference marker making sure it stays on track. Encoder motors tend to be more accurate but if they loose power they need to run at a crawl speed for safety reasons until they find their reference marker and can return to normal speed.