Choosing a Sliding Gate Motor (Operator) for Driveway Gates
Choosing the correct sliding gate motor can be daunting, all those different models, some much cheaper than others why?. Well we've been installing them for decades so are here to help. Below you'll find what we consider to be the best value for money, reliable motors we use for different sliding gate applications. These motors all have the option of 240VAC at the gate, low voltage or solar ... READ MORE about power options for gate motors.
We've also included answers to many questions about sliding gate motors below so check this out too. If you have a Swing Gate (hinged gate) go to Choosing Swing Gate Motors.
Important Things to Consider
When choosing a motor for a sliding gate you must consider the weight of the gate, slope across the driveway and the amount of use it will get. Sliding Gate Motors are rated for the maximum weight of a gate on flat ground and their intended use ie. residential, commercial or industrial. Driveways that slope across may need a larger motor because it has to push the gate up hill. Two and three panel Telescopic sliding gates may also need a larger motor because they require more power to move ... READ MORE on calculating correct motor size
What Each Motor Includes
Two remote controls and 4m rack, this can be changed if need be. Pricing includes GST.
from $690 + *Installation
Dace Duraslide - 12V Light Commerical 500kg
If you're looking for a solid reliable budget friendly sliding gate motor you can't go past the Duraslide that comes with a built in battery back up, an oil filled gearbox for durability, external status display and is fast at 417mm/s.
from $734 + *Installation
Centsys D2 - 12V Residential 250kg
Ideal for gates in limited space allowing a 3m wide telescopic gate only 1.8m to open. With two speeds 200mm/s or 400mm/s is ideal for both telescopic and single panel sliding gates. Comes with a built in battery backup.
from $747 + *Installation
Nice Road RD400 24V Residential 400kg
If a quality stylish Italian made motor is what you're after with only basic features the 'Road' has two speeds 130mm/s or 250mm/s so is ideal for both telescopic gates as well as single panel sliding gates. Optional built in battery backup.
from $894 + *Installation
King Dynamos 24/400 24V Residential 400kg
Quality stylish Italian made motor with adjustable speed that is variable from 170mm/s to 340mm/s so is ideal for single panel or telescopic sliding gates. Optional built in battery backup.
from $924 + *Installation
Centsys D5 12V Light Commercial 500kg
Ideal for gated communities, has an oil filled gearbox, variable speed up to 360mm/s, up to 500 remotes that can be removed even if lost, built in real time clock for opening automatically at certain times, comes with built in backup battery and more ...
from $936 + *Installation
Nice Robus RB400 24V Light Commericial 400kg
Quality stylish Italian made motor with six speed settings from 100mm/s to 340mm/s. Easy two wire device connection and two motors can be slaved for bi-parting sliding gates. Optional built in battery backup.
from $987 + *Installation
Nice Slight SLH400 Light Commerical 400kg
Slim motor ideal for gates in very limited space: 3m wide telescopic gate opens into 1.7m or 5m into 2.7m. Six speeds from 100mm/s to 340mm/s. Easy two wire device connection and two motors can be slaved for bi-parting sliding gates. Optional built in battery backup.
from $1001 + *Installation
Nice Robus RB600 24V Light Commericial 600kg
Quality stylish Italian made motor with six speed settings from 90mm/s to 310mm/s. Easy two wire device connection and two motors can be slaved for bi-parting sliding gates. Optional built in battery backup.
from $1003 + *Installation
Nice Robus RB250HS 24V Light Commercial 250kg
Quality stylish Italian made high speed motor with six speed settings from 120mm/s to 400mm/s. Easy two wire device connection and two motors can be slaved for bi-parting sliding gates. Optional built in battery backup.
from $1016 + *Installation
King Dynamos 24/600 24V Residential 600kg
Stylish Italian made with adjustable speed that is variable from 130mm/s to 250mm/s so is ideal for heavier single panel or telescopic sliding gates or gates on a slope. Optional built in battery backup.
from $1076 + *Installation
Nice Robus RB500HS 24V Light Commerical 500kg
Quality stylish Italian made high speed motor with six speed settings from 160mm/s to 440mm/s. Easy two wire device connection and two motors can be slaved for bi-parting sliding gates. Optional built in battery backup.
from $1200 + *Installation
King Dynamos 24/1000 24V Residential 1000kg
Stylish Italian made with adjustable speed that is variable from 170mm/s to 250mm/s so is ideal for heavier single piece or telescopic sliding gates or gates on a slope. Optional built in battery backup.
from $1211 + *Installation
Nice Robus RB1000 24V Light Commericial 1000kg
Quality stylish Italian made motor with six speed settings from 80mm/s to 280mm/s. Easy two wire device connection and two motors can be slaved for bi-parting sliding gates. Optional built in battery backup.
from $1733 + *Installation
Centsys D10 24V Commerical 1000kg
The big brother of the D5 with the same features although is 24V and faster with a variable speed from 160mm/s to 400mm/s so is ideal for larger single piece or telescopic sliding gates for a gated community, comes with a built in battery backup.
from $1851 + *Installation
Centsys D10 Turbo 24V Commerical 1000kg
One of the fastest sliding gate motors in Australia, the high speed big brother of the D5 with the same features although is 24V and much faster, can propel a 240kg gate up to a blistering 833mm/s or a 1000kg gate to 380mm/s + other speeds.
from $1758 + *Installation
Centsys A10 Endurance 240V Commerical 1000kg
A 3-Phase 400V motor with a variable speed Inverter powered from single phase 240V mains with low voltage of solar power options, offering longer life with intense use and high torque at 500mm/s for 600kg gate or 260mm/s for 1000kg gate.
from $1615 + *Installation
Nice Run 1200HS 24V Commercial 1000kg
Quality stylish Italian made fast motor can propel a 1200kg gate to 370mm/s. Easy two wire device connection and two motors can be slaved for bi-parting sliding gates. Optional built in battery backup.
from $1488 + *Installation
Nice Run 1500 24V Commerical 1500kg
Stylish Italian made with adjustable speed from a powerful 75mm/s to 250mm/s. Easy two wire device connection and two motors can be slaved for bi-parting sliding gates. Optional built in battery backup.
from $1667 inc. steel rack + *Installation
Centsys A10 Heavy Weight 240V or 12V Industrial 2000kg
A 3-Phase 400V motor with a variable speed Inverter powered from single phase 240V mains with low voltage of solar power options, offering longer life with intense use and high torque at 226mm/s for 2000kg gate.
from $1959 + *Installation
Nice Run2500I 240V Industrial 2500kg
Quality stylish Italian 3-Phase motor with variable speed for longer life with intense use and high torque for all six speeds from 60mm/s to 260mm/s. This motor requires 240V mains power at the gate with no option for low voltage or solar power.
What Sliding Gate Motors have in Common?
- Most come with 2x key ring remote controls with four buttons. Extras can be bought.
- All motors have a keyed manual release in case of power failure allowing the gate to be opened by hand.
- Most come with 4 metres of rack. Extra can be bought if gate is wider than 3.6m.
- The rack used for sliding gate motors all have the same tooth size so you can use different brands on any motor.
- All sliding gate motors have the option to work with 240V Power at the gate either by plugging it into a power point or by hard wiring it to 240V mains power.
- Most of our motors have a low voltage power, solar power and backup battery options.
- 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 many, 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 end up closing it, if both can only open it then there is no confusion. The gate will auto-close.
- 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 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.
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.
*Cost of Installation
Installing a sliding gate motor is typically $400 assuming there is a level concrete or metal pad and power at your gate. Installing mains power to your gate depends on a whole lot of factors depending on whether you're getting a new driveway done, in which case the cable can be installed much easier before concrete is poured, if mains power is to be installed after then will cost a lot more. Normally for established properties its more economic to install Solar or Low Voltage power to the gate, which is around $200 to $300 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
Difference between Residential, Commercial and Industrial Motor Applications
If a sliding gate is for one home with only a few people that have a couple of vehicles then a gate is likely to only be used a few times a day so a motor rated for residential use is fine. If its for a gated community and gets used 200 to 300 times a day then a motor rated for residential use just won't last the distance so a commercially rated motor is necessary that's made to last longer with a lot of use. If a gate is heavy or is on a steep slope and gets used a lot then a motor rated for industrial use is necessary. Motors rated 'light commercial' are suitable for smaller gated communities where the gate is used less than 60 times a day on average ... READ MORE
Using Two Motors for Bi-parting gates
All of the above motors can be slaved together to work with Bi-parting gates, which are double sliding gates that open apart from each other. With Dace, Centsys and King motors there is an "open status" output that can have a small relay connected to the second motors open input to slave it. Most Nice motors also have "Bluebus" that can be used to slave two motors together for bi-parting gates.
The reason motors need to be synced for Bi-parting gates is if you have the motor working independently (not slaved) but using the same remote controls with the same button for opening and closing the gate, what can happen is if one motor doesn't respond on the first remote control button press but the other motor does then one will open and the other not. Now on the next button press the open motor will close and the closed motor, so they have become out of sync. Now if two remote control buttons are used one for open and the other for close then if one motor doesn't respond then a second press of the same button could activate the motor that didn't respond without effecting the other so they remain in sync. Or if the second motor is controlled by the first they will also always remain in sync. The remote control will activate the master only that will then control the slave. The slave will have its own power source.
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.
Difference between 240V and Low Voltage Motors
240V single phase motors are generally cheaper to buy but you do need 240V mains power at your gate that can be expensive to install whereas a 12V or 24V motor is more expensive to buy but can have a low voltage power supply or solar so is normally cheaper in the end. Another advantage of low voltage motors is they tend to run cooler than 240V so are more suitable when a gate gets a lot of use, they tend to be more compact physically, have better obstruction detection, can run faster because their speed can be controlled more effectively and have the option of battery backup.
3-phase motors on the other hand with a purpose built variable frequency inverter that can run from either 240V mains or a battery is the ultimate in high torque at all speeds and endurance as these motors are industrial grade and have all the benefits of the low voltage motor with a few of their own.
Maintenance
Sliding gate motors generally don't need any maintenance unless they get a lot of use and have an oil filled gearbox, 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 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.
Cost of Installing Power Cabling
Installing a sliding gate motor includes getting power to it, which depends on how easy it is to get power cable out to the gate. If you can get 240V mains power out to the gate easily then you have the choice of any motor. But if this is difficult or expensive then you have the option of running low voltage power cable or solar power that generally requires paying a little more for a motor but saving a lot in cabling cost ... READ MORE about Power Options for Automatic Gates
Battery Backup for Sliding Gate Motors
The Centsys and Dace brands of sliding gate motors mostly come with a battery backup built in, well they actually run off a battery so need to have it to work. The King range of gate motors run off power with battery backup as an option. Batteries do need to be replaced every three to five years in most cases with Lithium Ion lasting longer than this.
Choosing Battery Backups and Replacement Batteries
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
Are Cheap Chinese Motors any Good?
They may be but then on the other hand maybe not. We hear a lot of horror stories about people that have bought them and have had nothing but problems or they just stop working for no reason but then if they did't have problems we're not going to hear about them are we? We have tried them and found generally they are rated for gates much larger than they can handle, that is a Chinese swing gate operator may be rated for a gate 5m wide, where in reality its only good for a gate 3m wide.
Chinese operators are normally copies of models designed by other companies and they don't always get every part correct, which then breaks after a short time in use. Their quality control is also lacking so if wanting to buy Chinese Operators better off to get them from an importer that tests the product for Australian conditions, quality controls them here and stocks parts.
Calculating the size of motor required for a single piece sliding gate on a slope
Firstly the weight of the gate is needed, then the amount of rise and the width of the gate.
The formula for the size of motor required for a single piece sliding gate is:
Motor Rating (kg) = ((amount of rise/width of gate) x weight of the gate) /0.021
So the motor needed for a gate 3m wide that rises 300mm and has a metal frame with timber pickets 1.8m high weighing 100kg is: 467kg so a motor rated for 500kg is required.
To calculate the size of motor required for telescopic sliding gate on flat ground or a slope
With a two panel Telescopic gates because the front gate is being propelled at twice the speed as the back and both are being propelled by one motor the effective weight of the gate is 1.5 x that of a single piece sliding gate of the same weight.
The formula for the size of motor required for a two panel telescopic sliding gate on a slope is:
Motor Rating (kg) = ((amount of rise/width of gate) x weight of the both gates x 1.5) /0.021
So the motor needed for a telescopic sliding gate 3m wide with a 300mm rise and has a metal frame with timber pickets 1.8m high weighing 100kg is: 500kg so a motor rated for 500kg is required.
With three panel telescopic gates because the front gate is being propelled at four times the speed and the middle gate at twice the speed of the back gate the effective weight is 2 1/3 times that of a single panel sliding gate the weight.
The formula for the size of motor required for a three panel telescopic sliding gate on a slope is:
Motor Rating (kg) = ((amount of rise/width of gate) x weight of the both gates x 2.33333) /0.021
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.
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 want 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 fins their reference marker and can return to normal speed.
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.