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A standard 12-volt marine or car battery is good for most gate-opening systems. However, depending on components like solar panels or a motion detector, many people use a deep-cycle battery for higher power.
Installing a gate opener requires adding an energy source. In fact, the best electric sliding gate openers can fully function with a standard 12-volt rechargeable car or marine-type battery with six regular cells.
However, before choosing your battery, consider which connection or energy outlet you wish to use. A standard AC outlet or solar applications can help charge the gate opener and the motion sensor, if any.
Potential Problems Of Using A Standard 12-Volt Battery
Standard battery-operated gate openers like the Mighty Mule gate opener function pretty well on an average car or large marine battery. It works especially well if the solar panel receives enough sunlight during the day. However, adding a motion sensor flood light to my opener has disrupted its energy source.
Although my battery seemed to have enough juice, adding just a small light led to a large drop in voltage. Hence, I resorted to checking the water level in each battery cell to see if there is adequate power. Next, I checked whether the solar charger was producing the required energy by observing the voltmeter.
However, both the water level and the solar panel were functioning properly. After some online research, I found that many people face this problem. Some even report audible beeping when they add lighting, and I believe the problem lies in the low energy capacity of the battery.
What Battery Should You Use For A Remote Gate Opener?
Getting a new battery and a larger panel is fine and all, but how do electric sliding gates work? Electric sliding gates are automatic swing gates that utilize a battery-operated system and/or solar panel to produce energy for mobility. This energy then helps the gates pull the wheels on the fixed track.
Using a standard 12-volt battery is often sufficient, but there’s always a chance that you may face the above problems. Or, your sun panel may not receive enough sunshine on cloudy days. Either way, a failed battery in the sliding gate may cause substantial security threats.
In this case, I think the best idea is to replace your standard battery with a marine deep-cycle battery. This is because, unlike regular ones, deep-cycle batteries draw down the charge evenly without causing any drop in surface charge.
Tip
After replacing the battery, hook it up with an AC battery charger that connects to 12-volt LED lights and a digital voltmeter. Also, I recommend buying a sliding gate with a built-in shunt relay or charging control to prevent a high-voltage drop.
Standard Car Battery For Gate Opener Final Thoughts
From my experience, deep-cycle batteries are much more beneficial in providing energy to gate openers. They can sufficiently power automatic electric sliding gates and utilize higher levels of solar energy.
For gate openers that do not have too many features, a standard starting battery is adequate. Moreover, an average starting battery can work wonders if you have a larger solar cell with connected regulators that receive regular sunshine.
However, you should carefully consider your requirements before choosing a battery. I hope this discussion helps you tackle problems regarding sliding gate openers.
Before signing off, I highly recommend reading my article “How To Build A Vehicle Sensor For Automatic Gate Openers.” Until next time!
