Size the motor to the gate
A sliding gate motor is rated for a gate weight and a gate width, so those two numbers decide the model. Dominator says its NeoSlider 500 suits home sliding gates up to 500kg and 6m wide, and its NeoSlider 800 home gates up to 800kg and 8m wide.
The gate has to be in good order first. The NeoSlider manual says it must be well balanced, so a person can move it by hand with no more than 15kg of force, and a faulty gate is repaired before any opener goes on. A gate that drags, sags or jumps its track is a repair job before it is an electric gate.
Power at the gate
Most sliding gate motors run on mains power. The NeoSlider manual asks for a weatherproof 240V 10 amp power outlet within 1 metre of where the opener mounts, and says a qualified electrician must do the installation wherever 240V power is used. New fixed wiring like that comes with a Certificate of Compliance.
For a gate a long way from the house, Dominator sells battery backup and SmartSolar packages, and Merlin offers a solar powered rural gate opener. A battery also keeps the gate working through a power cut.
Safety beams on an electric gate
The NeoSlider manual strongly recommends safety beams across the gateway, and Dominator sells them as an accessory. If beams are fitted, the cable has to run underground from one side of the gateway to the other, so plan for it before the driveway is finished. Merlin says its myQ app can only run a gate that has monitored safety infrared beams and an internet gateway.
Handy to know before they call
- Roughly how wide the gate is, and what it is made of, so the weight can be estimated
- Whether there is a weatherproof power outlet near where the motor would sit
- Whether a driveway or path crosses the gateway, for the beam cable
- Whether you want the gate on the same remote as your garage door: Dominator's gate openers can share a Dominator garage remote
- Where a keypad would go: the NeoSlider manual says at least 1.5m high, out of children's reach, with a view of the gateway
What you can do, and what to leave
You can
- Keep the track along the ground clear of stones, leaves and toys
- Check the gate rolls freely by hand with the motor disengaged
- Keep remotes and keypad codes away from children
Leave to a door specialist
- Choosing and fitting the motor, and setting its limits
- Repairing a gate that drags or has come off its track
- Any new power outlet or cabling, by a licensed electrician
- Fitting and lining up the safety beams
What we would do
Ask for the beams in the first quote, not as an extra later. Running the beam cable under the gateway is far easier before new paving goes down, and an electric gate with beams stops for a child or a car the motor would otherwise push against.