Gate openers also called gate operators, automatic gates or electric gates are widely used to automate swing and sliding gates and these can be powered by mains or solar power. Virtually all automatic gates we have installed in the last couple of years have been solar powered and all of them have been swing gates. See this article to read about sliding vs swing gate automation.

The great benefit of solar is that it doesn’t matter how far away from the house your gate is, it’s free and even if there is a power outage the gates still work. So in the following I’ll focus on solar powered gate openers that are of of the top most quality:

Australian Made Solar Gate Openers

This gate opener is manufactured in Australia and are made to suit our local conditions and it’s the one we will install for you.

In the following the Australian made opener is being discussed.

These gate openers are remote controlled allowing you to open them from your car with a push of a button, or even from anywhere in the world using an app on your smart phone with the optional Smart Phone Controller.

A typical install for a farm gate looks like this:

Another important factor it has an articulated arm that connects to the gate making this a much stronger and much more durable drive connection to the gate and very importantly this allows for mush larger gate opening than inline arm actuators, which most of the imports from China are. Also this automatic gate closer can drive gates up to a weight of 300kg, not bad considering the average metal farm gate at 3.6m or 12 foot comes in at about 30kg, but these also makes them suitable to automate heavy gates.

Here’s a little story you might relate to in regards to having a remotely controlled gate: When we moved to our little farm in Hilldale (near Dungog, Hunter Valley NSW), Carol, my wife was still working in Newcastle in a corporate role and said to me: “I’m not getting out of the car in my high heels to open the gate!” So I bought our first gate operator in 2008 at the Tocal Field days and it has been going strong until 2021. The only thing I have had to replace is the battery, which only set me back about $35. Each battery seems to last about 3-4 years.

This was the XP Sungate opener, which is made in Australia and is well suited to our conditions and be used in commercial or semi commercial settings where frequent opening and closing is required. This closer has now been completely re-designed whilst keeping all the bits that have proven themselves over time like the mighty cogs as shown below:

If you have a look inside any of those cheap imports with their small worm drives than it becomes clear why this lasts and the cheap imports don’t!

This new automatic gate opener is now called GM Gate Opener and comes with as standard with a 20Watt solar panel and an array of accessories to make it ideal for your situation.

a couple of years ago I installed a double gate opener of these, where each gate leaf was 2,4m wide, which where so heavy that two men had to carry each leaf and they’re still working perfectly fine.

If you’re planning to install a gate opener to heavy gates than read this post here for more information.

Every Installation includes:

The table below assumes the installation of a Sungate GM gate opener.

* For double gate installs the slave motor is controlled by the master unit and the slave unit uses the battery of the master unit. So you have twice the load on the battery, which can lead to a power shortage if there is no sun for a few days, hence I install a bigger solar panel and a much bigger battery. This is also a great setup for commercial or semi commercial access gates where the gate might be open and closed very frequently.

** The posts are normally painted black and are installed where they can be reached from the car window on the way in and out.

If you’re keen to get your gate automated, best thing is to contact me using the form below to get things under way (please note that installations are only available in the Hunter Valley, NSW):