I've seen a few threads on gate openers. My original thought was to use a GoControl/Iris/Insert Other Brand Name Here. The problem with those is the tilt sensor. I wound up getting a MHCOZY dry contact relay switch and that works but it doesn't report open/close status. That's a problem because if someone uses a remote to open/close then it will be out of sync and do exactly the opposite of what I want it to do. Some of the threads use contact sensors, or mimo devices paired with a magnetic sensor and I saw one where someone used the Iris et al GDO control and gave an overview of what they did but no specifics. The mimo device links are old and no longer work..... help. Please... LOL!! It is a swing gate, also looking for info on lock pins I can use to secure the gate in place closed when we have 25 plus MPH winds.
You could use a Zooz ZEN17 or ZEN16 for both the relay and the contact sensor. You would just need to get a magnetic reed switch to wire up to it.
Or keep the relay you have and get any other contact sensor, z-wave or Zigbee. Zooz makes the ZSE41 contact sensor which also has a separate outdoor enclosure you can buy for it.
Any place I can find info on a reed switch and how to wire it all up?
i use an ecolink contact sensor for my gate but since it is metal had to put a big neodenium magnet on the gate to get it to work reliably.
It's hard to find a cheap-ish opener. The brand I have is a Topens. It's been generally good, although I did have a problem that may, or may not have been of my own making. The company sent a new part. Very responsive.
I also use an ecolink contact mounted inside the control box-it fits nice and the box is plastic, and it has good range. I used a weatherproof reed switch at the end of a painter's stick, lol. Hey, it works. It's all installation specific.
My gate is a tubular farm gate, with little windage. I had an electrically operated lock with my last gate (sad tale of too much 'automation') and tried one with the Topens, which both supported and sold. I found they were too finicky for my less than rigid setup, lol. Maybe with a quality install it'd be better. Between gate openers, I used a cable lock-what a PITA getting in and out of the car, lol.
The function of my gate really is only to discourage the deer.
The Topens has a very powerful remote. I have one on the wall in the garage, another on the wall by the door AND....another in the house operated by a zigbee Fingerbot. I mostly use the remotes, but if I have to, I can use the Fingerbot via Hubitat.
If you get the Topens, don't make the mistake I made and get the metal keypad-not well weatherproofed. The plastic one has a cover and nice lighted keypad. I have one on either side of the gate.
Just doing a little search this one looks pretty nice and its made to be outdoors: https://a.co/d/9RBtqJP
Wiring, it is just just two wires. This particular one actually has 3 wires so you can wire it as NC or NO (normally closed or normally open). I think you would want it wired NO, so when the magnet makes contact it reports closed. The ZEN17 can be configured to reverse it anyway so it doesnt matter a whole lot.
To clarify, this is NOT a smart device, it is just a contact sensor. But you can wire it to a smart device. If you have a power source there already and need a relay to open/close the gate then the ZEN16 or ZEN17 plus a wired sensor is your best option IMO. No batteries to deal with on the sensor that way. The ZEN17/16 can even be direct wired to a 5v DC power source.
They are Z-wave, so range could be a problem. If you have a C8 hub though they are now being sold as Long Range models so you can use that. The device you have now I think is Zigbee which typically gets a little better range than standard Z-wave.
Fully configurable using my drivers as well: [DRIVER] Zooz Relays Advanced (ZEN16, ZEN17, ZEN51, ZEN52) (if you do want to purchase I have an affiliate link on that post you can use)
Honestly not recommending just due to that though, it is a unique device I don't think there are many others if any out there, high quality and reliable. If I thought there was something else better I would tell you.
Oh... one last thing, if you do not have a waterproof location to hold the ZEN relay you will also want to find an outdoor rated "project box" to put that inside of and all the wiring.
For my gate I use a Zooz 17 relay and a Zooz 41 open/close sensor, along with the available weatherproof enclosure. It's been working great for two years now. My gate opener is from "Mighty Mule" . I used a weatherproof "ammo can" to house the relay for ease of access if needed. (Also you might check out the gate lock pin accessory available from Mighty Mule to see if you can use it with your gate)
Here's the one I used. Still working well, knock on wood. Spindly little wires, mounted on end of painter's stick. Did I say electrical tape was also involved, lol?
I'll have to remember this when mine craps out, in all likelihood this winter. Maybe I'll be proactive, lol.
I don't use an external open/close sensor for my gate. The linear actuator has limit switches so the controller knows the state of the gate. I use the closed limit switch state and a Zooz ZEN17 for automation. I don't know if this is a common way to control gate motion.
Can you tell me how you set this up? That seems more reliable than the magnet method. Going to ditch the MHCOZY in favor of a Zooz 17. I'll figure out where to use the MHCOZY some where else. I wonder if that dry contact handles 110....... Might use it on a light or something.
The dry contact relays on the ZEN17 can handle 110v yes.
The sensor inputs actually put out a small voltage and just look for open/closed circuits. If you wired 110v to there it would probably fry it.
It's been a while, but I believe my linear actuator has 5 wires. 12v & ground. Shared common wire for the two limit switches and NO(?) wire for each switch. I wired common and closed NO to the ZEN17.
Actual configuration of the ZEN17 always confuses me, but I used their documentation and finally got it working with LGK Virtual Gate app and the 2nd relay from Z17 to input on gate controller to send open / close command.
Was referring to the dry contact on the MHCOZY. Need to find a project for that or return it. @$16 I'd rather find a project to do with it. Maybe control a difficult switch. I have more than 1 of those around the house.
I believe the opener I have on the way is a 2 wire. I might have to look in the linear actuator and see if I can figure it out. That case the magnet approach might be simpler.
Got the Zooz ZEN17. Trying to figure out momentary on it but banging my head. GRRRRRR.
Greatly depends on how its wired. Is there any sort of hard wired button being connect to the input? If so, you can set to 3-Garage Door. Or if there is no button and you are connecting the contact sensor to the input then you can set it to 11 Garage door / contact sensor. All the settings are exposed using my driver linked above, the built in driver has very limited settings.
You can also set an "auto off" timer of 1 s on the relay (on device settings).
