Driveway Gate Information for Contractors
and Consumer Education

Gate operators are the device that move the gates. They can be powered by 110 -220 Volts AC or 12-24 Volts DC. Operators are available as battery powered or backed up by battery. The battery powered unit may be charged by solar photo voltaic cells (PV) or charged by a transformer. Swing arm operators by design the gate movement slows down at the end of the opening and closing cycle. This is called soft stop. Many ram arm operators have engineered their units to emulate this desired feature.

Bottom Mounted Swing Arm:

These units have the arm mounted on the bottom. The main advantage to this design is that you do not see an unsightly arm in the middle of your gate. The arm is usually positioned to match up with the bottom of the gate. The operator shown is a Doorking. This is the leading manufacturer of this type of unit.

Of all the gate operators available this is the fastest opening unit. It can open a gate in as little as 6 seconds. Another major advantage to this design is the cover opens without having to remove the arm first. This makes it one of the most accessible and easy to service operators. Manual release of this unit is by removing a lock and pin that is located on the arm.
Find Doorking 6100 operators here.

Top Mounted Swing Arm:

These units are favored as the work horses of the industry. You will find these units on a majority of high use applications. This type of operator usually features two oil bathed gear boxes and a very heavy chassis. The circuit board can be accessed through the front panel, but you have to remove the arm to gain access to the mechanics.

To manually release the unit, the bonnet on the arm is removed by unfastening a bolt and a lever is lifted to release the gate. Some security is lost due to the units not having a locking mechanism. Getting the units to open during a power outage is awkward if you don't have a wrench handy. We recommend the battery backup option when purchasing. The Elite brand also has a battery powered model called the "Roboswing"

Several manufacturers make this type of operator. The Elite brand was the first to design it and is the leading manufacturer. There are a few companies making excellent units that are almost identical for less money.
Find Elite gate operators here.

Mechanical Ram Arm:

Ram arms are small and make a very clean looking installation. The mechanical ram arms use a jack screw design. This is a long threaded shaft that rotates and moves a piston. Most ram arms have a separate control box for the electronics and power supply.

Soft stop is a desirable feature when purchasing this type of unit. Many of the units now on the market are 12-24 Volts DC. Mechanical ram arms are well suited to lighter gates and lower duty cycle such as residential use.
Find linear swing gate operator here.

Hydraulic Ram Arm:

These compact and attractive units are operated by a hydraulic piston that has a self contained pump. The hydraulic ram arms are usually more durable than mechanical ram arms and some units are suitable for commercial application. Hydraulic ram arms have a separate control box for the electronics and accessories.

Precision control over the force these units exert makes them extremely safe. All hydraulic units need a positive stops either added to the gate or internally. These stops allow precision positioning of the gates. We recommend this type of operator on bi-parting gates for a good appearance where the leafs come together.
Find linear swing gate operator here.

Underground Operator:

Underground operators are the most elegant of operators. The operators are mostly invisible and they can handle massive sized gates.

Electronics are located in a separate cabinet. When these units are installed with columns the control unit can be flush mounted into the column for an even cleaner look. Underground operators are available in hydraulic and mechanical. Most units have a key located near the bottom of the gate to release the unit incase of power failure.
Find underground gate operators here.