Anyone familiar with gate openers?

[supratreo]

So have a dual swinging gates with Liftmaster LA-400's. system is about 15 years old but works fine. just recently my exit loop went out and found out that the wires broke right where they come out of the concrete. its broken off flush so i can't even repair it.
Its something i could probably replace myself but after a few min of digging out the sealer i was a little over it. i called a couple people and one quoted me $1000 to replace the loop. another said they could replace my exit loop and safety loop with a 2 in one laser (BEA LZR-H100). this quote came out to over $3000 so thats probably out of the question unless I DIY.
Any advice? I didn't even know this laser thing was an option until this company brought it up. absolute worse case I'm just going to use a saw to cut the old loop and seal out and replace it. i was using a knife originally and hoping i could get enough of it free that i could grab the wire and pull it out.

 

[BrandonV]

Cheapest solution is to swap to using something like a Cartell CP-4.

 

[kbuhagiar]

Most municipalities have abandoned loop detection technology in their traffic control systems, replacing it with motion detection and/or laser methods. Easier to install, more accurate, more dependable and less maintenance.

Probably makes sense on a large scale like that; not sure if that efficiency translates to the homeowner level.

 

[My Old Tools]

If the wires broke off at the ground, just get a few inches free and reattach. There are a number of waterproof splices available. These loops are detectors, not current carriers.

 

[kbuhagiar]

If the wires broke off at the ground, just get a few inches free and reattach. There are a number of waterproof splices available. These loops are detectors, not current carriers.

^^^This. The loop detector is like a big antenna. Is there some obstacle preventing you from exposing a couple of inches of the broken conductors?

 

[BrandonV]

^^^This. The loop detector is like a big antenna. Is there some obstacle preventing you from exposing a couple of inches of the broken conductors?

If I took a guess with experience servicing these it's probably right at the section where it's epoxy potted into the loop.

 

[csp]

He stated that they broke right where they exit concrete. Might be pretty tough to chip out the concrete without further damaging the wires.

 

[supratreo]

I thought i stated that but yes, its right where it comes out of the concrete/expxy. i'll dig a little tomorrow and see if they left any slack, i might be able to cobble it together but that CP-4 is looking nice.

 

[My Old Tools]

I thought i stated that but yes, its right where it comes out of the concrete/expxy. i'll dig a little tomorrow and see if they left any slack, i might be able to cobble it together but that CP-4 is looking nice.

Read the details. What I read said it only detected above 5 mph.

 

[BrandonV]

Read the details. What I read said it only detected above 5 mph.

They work well if close to the actual driveway. 5 mph is when you have it positioned quite a distance away from the vehicle.

 

[supratreo]

so if i'm understanding this correctly, this gets buried next to the driveway? if so then i might just go with this. i already have conduit running down the driveway. the 5mph thing isn't a huge deal. my driveway is over 200' long so its not hard to get to 5mph if needed.

 

[BrandonV]

so if i'm understanding this correctly, this gets buried next to the driveway? if so then i might just go with this. i already have conduit running down the driveway. the 5mph thing isn't a huge deal. my driveway is over 200' long so its not hard to get to 5mph if needed.

Yup. You basically would just run it thru conduit next to the driveway and bury the puck next to the driveway.

Way easier than messing with exit loops for residential applications.

 

[supratreo]

sounds good, i'll look into that.

 

[Fixr]

Yup. You basically would just run it thru conduit next to the driveway and bury the puck next to the driveway.

Way easier than messing with exit loops for residential applications.

Do you know if the steel swing gate opening over the wand would screw things up?

 

[BrandonV]

Do you know if the steel swing gate opening over the wand would screw things up?

Good question. I don't think it should cause an issue but I've always made sure they were plenty away from the actual gate by a significant margin to avoid the old ladder under the gate trick.

 

[supratreo]

well i got it installed and i'm pretty happy with it.

it works great, its on full sensitivity right now and opens if i waive my shovel over it so i might turn it down a bit.
overall, i saved over $800 and don't have to worry about cut wires anymore (at least for the exit).

 

[BearsFan315]

glad you found an acceptable DIY solution.
as for pricing on the loops the price sounds right, we have a gate here at work with 2 loops, and we inquired a few months ago about adding another loop up the drive to open the gate sooner for the big trucks, an we were quoted around 1250 to install and set it up.

 

[supratreo]

i got 1 quotes that were 1000-1200 and one that was 3000. that was a hard pass for me lol.
i've always wanted to replace a loop but this is overall just a better solution.

 

[toplessHO]

for others reading this and wondering how to repair those wires,heres a method I perfected for
repairing conduits broke off even with slab.
Using a core bit slightly larger than what you need to repair,cut a 2x4 and drill a hole in it just large
enough to hold the core bit.Remove core bit and chip away
In 15 minutes that wire could have been repaired

 

[supratreo]

well i didn't want to do any damage to my driveway. i didn't event want saw cut loops in it to begin with but i believe at that time it was either that or photo eyes and that would have been an annoyance. I'm actually considering cutting out the dead loop any trying to repair the saw cut as best i can.

 

[toplessHO]

They make DOT approved epoxy for this.
I buy ours locally from Lamberts.
Tip is to mix clean dry sand in.

Lambert Corporation Home Page

Lambert Corporation: Manufacturer of Concrete Construction Products. We manufacture support products designed for use by the national and international construction industry.

www.lambertusa.net