Slide Gate Operator on Concrete Pad – Entry
Throughout this website we write about putting our customers first, finding the best solutions while satisfying their needs. As a family owned business (since 1986), we take pride in our work and practice what we preach.
Sometimes this presents a challenge when customers or prospective clients mainly focus on their budgets and investment dollars while we focus on doing the job right! As licensed electricians we know errors can sometimes be shocking, even fatal. So we must do it right even if it means losing a bid.
In the coming weeks and months, I hope to share some stories where ECI was called in to fix installations that did not withstand the test of time. But before then, I would like to share some examples of how we do an installation correctly.
These pictures are from an installation of slide gate operators we completed some time ago. This reflects a difference in workmanship albeit perhaps at a slightly higher investment cost. We were actually told our bid was higher by the general contractor. But when we explained why, we secured the contract.
The slide gate pictured at the top is at the entrance to this facility. ECI furnished and installed the slide gate operator, the concrete pad, dual photo eye beams, entrapment protection on the gates as well as vehicle loop detectors (see the cut marks in the concrete pavement lower right above our website URL).
Slide Gate Operator on Concrete Pad – Exit
The picture to the right is the slide gate operator and peripherals at the exit. The two orange devices on the right side of the gate are photo-electric beams.
There is a similar dual set on the other side of the gate. If an object blocks either of the beams, the gate will stop and retract. It will not close. This is much like the photo beam at the bottom of your residential garage door opener which prevents the door from closing on a child or object. We proposed a dual set because it provides added protection, top and bottom.
The vertical black strip is a safety edge which will retract the sliding gate if it comes into contact with a person or an object. Both the photo electric beams and the safety edge are forms of entrapment protection we have discussed numerous times on this site.
However, I do want to focus on the seemingly minor concrete pad the slide gate operator sits on. This is where attention to detail counts. Vibration occurs when the slide gate operator is engaged and the gate moves. We must ensure the conduit feeding up through the pad and into the slide gate controller is correctly installed prior to the concrete fill to prevent future problems.
We will see what an incorrect installation looks like in a follow up article and how a smaller investment can turn into a large headache.
At ECI we concentrate in vehicle access control systems and security as well as the seemless integration of those systems. Learn more about what we can do for you be calling 847.949.0134 today. Or click below for direct contact information.
