Newbie from TN

[M6050]

Hi, I live in Cleveland TN....................long story short I hired someone to build and install a solar powered driveway gate. Gate turned out great but Solar set up worked one day and died. I have been trying to figure out what I need to get it going again. He installed a 20 watt panel, 12 volt battery and a DC to AC inverter. It worked for the first day then died overnight due to lack of juice to run the system. (he skipped on me) I'm starting over with a 30 Watt 24 Volt panel. My plan is to use 2 12ah batteries in series to power the gate. Opener is an Aleko AS900 which is a 24 volt unit made for small dual swing gates. Sound like that will work? I'll need to install a Shottky Diode on the positive line correct? I appreciate your advice and feedback.

[SunEagle]

Well from what I read that Aleko AS900 is rated 80 watts at 24v. Even though it the advertisement indicates a 20 watt panel is ok something that small won't produce the 30+ volts needed to charge a 24volt battery.

You will probably need 2 x 40 watt panels wired in series to generate the voltage high enough.

What is the Ah rating of those batteries and how often will you be running this opener a day?

[max2k]

Hi, I live in Cleveland TN....................long story short I hired someone to build and install a solar powered driveway gate. Gate turned out great but Solar set up worked one day and died. I have been trying to figure out what I need to get it going again. He installed a 20 watt panel, 12 volt battery and a DC to AC inverter. It worked for the first day then died overnight due to lack of juice to run the system. (he skipped on me) I'm starting over with a 30 Watt 24 Volt panel. My plan is to use 2 12ah batteries in series to power the gate. Opener is an Aleko AS900 which is a 24 volt unit made for small dual swing gates. Sound like that will work? I'll need to install a Shottky Diode on the positive line correct? I appreciate your advice and feedback.

sounds like it worked until battery got discharged. What DC-> AC converter is doing there? I thought the opener is 24 V DC?

My concern is the starting current of the motor- usually for DC motors it is very high and it will kill your batteries pretty soon (2-3 months?). The problem is the first fraction of the second when the motor tries to get the gate moving. This is how my Home Depot brand lawn mower batteries died after less than 100 starts given I needed to mow my lawn less than 10 times for the season.

[M6050]

It is a AC unit but can be ran with DC. They advise against it but I'm stuck now. The batteries are Duracell 12 Volt 12 AH.

[M6050]

The gate will be opened 4-5 times a day.

[max2k]

The gate will be opened 4-5 times a day.

that particular opener model got 66% 1- star ratings on Amazon which is an achievement IMO (6 reviews only). Are you sure you want to continue investing your time & money into making it work?

[Mike90250]

Hi & Welcome.
Sorry you got a scammer for your first solar experience .
So, an inverter, panel and battery, I would expect to go dead soon, that small of panel can't possible run an inverter for 24/7 Going to 24VDC, dropping the inverter should let the battery charge fine. Does the gate opener suggest any specific size of PV panel ? 20x a day, 30W, 60x day 80w ?

[M6050]

Sorry for all the posts......................Here are the specs from manual: Input 120V/60Hz... Motor voltage 24VDC....Power 50 Watts per actuator.......Current 2A

Thanks for your replies

[M6050]

Max 2K................I am not opposed to starting over with a new opener. I'll start looking for one that is made to be ran by Solar. Any recommendations?

Mike...........Aleko manual recommends 2 12 AH batteries, 30 Watt Panel and a solar controller if solar is the only source of power.

Thanks

[max2k]

Max 2K................I am not opposed to starting over with a new opener. I'll start looking for one that is made to be ran by Solar. Any recommendations?

Mike...........Aleko manual recommends 2 12 AH batteries, 30 Watt Panel and a solar controller if solar is the only source of power.

Thanks

sorry, I have no experience with them- I was just put back by Amazon reviews. Granted there're only 6 of them I'd hate you to spend efforts and building everything for it just to be forced to replace it soon since it failed mechanically. Some of the reviews got me really concerned there.

[SunEagle]

Max 2K................I am not opposed to starting over with a new opener. I'll start looking for one that is made to be ran by Solar. Any recommendations?

Mike...........Aleko manual recommends 2 12 AH batteries, 30 Watt Panel and a solar controller if solar is the only source of power.

Thanks

The solar panel that they suggest is about 20 watts and is really nothing more than a trickle charger which might work for a 12volt battery that is rarely used.

What I do not understand is that the actuators are rated 24volt yet only include one 12volt battery for each actuator.

That gate system is really designed for grid power going to the controller yet they have the Option of using a battery and small solar panel as a trickle charger. That is not a good plan unless the controller boosts the 12volt power from the battery to 24volt power source for the actuator.

[sensij]

The solar panel that they suggest is about 20 watts and is really nothing more than a trickle charger which might work for a 12volt battery that is rarely used.

What I do not understand is that the actuators are rated 24volt yet only include one 12volt battery for each actuator.

That gate system is really designed for grid power going to the controller yet they have the Option of using a battery and small solar panel as a trickle charger. That is not a good plan unless the controller boosts the 12volt power from the battery to 24volt power source for the actuator.

I think the idea is that both batteries are wired in series (the kit includes 2 x 12 V), and then the actuators are hooked up in parallel, each to that 24 battery

Really, it probably doesn't matter, at least to the motor. A simple 24 V DC motor should be ok supplied with only 12 V, it will just take twice as long to actuate. It would probably matter to the person waiting for the gate to open, though.

[SunEagle]

I think the idea is that both batteries are wired in series (the kit includes 2 x 12 V), and then the actuators are hooked up in parallel, each to that 24 battery

Really, it probably doesn't matter though. A simple 24 V DC motor should be ok supplied with only 12 V, it will just take twice as long to actuate.

You may be correct that the control panel uses both batteries as a 24v source and runs each actuator off that system. A 24v 12Ah battery system can yield about 90 watt hours but it will be drained if used too many times a day since you really don't have enough panel wattage to recharge it back to 100%. I think that small solar panel as a trickle charger will just keep the batter topped off if you don't use the opener every day.

[sensij]

You may be correct that the control panel uses both batteries as a 24v source and runs each actuator off that system. A 24v 12Ah battery system can yield about 90 watt hours but it will be drained if used too many times a day since you really don't have enough panel wattage to recharge it back to 100%. I think that small solar panel as a trickle charger will just keep the batter topped off if you don't use the opener every day.

Here is a picture of the LM125 battery included in the kit:

battery.JPG


Looks like 24 V to me.

[M6050]

I appreciate the responses. If I understand everything it sounds like the 30 Watt 24 Volt panel is too small to adequately charge the 2 - 12Ah batteries for normal operation. If another 20 or 30 watt panel is added would it solve the problem?