3 Maintenance Tips for Automatic Security Gates
Whether you are a gated community manager or a homeowner who values safety and security, gate care is one of the most commonly overlooked maintenance measures for property owners. However, if you want to maintain proper gate control, it is essential to keep it maintained and clean.
Cleaning your automatic gate
Like your automobile, your security gate will look its best when regularly washed and waxed. Long-term neglect of cleaning your security gate will lead to the need for removal, sandblasting, powder coating, and rehanging your security gate to bring back its aesthetic appeal after its finish has rusted, flaked off, or faded. This is a costly and time-consuming procedure that you can easily avoid with regular cleaning. Washing and waxing your security gate at least once a year will keep it looking and functioning at its best.
Fight pest damage
Though the appearance of your security gate is significant, another critical concern is protecting the electrical elements from pest damage. It does not take long for slugs or snails to destroy a circuit board. The trail of slime they leave behind becomes highly conductive with even the smallest amount of moisture. In addition, spider webs with just a little dew can conduct electricity and damage your gate's circuit board. Finally, anthills and bee nests can easily corrode your gate opener electronic equipment.
The higher quality gate equipment you invest in, the more immune to pest problems it will be. Quality electronic equipment is also more resistant to damage overall. High-end automatic gate electrical components are encased in more secure enclosures than cheaper automatic gates. Their circuit boards are also dipped in a protective coating to ensure that they last the test of time. Unfortunately, no brand of security gate can guarantee protection against pests and insects, but purchasing a quality gate and arranging for annual maintenance services will help ensure that your gate control equipment continues functioning at its best.
Caring for automation elements
The maintenance needs for the automation elements of your automatic gate vary greatly depending on the type of system you have installed. Higher-end mechanical gate systems require much less maintenance than lower value systems need. For example, the best-automated gate systems have sealed bearing, maintenance-free hinges on their swing gates, and sealed bearing maintenance-free wheels on their slide gates. They also feature higher quality equipment that does not demand adjustments as often as low-end automatic gates do.
If your security gate system lacks sealed bearing wheels or hinges, you will need to grease the bearings as needed with marine-grade grease applied to the fittings with a grease gun. In addition, slide gate and swing gate operators need grease applied to their internal chains for lubrication. You should also regularly lubricate the primary drive chain for a slide gate operator. None of these elements should be lubricated with WD-40, and heavy grease is only a little better. For best results, spray-on white lithium grease offers optimal lubrication.