ADOR1 Automatic Coop Door?

[bumpercarr]

Yes, I agree that the holes in the Ador1 will not really add anything to the ventilation of the coop. I was thinking that it would just be drafty, with the roost right over it, for chickens trying to keep warm in the winter. I have insulated the coop (except for all the ventilation at the top!), but have no electricity to it, so no heat source other than the chickens themselves and the composting deep litter. I had been hoping that the chickens would be snug in the lower part of the coop, but the holes in the door right under their roost seem to make that more difficult. So I was thinking that a way to cover them up in the winter at night might be useful.

But really, I have no idea how a winter will go with chickens. So maybe the holes are no big deal, and the chickens will huddle together and be fine. I was just disappointed when I installed the door and thought about the holes, because my great plan for keeping them warm in the winter isn't going to work as well as I thought it would. But I'm making it all up as I go, mostly using info I've gotten from this site. It seems like chickens are pretty hardy, and I did try to get cold-tolerant breeds, so we'll probably be fine.

We don't have particularly bad winters here, but from what I've read from everyone else that is in the north, the bigger issue is going out there to take care of the frozen water and to feed through the knee deep snow.

Seems like the chickens manage to keep themselves pretty warm most of the time.

 

[BY Chicken Lady]

Yes, I agree that the holes in the Ador1 will not really add anything to the ventilation of the coop.   I was thinking that it would just be drafty, with the roost right over it, for chickens trying to keep warm in the winter.  I have insulated the coop (except for all the ventilation at the top!), but have no electricity to it, so no heat source other than the chickens themselves and the composting deep litter.  I had been hoping that the chickens would be snug in the lower part of the coop, but the holes in the door right under their roost seem to make that more difficult.  So I was thinking that a way to cover them up in the winter at night might be useful.

But really, I have no idea how a winter will go with chickens.  So maybe the holes are no big deal, and the chickens will huddle together and be fine.  I was just disappointed when I installed the door and thought about the holes, because my great plan for keeping them warm in the winter isn't going to work as well as I thought it would.  But I'm making it all up as I go, mostly using info I've gotten from this site.  It seems like chickens are pretty hardy, and I did try to get cold-tolerant breeds, so we'll probably be fine.

Heat rises, so in the winter if your vents are large and all at the roof line, you are going to lose all the heat out those vents. I find the best vents for winter are several of those round eave vents mounted at the eave ends of my roof and a couple near the floor to allow air flow, without being a breeze or totally letting all of the heat out that the deep litter creates.

I don't think the small holes in the ADOR is going to be enough to worry about, even under where they perch.

 

[Sky Hen]

I'll keep you posted milola. I can't see it being an alignment issue as the door has been installed since July and it wasn't doing it when I first installed it. I only noticed the issue a day or so ago. I have emailed Rod the video and asked for his advice so I'll let ya'll know what I find out.

Yes, please post. I installed my door and it works exactly as shown in your video, has since the very beginning. Husband insisted the door appeared to be "laboring" upon opening. Installation of my door was also in July, so we may have purchased about the same time. Thank you for updating us!

 

[Windy Bay Farm]

Here is the response I received from Rod when I sent him my video and explanation of what the door was doing:


A few questions/comments:
What happens if you take off the cover? Does it lessen?
With the cover off, can you press downward on the "floor" of the battery box near the motor to try and rock the motor down which will pull the sprocket away from the door panel a little bit? Now operate the door and observe. Does it seem to affect it?
Try loosening the two lock-nuts (5/16" nut driver) inside the battery box on the left side a few turns and then pry the battery box on the left side about 1/16" or so away from the frame...then operate the door. Does that lessen the "jumping"?
If it seems like maybe it gets better when you try pulling the battery box away a little bit, then please try this. Get a few flat washers (say for a #6 screw) and stack one each on the top left and bottom left stud. (or some other means of shimming). You will notice if you remove the two lock nuts on the left side, you should be able to pull the battery box off the left studs just enough to get a washer on each stud. Then put the box back and put the nuts back on. You have "shimmed out" the left side of the box. Notice there's already a plastic spacer on the top stud. It needs that spacer to be able to hook the cover on the top of the battery box. If this doesn't quite do it, try two washers.

I hope this is a simple fix for you. I'm not sure where this is coming from but it is either not caught in final checkout before shipping, because we test with the cover off and the cover tightens things up when it is on... or the ADOR gets squished in shipping, which very slightly distorts the frame shape, caving in a tiny amount and making the sprocket stab too deeply into the door.

Please give this a shot and tell me the results.

Thanks,
ROD


Tonight I did what Rod said and it definitely seemed to make a difference for the better. I think I may have to tweak it a bit more to get an even smoother opening/closing. For anyone experiencing the same issues I had I would highly recommend trying what Rod has said as it may just make a difference.

 

[Jewelwing]

We don't have particularly bad winters here, but from what I've read from everyone else that is in the north, the bigger issue is going out there to take care of the frozen water and to feed through the knee deep snow.

Seems like the chickens manage to keep themselves pretty warm most of the time.

Haha! Yes, I worry about that too!

We don't actually get that much snow here, but I do hope the water issue works out. I have read a lot of posts that say that chickens can keep themselves warm, and it's probably true, but it just seems so cold! I wouldn't want to be sleeping above a draft. But everyone must be right, and they'll just huddle and be fine.

I don't think the small holes in the ADOR is going to be enough to worry about, even under where they perch.

Good! I just want them to be happy (and lay eggs)!

 

[BY Chicken Lady]

[VIDEO]

I took a video of the door opening and closing. Can anyone tell me if their door acts the way mine does ? With a lag and a "jumpiness" or is this normal for the door ?

Mine doesn't slow down like yours did when it was almost up, but it does seem to be working harder to go up then down. The hubby said that is just how a gear driven pulley can sound. It has worked without fail since we installed it months and months ago.

 

[BY Chicken Lady]

Good!  I just want them to be happy (and lay eggs)!

It's obvious you love your chickens (or you wouldn't have bought the door) so I'm sure your girls will be very happy and reward you with lots of eggs

 

[Jewelwing]

Well, I got the door because I love my sleep!

But, yes, I do love my chicklets too!

 

[Windy Bay Farm]

Mine doesn't slow down like yours did when it was almost up, but it does seem to be working harder to go up then down. The hubby said that is just how a gear driven pulley can sound. It has worked without fail since we installed it months and months ago.

Mine too has worked without fail but I was just a little worried that the way it was acting would affect something within the electronics of the door, so I wanted to try and fix it and I think I have from doing what Rod told me to do

 

[lucy8821]

Yes, this happened to me, too:

The stuttering on the way down was the first thing that happened, then the door began to have trouble moving up. There were a couple of mornings when it didn't open. I emailed Rod back and forth several times to work out what the problem was, but ultimately he had me ship the door back to him on his dime. Putting in a new battery did not help. The door frame or panel did not appear damaged in any way. Inserting the washers (described below) seemed to help with the jerkiness on the way down, but did not resolve whatever was causing resistance on the way up.

Here is a piece of his email as we were troubleshooting:
That, of course is not normal. I noticed your door sort of comes down in jerks. I think that might indicate that the sprocket is too close to the door panel. I don't know how that can be much of a variable since the dimensions are intended to be fixed (and not adjustable).
I have recently noticed before, when a unit's door jerked on the way down, that it also indicated an increased load when going up. When I observed this in my lab, I removed the four nuts that hold the box onto the studs that come out of the frame and added a washer to each stud. Notice that the top studs have a spacer which leans the box outward to make room for the back of the lid that slips over the back of the box. Then the box was spaced a tiny bit more from the door panel (spacing it even more may be useful...use 2 or 3 washers). When tightening the nuts back on the studs, don't over tighten them because you can twist the stud out of the frame. A hand-driven nut driver would do the job (I think it is a 5/16" nut driver).
But since the ADOR was tested before it was boxed up and shipped, something must have changed. We have seen damage due to shipping trauma or from someone dropping the ADOR before they installed it. Or a screw(s) come loose in shipping that causes some misalignment. Another thing that causes too much friction has been if the slick tape on the door panel left and right edges gets damaged.
If addressing the things I mentioned doesn't fix it or doesn't seem to be the matter, then of course contact me again. It could also be a motor that failed early. We have many times spot tested the motor/sprocket/door for more than 10,000 cycles (like 30 years of use!) and it was still going strong, so if all the components are OK, many years of use should be what we get. So let's see what you might come up with if you can try shimming the box away from the frame. Is the motor mount bracket rigidly fastened to the box? The box rigidly fastened to the frame?