ADOR1 Automatic Coop Door?

[AdorStore]

Necroing this thread because I posted here before about the ADOR1. I've had ongoing issues with the motor acting "sticky" and draining batteries like crazy. Reading the instructions, I found that you're supposed to be able to lift the door manually without power but it was impossible to do with the motor still attached. So I ordered a new one, and now I can slide it up...But it won't lift the door on its own power. It just whirrs and tries to open, but when it's lifted it can close on its own just fine. Since the biggest reason I want the automatic door is so it will open in the morning, this isn't making me happy. Also, it has a new trick where it slams down, as seen here:

I am just now catching up on answering some things in this thread. I hope you called us and got it resolved. Surely you did. But for the benefit of anyone reading your post, I think I can see what is wrong. Thanks for posting the video.

It seems simply that the set screw on the sprocket has come loose. In rare cases, the sprocket can come loose from the hub. Either case, those are very easily fixed in a few minutes. Tightening the set screw is simple but make sure you find the flat side of the shaft and rotate the sprocket so that the set screw is tight against the flat. In the case of the sprocket loose on the hub... that is a very rare thing to happen, but it also can be fixed easily by you, or I can send you a new sprocket. We have had a very few calls about this over the years and customers were always able to recrimp the sprocket on the hub themselves... A permanent fix. So again, call me and I can tell you how to fix it yourself over the phone.

 

[Gryphon]

I am just now catching up on answering some things in this thread.  I hope you called us and got it resolved. Surely you did.  But for the benefit of anyone reading your post, I think I can see what is wrong.  Thanks for posting the video.

It seems simply that the set screw on the sprocket has come loose.  In rare cases, the sprocket can come loose from the hub.  Either case, those are very easily fixed in a few minutes. Tightening the set screw is simple but make sure you find the flat side of the shaft and rotate the sprocket so that the set screw is tight against the flat.  In the case of the sprocket loose on the hub... that is a very rare thing to happen, but it also can be fixed easily by you, or I can send you a new sprocket.  We have had a very few calls about this over the years and customers were always able to recrimp the sprocket on the hub themselves... A permanent fix.  So again, call me and I can tell you how to fix it yourself over the phone.

Thanks for the reply, I did get a reply email from you. I ended up building a new coop and haven't yet put the Ador1 over, since a friend of mine that works with electronics said I might want to clean off the board and see if that helps with the battery drain issues I was having. I'll update again once I have it set up again.

 

[Martlet]

If you have the remote button to open or close the door off-cycle, does that interfere with the normal opening/closing? For example, if I manually close the door 2 hours before dark, will it open it again at dawn? If I open it before dawn, will it stay open then close normally at dusk?

Thanks.

 

[tcstoehr]

That works fine. If you close it early, it will stay closed at nightfall and open in the morning just fine. But.... if you hold the button down and drive the door that way, then the door does nothing at all until that button is pressed again. In this case a quick press of the button puts it back into automatic mode.

 

[JayJo]

Thanks for all of your input on the Ador. I was looking for an automatic door and settled on this one thanks to your feedback. I just bought one.

This is a long thread and I confess I have not taken the time to read it all, so please feel free to redirect if my question has been answered already.

I think I want to install the door in the wall pictured below. I assume the best way to do that is to retrofit the bottom half of the hardware cloth with plywood, and then mount the door into the plywood. Does that sound like a reasonable approach, or would you suggest something different?

I think the door is typically installed on the coop itself, but this is an integrated coop/run that is totally predator-proof when it is all closed up and I'd like to keep it that way at night so the rats stay out of the food. So I'd rather the door were installed in the run wall vs. on the coop door inside the run. FWIW this is the Garden Coop, although we reversed the design, but this is the front wall that is just hardware cloth. I hope I've explained that clearly but if not let me know and I'll try again.

 

[T-traveler]

Jayjo, I also have a fully enclosed run (all 1/2 in. hardware cloth) with the hen house inside. I installed the ADOR1 on the hen house. The run has a full height door. In the evening after the girls have all gone into the hen house I go out and close the door to the run (to keep all critters out of the run) and enter the hen house from the outside door to count the chickens (something I do every night to make sure they're all there). In the morning when the ADOR1 opens, the chickens come out of the hen house and have access to the run. After I get up and have my morning coffee, I go out and open the door to the run and let them out.

 

[JayJo]

Thanks for responding, T-traveler! It sounds like we have similar coops. Like you I open the full-size door every morning to let the chickens roam, and then in the evenings I throw some scratch into the enclosed run to coax them back in and then close that door (which takes a while because the chickens always kick mulch into the doorframe and it needs to be cleaned out before it will close.) I was hoping to avoid having to let them out and in, both because it will save me time every day, but also because then when I'm on vacation this summer, they can still get outside during the day.

 

[T-traveler]

We don't let them free-range when we're not there unless our daughter is home, in which case, she opens the door to the run. We have sand in our run so there's no problem with anything clogging the door. Also, I doubt that you need to coax them into the run. We leave the run door open until just about dark. By that time they have all gone into the hen house. I think you should always count them at night, just so you know you have them all. That's how we discovered we lost one to some coyotes one day while we were not home (which is why we no longer let them out when we're not home).

 

[AdorStore]

Hi all.... I'm just wondering if anyone else has experienced a sort of "pulsating" action from their door either upon opening or closing or both ? My door seems to "pulsate" or "jump" a but when it goes up or down - it doesn't seem to be a smooth opening or closing but rather jumpy. Also, this evening when I went out to check on the girls, I noticed that just after they got in the coop the door closed and a couple were left outside, no big deal as I rounded them up and gave the ADOR a quick push of the green button to open it; as it was opening, I noticed the pulsating action but I also noticed that the door really seemed sluggish when it go about halfway up. It actually opened all the way but seemed as though the battery was starting to die because it was like the door was struggling at about halfway up. The door had only been installed a couple of months and the battery was bought new at the store the day of the install. The door was installed on July 6/13 so I can't imagine it being the battery although I guess it's possible to have a bad battery. Has anyone else been experiencing the same issues ? Thanks !

I am late to answer this question on the forum and rarely have gotten emails or phone calls about it but usually "pulsating" is caused by the sprocket being too tight against the sliding panel. It should not cause any functional problems. When the lid is ON, it holds the bottom floor of the battery box more rigid and when the lid is OFF, the bottom of the battery box can bounce which relieves tension if the motor is too far forward toward the panel. The solution is to back the motor away from the panel a tiny bit. The quickest and easiest way to do that is to get a 5/16" nut driver and loosen the lower left locknut one turn. Inside the battery box in the lower left corner is where you'll find this nut. Between the frame and the box, you should be able to wedge a flat toothpick in that gap. If you have time, you may want to put a flat washer on the stud, instead of a toothpick. Another way to do that is to move the motor back on the slotted holes in the box. On units since about Fall of 2013, the motor assembly is screwed through slotted holes in the battery box while earlier units had round holes that didn't allow adjustment. So you can loosen the four screws, and back the motor toward you about 1/32" and tighten back down. That should stop the pulsating. On the other hand, you may end up with the sprocket too far away from the door panel. If the sprocket is too far away from the sliding panel, then the sprocket may pop out of the sprocket holes. You may notice if you power up, with the door shut, that the ADOR will go POP POP POP at the bottom as the sprocket teeth pop out of the holes. That may be OK if, when you put the lid on, it doesn't do it. So that is no problem. Also, being that it only would happen when you first apply power, the POPPING at the bottom is only a one time event and if you power up with the door open several inches, the panel will always stop before it jams against the bottom. But if the door panel, sliding down, sometimes (like only once or twice during the full travel down) skips a hole, then the sprocket is too far from the panel and needs to be moved forward using the same means. Again, if it does this with the lid OFF, test it again with the lid ON and you will probably find it does not skip a hole with the lid on.

Certainly if you have concerns about this, and need clarity, please call me. I need to make some videos and post them for maintenance and troubleshooting. --Rod.

 

[AdorStore]

Is the door facing the prevailing wind?
Might not be an issue, you do need ventilation in winter and I can't imagine that that much wind would come in thru those holes unless you live in a very windy place and the door is facing the prevailing winds.

Yeah, that's exactly my concern. Probably have similar weather to you, here in IL, so I too worry about the draft through the holes in the winter. Also, the door is just metal and isn't really sealed, so lots of air around the edges too. Unfortunately, I didn't think about that when planning the coop, so the roost is right over the door.

I was thinking maybe I could hang some sort of sheet in front of the door on the inside. Maybe the chickens would push through it like a dog door? I have no idea if they would do this.

But I have the same drafty concerns you do, Schroeder.

I'm also wondering if the track will ice up in the winter. I guess we'll see! In the worst case, I'll stop the automatic door during the winter, throw some insulation to cover up the door hole on the inside, and let the chickens out manually through the people door.

If anyone else has any bright ideas, I'd love to hear them!

About the concerns about wind or draft in the coop due to the sprocket holes, I have some comments and a simple solution.

First off, the coop should have some ventilation -- this is important to chicken health. Natural chickens perch in trees, so even a drafty coop is better than what they would have in nature. And for analysis, there are 35 holes at 1/4" diameter each in the panel, That is only 1.7 square inches or equivalent to one hole that is 3/4" diameter. Surely all coops have much more than 1.7 square inches of ventilation and thus the sprocket holes would be relatively insignificant to the whole amount of cracks and seams even in a well sealed coop. All those little cracks add up.

Nevertheless, here is a solution: you can tape regular packing tape (like clear 2" wide packaging tape) and cover the column of holes. You could run a strip on each side of the panel so that the tape bonds to each other in each sprocket hole. Then put the panel back in the frame and the sprocket teeth will cut little slits in the tape. Voila! You have sealed off the sprocket holes. --ROD