ADOR1 automatic chicken door, 1 year later - loving it

[ihc1256]

I bought a chicken guard that said batteries would last about ten months. New batteries every 4 weeks. It works good enough, until batteries are low, then you replace and re calabrait. Wish i bought an adore, or one that works on ac current. I guess there is no one "best" at all phases. ihc 1256

 

[PhilipNat4]

I have officially given up on the Ador. It's not reached it's first birthday and already I've had to replace the circuit board once since new and it is out once again. I just can't recommend this door. I bought the Pullet Shut and will see how well it functions.

 

[rexbun]

We've had the Ador for about a year, still on the original 6V battery.

We still have to check the coop every night because most nights at least 1-2 hens don't make it in, even with the delayed closing. The early birds sit in the doorframe or just inside and prevent later birds from getting inside, and they lose out, give up and roost elsewhere, so they don't even care about the last call feature.

Most concerning is we lost a hen a la 'guillotine' when she got her head stuck in the closing door and then hung herself in her panic - found her dead and hanging by her neck with the door about a half inch open. Per Rod, the door has a safety obstruction sensor (just sensing increased current in the motor), but once the edge of the door gets close enough to the frame, the magnets take over and prevent the door from reversing course. Her neck was not big enough to traverse this danger zone.

He did offer us to return the door with a refund, and we are considering doing so and getting a swinging door instead - the challenge there will be how to keep the girls from roosting on top of the open door.

 

[lynnehd]

We've had the Ador for about a year, still on the original 6V battery.

We still have to check the coop every night because most nights at least 1-2 hens don't make it in, even with the delayed closing. The early birds sit in the doorframe or just inside and prevent later birds from getting inside, and they lose out, give up and roost elsewhere, so they don't even care about the last call feature.

Most concerning is we lost a hen a la 'guillotine' when she got her head stuck in the closing door and then hung herself in her panic - found her dead and hanging by her neck with the door about a half inch open. Per Rod, the door has a safety obstruction sensor (just sensing increased current in the motor), but once the edge of the door gets close enough to the frame, the magnets take over and prevent the door from reversing course. Her neck was not big enough to traverse this danger zone.

Does the built in sensor get full light exposure? I'll mention again that adding the external sensor on the bright side of the coop has made a world of difference on when the door opens and closes (closing being more important, of course). It now closes when it is nearly dark, so the chickens are all easily in the coop.

 

[Deannacat]

I can't, in good conscience, recommend this door either. We've had it for a year and a half and it malfunctions on a regular basis. It eats batteries like mad in spite of what Rod Newman says. I replace the battery every 3-4 months like clockwork and it's a chore every time, because it doesn't just start back up again like you would expect. We have to keep jacking with it to get it to work again.

We also had a situation where the Ador owner, Rod, said that our motor "took too much current" and he did replace it and the board as it was still under warranty. It did take him almost 6 weeks to get the parts back to me that time as he insisted on the phone that he needed to test the originals that I had sent back THE DAY HE ASKED FOR THEM. But I had to wait. The customer was forced to WAIT. 6 weeks is a LONG time when you've just shelled out $200 to NOT have to open and shut a door manually. Worse than never having had an automatic door at all. And the malfunction situation and battery replacement interval has not improved even though the guts of the thing were replaced.

Also, he IS defensive about the malfunctions. It would be really helpful if the website were updated to reflect WHAT TO DO about the malfunctions. Statements like "The motor ran too long" are not helpful.

I wish someone would make a decent **** door instead of expensive, frustrating junk.Guess why I'm writing this today? Yep, it's busted... again.

<<Update>> Ador owner has stated that he will replace the motor and board once more. Still waiting for it to arrive.

 

[mendozer]

I just ordered Htronix door with linear actuator. Its by far the most affordable option at $100. However, even though it hasn't arrived yet, I might return it. I made my door in the middle of the wall and it may not fit. The actuator needs to be inside and a vertical installation requires what looks like 24" of clearance. I might return it and go with this ADOR1. I didn't even think about the battery aspect of it. 6V vs 12V lawn battery.

 

[mendozer]

Got it today in the mail it requires roughly 29" I don't have that available. The Ador1 requires 28.5" BUT....can I install the Ador1 upside down? My coops elevated off the ground so upside down would work. I already framed in the hole for the door and there's only about 24" above the door before the gables from the roof.

 

[lynnehd]

Got it today in the mail it requires roughly 29" I don't have that available. The Ador1 requires 28.5" BUT....can I install the Ador1 upside down? My coops elevated off the ground so upside down would work. I already framed in the hole for the door and there's only about 24" above the door before the gables from the roof.

I know you can install them side ways, not sure about upside down.

@AdorStore might have more input?

 

[AdorStore]

Hello, thank you for your note on the door. I was just about to purchase the pullet shut door and noticed this one. It seems to come as a complete package. Does it have a safety net where if the chicken is in the door way it does not...smash them? The pullet has a thing where it closes, then opens a minute later for the late comer chick. Does this one have an features like that? thanks for your help

Hello, thank you for your note on the door. I was just about to purchase the pullet shut door and noticed this one. It seems to come as a complete package. Does it have a safety net where if the chicken is in the door way it does not...smash them? The pullet has a thing where it closes, then opens a minute later for the late comer chick. Does this one have an features like that? thanks for your help

I can answer that the ADOR does have the late-comer feature that you can turn ON or OFF. We call that feature LAST CALL where the door opens again after it shuts, and stays open for a few minutes for any late-comers. If a chicken is in the way of the door when it shuts, if the resistance of the chicken's body causes the motor to slow way down or stop, the excess motor current causes the software to realize there's something in the way and it should back up and try again.

 

[AdorStore]

Deannacat, I found you in our data base, so I just searched my emails from you and I find no emails. I see you say there was a delay and that this happened at the time we had just moved our home and office 80 miles almost a year ago and there were some effects from that, so I'm sorry it affected you. So please if you are having a problem don't hesitate to call AdorStore and I'll take care of whatever problem. You can see that we have a great history of reliability and if you aren't experiencing that then there's something wrong that surely can be fixed. Maybe your unit is slightly bent, ...but I don't know. If we replaced your board and motor under warranty and that didn't fix it, then my first guess is that your unit was warped in the shipping to you. Don't give up....just call us. --ROD