ADOR1 Automatic Coop Door?

[milola]

My guess would be the battery. You have no way of knowing how long a battery has been on the shelf. I bought my first battery (high dollar one at that) from radio shack and it worked one time. Got the cheap walmart one and it is still going strong. It is going to take a little more power for it to raise as opposed to lowering the door so it only makes sense that it would be a little more sluggish on the raising of the door.

 

[Windy Bay Farm]

My guess would be the battery. You have no way of knowing how long a battery has been on the shelf. I bought my first battery (high dollar one at that) from radio shack and it worked one time. Got the cheap walmart one and it is still going strong. It is going to take a little more power for it to raise as opposed to lowering the door so it only makes sense that it would be a little more sluggish on the raising of the door.

It seems to make more sense that its a battery issue. I'm going to connect another battery to it this evening to see if it makes a difference and go from there. Thanks for your reply, milola !

 

[Windy Bay Farm]

[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 ?

 

[MoonShadows]

Yup, something is definitely going on for it to have that jump, hesitation and noise. I would give Rod a call tomorrow and email your video to him. I'm sure he'll diagnose the problem and get it corrected for you.

 

[Windy Bay Farm]

Yup, something is definitely going on for it to have that jump, hesitation and noise. I would give Rod a call tomorrow and email your video to him. I'm sure he'll diagnose the problem and get it corrected for you.

I was just thinking tonight that I'll have to send him my video via email and see what he thinks. I don't understand what is going on with it... I hope it's nothing too serious and that it can be worked out easily. Such a bummer.

 

[milola]

Hmm. Yeah that isn't working right. Maybe an alignment problem. Sounds plenty powerful enough so guess it isn't the battery. Can't wait to hear the advice you get from the company, just in case I ever have that issue.

 

[Windy Bay Farm]

Hmm. Yeah that isn't working right. Maybe an alignment problem. Sounds plenty powerful enough so guess it isn't the battery. Can't wait to hear the advice you get from the company, just in case I ever have that issue.

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.

 

[Jewelwing]

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.

It's not really the wind I worry about so much as just the draftiness. I have plenty of ventilation up top - 24 sq ft of ventilation in a 6'x6'x6' cube. The walls are completely open for a foot under the roof all the way around (of course covered up with hardware cloth!). Just muddling through this. Maybe I'll have to cover up some of those areas in the winter.

I don't know, maybe it's not a problem at all. I've just been reading about how you should have lots of ventilation, but beware of drafts. So the holey door seemed like a potential problem.

 

[bumpercarr]

It's not really the wind I worry about so much as just the draftiness. I have plenty of ventilation up top - 24 sq ft of ventilation in a 6'x6'x6' cube. The walls are completely open for a foot under the roof all the way around (of course covered up with hardware cloth!). Just muddling through this. Maybe I'll have to cover up some of those areas in the winter.

I don't know, maybe it's not a problem at all. I've just been reading about how you should have lots of ventilation, but beware of drafts. So the holey door seemed like a potential problem.

I'm thinking that if you already have so much ventilation, the little that the Ador adds will not be a factor. I have a situation similar to yours, the bottom of my coop is all hardware cloth, the top is where the chickens roost. The Ador doesn't add anything to the ventilation, at least not that anyone would notice.

 

[Jewelwing]

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.