ADOR1 Automatic Coop Door?

[MoonShadows]

Quote:

Still haven't discovered anything, but I haven't done much either. My casual observation tells me it opens better on warmer days. Colder days seems when it gets stuck. That tells me something is contracting just a bit to keep it from opening all the way. But, even when it only opens 1/2 way, the chickens seem to have no problem going in and out...and I some large hens including 3 Jersey Giants. I will be working outside tomorrow. I am going to take the cover off, clean everything, and unless I see something obvious, I guess I'll just keep watching. Not sure what else to do.

 

[aart]

Still haven't discovered anything, but I haven't done much either. My casual observation tells me it opens better on warmer days. Colder days seems when it gets stuck. That tells me something is contracting just a bit to keep it from opening all the way. But, even when it only opens 1/2 way, the chickens seem to have no problem going in and out...and I some large hens including 3 Jersey Giants. I will be working outside tomorrow. I am going to take the cover off, clean everything, and unless I see something obvious, I guess I'll just keep watching. Not sure what else to do.

Which really kinda makes sense, metal moves with temperature and if there's tight tolerances cold will cause problems.

I think the friction happens between the door and the tracks...wonder how hard it would be to disengage the drive gear when the door is sticking and move the door in the tracks by hand to feel where it's sticking?

Is it made out of steel or aluminum?

 

[MoonShadows]

Quote: It's made of steel. I'm going to do just that, check the track.

 

[BY Chicken Lady]

I have two ADORs now and have no trouble from either. They open and close within minutes of each other without fail. I was wondering though, if your slow functioning on cold days might have more to do with a weak battery. I know I've bought cheap batteries and old batteries in the past for other devices that have functioned similar when the battery was old stock from the store, or weak from being run down. Just a thought.

 

[MoonShadows]

I have two ADORs now and have no trouble from either. They open and close within minutes of each other without fail. I was wondering though, if your slow functioning on cold days might have more to do with a weak battery. I know I've bought cheap batteries and old batteries in the past for other devices that have functioned similar when the battery was old stock from the store, or weak from being run down. Just a thought.

Might be but I doubt it for 2 reasons. 1. The battery is a Durocell that I only bought a few months ago, and 2. The motor has no problem running all the way down, but on the way up, you can tell something mechanical is not working right because the door shudders a bit....but, maybe I better check the battery first. I would hate to spend a few hours trying to diagnose the problem only to find out it was a weak battery!

 

[BY Chicken Lady]

Might be but I doubt it for 2 reasons. 1. The battery is a Durocell that I only bought a few months ago, and 2. The motor has no problem running all the way down, but on the way up, you can tell something mechanical is not working right because the door shudders a bit....but, maybe I better check the battery first. I would hate to spend a few hours trying to diagnose the problem only to find out it was a weak battery!

Good idea. I have bought dud batteries before. Put what I thought was a new battery on a tester and it showed low. The Up movement is going to put the most draw on the battery too.

 

[jetdog]

Get your $200 bucks back and look into the" D20 add a motor" my door is open and closed every day with no problems and if the motor craps out I can buy 3 for the price of that one.

 

[MoonShadows]

Get your $200 bucks back and look into the" D20 add a motor" my door is open and closed every day with no problems and if the motor craps out I can buy 3 for the price of that one.

No, thanks.

 

[sn0wwhite]

I am happy to report that my ADOR1 has worked successfully now for 7 nights and mornings in a row. Last Saturday I disconnected and reconnected the battery 3 times (just to be sure and to make sure the door was in the right position when I reconnected) and it's been working since.

I don't know what caused it to stop, and I am still cautious and checking it daily... but so far so good again.

 

[MoonShadows]

I finally had a chance to take a look at my door today, and the problem (I think, I hope) may be solved. First, the door only opened about half way this morning again. It was about 30 degrees outside. So, around 1:00 pm, when the temperature soared to 40 degrees, I took a milk crate and Rod's instructions and parked myself in front of the door. I manually tried to close and open the door 3 times. All 3 times it closed with no problems, but stopped about half way up.

Now, when I installed my door back in May. I put a frame around the opening after I installed the door, and a "hood" above it, so when the door opened, the door was hidden behind this hood....a 1" frame covered with 3 pieces of wood. Hopefully, you can see it in this picture....right above the door painted the same color as the coop.



After trying the door the 3 times with it only opening half way each time, I unscrewed the top panel of the Ador1 door. I had a hard time lifting and removing it. In fact, I had to use a pair of plyers to tap the panel cover up and then pull it out. I then programmed the door for "Continuous Run" (Unhook battery >> hold button in >> re hook battery >> let button out >> push button 21 times). This makes the door close/open continuously. After about 10 minutes of it opening and closing with no problem, I decided that the top panel of the door (which was so difficult to remove) must be causing the problem. I got a razor utility knife and shaved of about 1/32" on each side of the wood frame where the top slides in and down. After that, the top slid back and down with no problem. I tried removing it again, and it slipped right off and on again.

I replaced both screws to hold the top on, and then tested the unit again. it went up and down over a dozen times with no problems.

Conclusion: My only guess is the wood frame may have been putting pressure on the Ador1 top panel (that covers the motor and battery) thus"squeezing" the metal just enough where the door had to struggle upon opening and couldn't make it all the way up.

I'll watch it over the next few days and, hopefully, this was the problem and it has been solved.....I hope, I hope, I hope!!!!