Best Automatic Chicken Door Openers???

[Attila the Hen]

Nifty Chicken. How is the chicken door secured when it is closed? Do you think it could be installed with a chicken ladder leading up to it?

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

The door is directly geared / connected to the drive motor, so when there is no power, the motor doesn't turn. You'd almost have to break the metal door in half before the motor / gears would spin.

As long as there is clearance for the door to swing open (a swing door, not an up/down door) then I don't see why it wouldn't work fine for a laddered or raised coop door.

 

[midget_farms]

Quote:
Yes - the door wouldn't open. I would hit it with the magnet & it would try - but seemed to be the motor was frozen. It only stuck once & didn't lose the clock. I got out the camp stove heater & cleared it up.

Of course I had ice built up on the box & it was colder than heck.

Since that one instance it has been fine.

Tomorrow & Monday we are due some zero degree weather. the coldest we have had since I installed the door in late spring. I'll let you guys know if it opens tomorrow. Today it was fine.

 

[corliss]

I just started a thread on this topic last night because my automatic door is baulking in the cold weather. Midget_Farms, are you saying that your deep cycle marine battery also doesn't work in the cold? I live in Connecticut and we've had a string of days where it didn't get much above 30 degrees. This is when my door started giving me problems. It is hooked up to solar cells for recharging but they don't seem to do much. I've recharged the 12 volt battery a couple of times with a recharger indoors but it is a big hassle as the settings are erased. Everything works fine until it gets really cold. I wish I had an answer for this problem.

 

[7L Farm]

Quote:
Mine is working fine.I recommend this one.

 

[midget_farms]

Quote:
Nope - battery is great. The mechanism froze up. Once I hit it with the heater it has worked fine. I'll let you guys know how it does over the next couple of days - supposed to be -2 tomorrow night.

 

[Wyogirl]

We ordered and have installed the automatic chicken coop door opener and absolutely love it. Our chicken coop was already built so my husband installed it with a few modifications. It is so worth it!!!!
http://www.automaticchickencoopdoor.com/

good luck
Ayda

 

[midget_farms]

door is frozen - didn't open today : (

The battery is fine - still has the trickle charger on it - I thinkg the mechanizm is so cold the motor doesn't have power to work against the cold gears.

 

[Green_Eggs_and_Ham]

Hi, We looked at all the options for door openers last spring. We already had a piece of aluminum for the door and the track was easy enough. SO what we really needed was the motor. I didn't want to spend extra money on things like a frame and door. We ended up with the Add A Motor from Discount Home Automation . I liked the price and got some references from people on BYC. It's lower price now than when I bought it. ( I paid like $90. Now its $80. ) DH installed it on a Saturday morning in 90 minutes or so. (VERY SURPRISING!) We've had it in for about 7 months now and have never had an issue. We get rain, and occasional snow flurries, but never bitter cold. Discount Automation now has a solar panel kit I am considering. Has anyone ever used it? I really want to try it, and it is inexpensive, but money is an issue right now.

If all you need is the motor, I recommend the Discount Automation one. My two cents.

Anyhow, I gotta get back to work!

Ha ha ha

E/

 

[nitcomb]

I also have the door from http://www.chickendoors.com/
I just finished installing and programming it this past weekend. So far so good. We've had a good blast of winter this week with night-time temps around 20F.
I'm hooked up to a 12v battery with an attached solar panel. My door and electronics are protected (mostly)from water/snow by the chicken run's roof.
I'll keep you posted as to performance.