How reliable are automatic coop doors?

[Pullet-Shut Chicken Doors]

Many people contributed with telling how great their automatic pop door are. But very few told for how many years.
If I want to know if a product is thrust worthy, I would like it to work for 5 years or more without problems.

I need to buy a new one some of these days (after 8 years) and I really would like to know if anyone has a automatic pop door that lasts more than 5 years without any problems.

This is our strong point. Benjamin Franklin said “The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten.”

Our doors rarely have any issues in the first 4 years. Even the batteries typically last 5+ years. If the bottom hinge is never lubricated, then that can cause problems typically in the 4-5 year timeframe. One more difference is that we sell components to our door. So if the motor fails for example, that's $50, not $100 or $200 to replace everything. Finally, we actually have a phone and answer it. Customer support is very important to us. chickendoors.com

 

[Magoo1957]

We have a completely enclosed yard for our girls wire mesh roof and all. We took patio blocks laid on the long edge and buried them into the ground around the entire perimeter to keep out predators (we had dug up a patio area and thought this would be a good reuse).
I used to do the morning release of the hens from the coop to the chicken yard, my husband did the evening. He was not as diligent about it as I was, there was many a morning I went out and found the girls at the run gate to greet me. I got sick of the constant nagging about it and broke down to get an automatic door.

I love it!

I'm still out there very early in the day, checking their food and water. but I don't have to worry about them being safe at night. I bought the FarmLite Large Automatic Chicken Coop Door Opener on Amazon.

It was dang easy to install, super easy to set up and FANTASIC customer service - I wanted an electronic version of the user manual and they were great about sending it to me ASAP. It has battery backup for long power outages, a cutoff if a hen is in the doorway when the timer kicks in to close it, it can be set up via 24 hour clock OR the level of light, fobs that I can use to close the door from inside the house if necessary and it has solar power capabilities if I want to take it to that route some day. We've been SUPER happy with it!

If I have ANY issues - and these are NOT with the door - when we do have a brief power outage *I* forget to go out and reset the time on the door, so like if the power goes out at 4pm and comes back on at 6pm the clock needs to be adjusted to the current time. I've put a reminder on the fridge to also reset the coop door since I have to reset the fridge controls when the outage happens. But Like I said, that's on me not the door.

We have a completely enclosed yard for our girls wire mesh roof and all. We took patio blocks laid on the long edge and buried them into the ground around the entire perimeter to keep out predators (we had dug up a patio area and thought this would be a good reuse).
I used to do the morning release of the hens from the coop to the chicken yard, my husband did the evening. He was not as diligent about it as I was, there was many a morning I went out and found the girls at the run gate to greet me. I got sick of the constant nagging about it and broke down to get an automatic door.

I love it!

I'm still out there very early in the day, checking their food and water. but I don't have to worry about them being safe at night. I bought the FarmLite Large Automatic Chicken Coop Door Opener on Amazon.

It was dang easy to install, super easy to set up and FANTASIC customer service - I wanted an electronic version of the user manual and they were great about sending it to me ASAP. It has battery backup for long power outages, a cutoff if a hen is in the doorway when the timer kicks in to close it, it can be set up via 24 hour clock OR the level of light, fobs that I can use to close the door from inside the house if necessary and it has solar power capabilities if I want to take it to that route some day. We've been SUPER happy with it!

If I have ANY issues - and these are NOT with the door - when we do have a brief power outage *I* forget to go out and reset the time on the door, so like if the power goes out at 4pm and comes back on at 6pm the clock needs to be adjusted to the current time. I've put a reminder on the fridge to also reset the coop door since I have to reset the fridge controls when the outage happens. But Like I said, that's on me not the door.

Hi, Donna....does the Farmlite have a manual override where you could close it manually in the event of a "no power" situation?

 

[Mouthpear]

Hi, Donna....does the Farmlite have a manual override where you could close it manually in the event of a "no power" situation?

By no power do you mean dead batteries? Board not supplying power? Manual as in some sort of hand crank?

The link to amazon, that was given in the initial post, says it has a battery backup.



However If you go watch this video that this wonderful, gorgeous woman named @Boujee Beaks Hen Haven , with the voice that will make you swoon. She talks about the battery backup and what happened with hers.

 

[0die]

I bought this in 2017. It has been bullet proof. powerful motor. solid door. I have a cable on it that opens/closes the feeder as well. The actuator is a jack screw, very strong and will not hang up.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0759YDWYT/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Apis mellifera]

I bought this in 2017. It has been bullet proof. powerful motor. solid door. I have a cable on it that opens/closes the feeder as well. The actuator is a jack screw, very strong and will not hang up.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0759YDWYT/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Thats good to hear. I installed mine last March and its been great so far. Its under the JVR store on amazon now.

 

[Mouthpear]

Hi, Donna....does the Farmlite have a manual override where you could close it manually in the event of a "no power" situation?

By no power do you mean dead batteries? Board not supplying power? Manual as in some sort of hand crank?

 

[BDutch]

By no power do you mean dead batteries? Board not supplying power? Manual as in some sort of hand crank?

The link to amazon, that was given in the initial post, says it has a battery backup.

View attachment 3723329

However If you go watch this video that this wonderful, gorgeous woman named @Boujee Beaks Hen Haven , with the voice that will make you swoon. She talks about the battery backup and what happened with hers.

Thanks for sharing the video. I certainly wouldn’t buy this opener from Amazon after seeing it.

We bought a cable to charge our electric car for a double power socket from Amazon because it was much cheaper. It broke down after 18 months. Got wiser and never bought anything from Amazon since.

We have other suppliers that are more expensive but more reliable. One supplier (Dutch/part of Europe) tests the things they sell. Only if it’s good enough for their standards they sell it.

Not a fan of Amazon at all since I know more about this company. They sell too much crap and the owner is not someone who is good for his employees. He’s too rich and powerful already. One of the people mentioned by Oxfam-Novib who increased his wealth enormously without paying taxes for good schools, healthcare, and everything else we need in society.

 

[Jakemedic]

Thanks for sharing the video. I certainly wouldn’t buy this opener from Amazon after seeing it.

We bought a cable to charge our electric car for a double power socket from Amazon because it was much cheaper. It broke down after 18 months. Got wiser and never bought anything from Amazon since.

We have other suppliers that are more expensive but more reliable. One supplier (Dutch/part of Europe) tests the things they sell. Only if it’s good enough for their standards they sell it.

Not a fan of Amazon at all since I know more about this company. They sell too much crap and the owner is not someone who is good for his employees. He’s too rich and powerful already. One of the people mentioned by Oxfam-Novib who increased his wealth enormously without paying taxes for good schools, healthcare, and everything else we need in society.

I bought this door from Amazon and it failed after 6 months. Was to have a one year warranty, but the company changed names so they don’t have to cover it. &#$#&$&@! Time to break down and spend the money I should have in the first place. Classic case of you get what you pay for.

 

[lagrange chicks]

I built one using the actuator, relay, solar controller and panel, timer and battery for $110. It has been great up until the -14F showed up early this week which according to the specs for the timer its good to around 10F.

 

[Pullet-Shut Chicken Doors]

I bought this door from Amazon and it failed after 6 months. Was to have a one year warranty, but the company changed names so they don’t have to cover it. &#$#&$&@! Time to break down and spend the money I should have in the first place. Classic case of you get what you pay for.

I'm sorry to hear that. Too often people think Amazon means the warranty is there. Or that there is someone there to reply to emails or calls. Ours is a small company, but we've been answering the same phone number and email for 14 years. And honoring our warranty. Just this morning I was talking with a customer who got her door in 2011, and only now is replacing the motor.