Solar powered automatic chicken coop door!

[Leatherworker]

Hello to everyone that reads this. I am looking for a solar powered chicken coop door for larger breeds. There are lots and lots of doors on Amazon but poor reviews. I saw a post on here about The ladies chicken coop door but I was wondering what people thought about the fact that it has a pvc frame. Rodents can chew through pvc so I am concerned about that. Has anyone had a problem with rodents chewing through the frame of the ladies chicken door? Any other recommendations? It has to have solar power because we have no power whatsoever going to that coop. Thanks in advance.

https://www.amazon.com/Automatic-Ch...mzn1.fos.17d9e15d-4e43-4581-b373-0e5c1a776d5d

I have this one, its terrific. Their customer support is super. It works great. You can set by light or timer or one of each. You can always manually open or close and it has a remote control. The solar works very well.

 

[Pullet-Shut Chicken Doors]

the pullet shut chickendoor is the best door out their. they are made in texas and the owners answer the phone. chickendoors.com

 

[littlecoopnextdoor]

I use the Omlet door - it's battery powered and so far, it's been great. We have extreme cold in the winter and it never let me down. Haven't had to even change the battery in over a year. Highly recommend. Pricey, but seems to be solid.

 

[CluckyMcCluckington]

You can order the door with both the solar panel and battery. You have choices for the power supply: none (provide your own), solar+battery (4 wire lengths available from 10-25-50-100ft), trickle charger with battery, or plug-in adapter (requires photo sensor). We love offering choices.

This is what I have been looking for. A door that does not run on AA batteries that run out in 3 weeks. I am trying to understand all the ways to charge your battery. I can charge with the solar panel. And a plug-in adapter. Does that mean I can plug it into an electrical outlet to charge? And then there is a trickle charger. What is a trickle charger? Thank you.

 

[Pullet-Shut Chicken Doors]

This is what I have been looking for. A door that does not run on AA batteries that run out in 3 weeks. I am trying to understand all the ways to charge your battery. I can charge with the solar panel. And a plug-in adapter. Does that mean I can plug it into an electrical outlet to charge? And then there is a trickle charger. What is a trickle charger? Thank you.

Let me clairfy. First, with zero charging, we promise the battery will run at least month, and many people telling us 6+ months. We don't recommend draining the battery deeply, as that will shorten the battery life which is typically 5++ years. We offer 2 ways to charge the battery: a solar panel or a plug-in trickle charger. The 'trickle charger' plugs into an outlet and is designed to continuously keep the battery topped off. The "plug-in adapter" is not designed to work with a battery, and while it is less expensive, your battery doesn't work if power is out. Note that our solar panel only needs 1-2 hours of direct light per day to keep the battery topped off, so it is not undersized, and we build a regulator into it to maximize the battery life.

Let me know if I missed something.
Thank you.

 

[Mouthpear]

This is what I have been looking for. A door that does not run on AA batteries that run out in 3 weeks. I am trying to understand all the ways to charge your battery. I can charge with the solar panel. And a plug-in adapter. Does that mean I can plug it into an electrical outlet to charge? And then there is a trickle charger. What is a trickle charger? Thank you.

Read my post here.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...matic-chicken-coop-door.1603271/post-27309622

 

[CluckyMcCluckington]

Let me clairfy. First, with zero charging, we promise the battery will run at least month, and many people telling us 6+ months. We don't recommend draining the battery deeply, as that will shorten the battery life which is typically 5++ years. We offer 2 ways to charge the battery: a solar panel or a plug-in trickle charger. The 'trickle charger' plugs into an outlet and is designed to continuously keep the battery topped off. The "plug-in adapter" is not designed to work with a battery, and while it is less expensive, your battery doesn't work if power is out. Note that our solar panel only needs 1-2 hours of direct light per day to keep the battery topped off, so it is not undersized, and we build a regulator into it to maximize the battery life.

Let me know if I missed something.
Thank you.

Thank you. That was a good explanation. I don't mind if a battery needs to be charged, as long as there are good options for keeping it charged. This door has good options. I just don't want to rely on AA batteries that drain in a month or less and then have to be replaced, which makes the door unreliable. Unfortunately, my chicken door is on the regular door which would make it difficult to open during the day with your chicken door open. But I may add a chicken door in my new coop and place it on a wall. Thank you!

 

[littlecoopnextdoor]

Thank you. That was a good explanation. I don't mind if a battery needs to be charged, as long as there are good options for keeping it charged. This door has good options. I just don't want to rely on AA batteries that drain in a month or less and then have to be replaced, which makes the door unreliable. Unfortunately, my chicken door is on the regular door which would make it difficult to open during the day with your chicken door open. But I may add a chicken door in my new coop and place it on a wall. Thank you!

if it's any consolation - I have had the omlet door for over a year now and the same batteries are still only down to 70%.

 

[CluckyMcCluckington]

if it's any consolation - I have had the omlet door for over a year now and the same batteries are still only down to 70%.

I tried Omlet and while the batteries were fine for the brief period I used the door, the sensor usually did not work and door got stuck half way several times. I sent it back. I just want a door where everything works. You'd think it was an easy request, but no.

 

[empaquette]

I just purchased and installed the Pullet Shut door from Chickendoors.com this past weekend. I opted for the solar panel charging option w/photo sensor. The door was shipped quickly and arrived within 3-days.

The door opened within 7 minutes of sunrise, and closed about 20 minutes after sunset.

No birds were left outside the past two nights so I don’t feel the need to delay the time of door closing, but I like having that option. The door closes nice and slow and I think the noise of the motor would spook any birds into moving out of the way if they happen to be in the doorway while it closed.

I was looking at the Ador automatic chicken door and was considering it until I saw some photos of birds that got caught in the door.

Here’s a phot of it installed after it closed for the night. The camera makes it look like there is more light than there actually was.

Let me know if you have any questions