Electric Gates - what cable?

[ollyfly]

Hi, I have recently purchased a set of electric gate motors (underground type) and wish run a power supply to them.

What type/spec of cable should I buy?

The distance from the consumer unit in my house is no more than 10meters away.

Also, how would the cable need to be layed? Concreted into the ground?

Hope you can help

Thanks

 

[Iggifer]

You want SWA - Steel wire armoured - as to the size, it would depend on how heavy duty the motors are.

SWA doesn't need concreting in, it just needs burying deep enough that it won't be damaged by spades etc - and should have warning tape above it stating 'CAUTION - ELECTRIC CABLE BELOW'

There are lots of things to consider for this though, I would wager you're better off getting an electrician in

 

[flameport]

SWA as above, but you will also require other cables for the intercom panel, controls in the house, safety devices, vehicle sensors, etc.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

There are lots of things to consider for this though,

And the electrical cables are the least of those - the liabilities and safety requirements for motorised gates are stringent. People can be, and have been, killed by gates improperly designed or installed.

I would wager you're better off getting an electrician in

I would wager you'd be better off getting a specialist gate installer in.

 

[westie101]

Before you fit them, ask and answer this question.
If the supply goes off in the street or just to the house how are they going to be opened if you or your family wants in or out of the property in any conditions?

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Or if an emergency services vehicle needs entry, and there's no power, or there's nobody at home.

 

[seasickstevie]

I thought that manual override of some sort was fairly standard. Maybe I'm wrong?

 

[jj4091]

There are many things to consider, safety probably being the biggest http://www.hse.gov.uk/press/2010/hse-electricgates.htm try googling electric gates & see all the different types available. You don't appear to have the experience to make it DIY job

 

[endecotp]

Ms Gilroy said she tried pressing the electronic button to open the gate, and also tried to use a remote control, but neither would work.

Officers eventually freed the little girl by breaking off an electronic box, she said.

Describing how Semelia was trapped, she said: "My little girl was playing in the back yard with her friend. She saw the car going through the gate, and she tried to go back through while the gate was closing. And then the gate came down on her."

She said of her "kind and sharing" daughter: " "She was my whole life, I don't know how I will go on without her.

"Her favourite song was Alicia Keys' No One, and I can picture her now singing and dancing along to it," she said.

She added: "It's so hard. We were supposed to be going on holiday in August, we were going to meet all the family in Jamaica she had never met."


Greater Manchester Police and the Health and Safety Executive have launched a joint investigation, said a police spokesman.

HSE guidelines require developers to take steps to prevent people getting trapped by electric gates.

Pressure-sensitive strips and infra-red detectors are both recommended.

 

[ollyfly]

Thanks for the replies.

I intend to have 2 gate motors - each is 60w. What size SWA cable would you recommend?

Also, what type of cable for the infrared diodes, intercom etc?

Thanks

 

[endecotp]

This is not a DIY job. Read the HSE documents. You need the right equipment to test that the crushing force is sufficiently low that it will not KILL A CHILD. But that's not sufficient, you also need to install detectors that will detect if someone is caught and to make the motors reverse. And then you need a quick-release system so that the PARENT WHO IS WATCHING THEIR CHILD BEING CRUSHED TO DEATH can do something to release the gates.

This sort of dangerous machinery can only be fitted by specialists who know what the requirements are and how to satisfy them.

This is not a theoretical concern - several children have been killed by electric gates in recent years.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Thanks for the replies.

I intend to have 2 gate motors - each is 60w. What size SWA cable would you recommend?

Also, what type of cable for the infrared diodes, intercom etc?

Thanks

Please tell us the truth - it will make no difference to the advice you get, but it might save you, and us, wasting any more of our time.

Do you, or do you not, intend to give this job to people who know what they are doing, or are you going to press ahead with an incompetent DIY install which could well (although please god it doesn't) kill someone?

 

[DaveHerns]

I think we know the answer

 

[ericmark]

It does not need to be a DIY install to be dangerous. My mother had a stair lift installed by Stenner the stairs at centre turn 180° so had to be specially designed and the bottom of stairs has a hall way so bottom section of the rail has to lift clear of the hall way when not in use. County Council social services had the lift installed.

However the radio control buttons fixed at the top of stairs give the operator no view of the extension leg the only indication is sound of the motors straining and the fact that the chair will not work until leg is down. There are no sensors to stop the leg going up or down loads of sensors on the chair but nothing on the leg.

Also with the leg down my mother can't reach the lower operating button so it blocks the only wheel chair exit from the house.

I have looked many times at automatic railway crossing gates and considered this would simply not be allowed in a factory. When working in a car factory in Deeside they had crossing points for the production line and using these points would automatically stop the movement on the line, it would also likely result in the sack if not used at the correct times but it failed safe.

I have needed to install safety systems to stop machines and it is complex. It can seem easy if a E-Stop is pressed then cut power be it electric, air or hydraulic, but this is not the case as losing power can mean something will drop.

My father-in-law had an electric garage door fitted again professional, but the fuse box was in the garage and there was no side door so with a power cut you can't open the door. Once pointed out a release lock was fitted.

There is a huge difference between electric gates and electric security gates. Clutches can be used to limit force used and allow override with non security versions. However it does point out the installer needs the equipment to measure the pressure exerted.

Normally as electricians we are told x supply is required and all we do is provide the supply. Then the gates are fitted by the specialist. So 60W could be 5A or 0.5A depending on voltage so likely 1.5mm² SWA will do the job. However as to how many cores not a clue. The stair lift has 24 volt batteries so even with a fire it should still work, it does not need mains power. This can mean the supply is very small as all it does is charge batteries so motor size means nothing.