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2001 - Volume #25, Issue #4, Page #18

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"No Power" Automatic Gate

"You can open and shut this unusual gate just by pulling on a chain. The best part is that you don't have to get out of your vehicle," says Sam Moore, Salem, Oregon.
  "One of my neighbors built the gate and gave me permission to tell FARM SHOW about it. The gate can be opened or closed from either side. You tug on a rope to open it. Once you have passed through, you pull on another rope to close it.
  "The 16-ft. wide, 7-bar steel gate hangs on sturdy 30-in. square brick posts which are not necessary but give the gate a lot of stability.
  "The poles supporting the operating arms overhead consist of 4-in. well casing set in concrete footings. The operating arms are cut from 18-ft. long 2 by 6's. The gate's toggle mechanism is constructed from 2 1/2 by 3/8-in. flat steel with 1/2-in. bolts used as pivot pins. A clevis, to which the lower half of the toggle is attached, must be set in concrete.
  "Eyebolts and 1/4-in. chain are used to connect the inner ends of the operating arms to the 3/8-in. steel rod that lifts the toggle mechanism. To work properly, the lifting rod and chain must be adjusted so that the weighted arm of the toggle mechanism is exactly vertical, or dead center, when the gate is half opened. The weight of the swinging gate will carry the arm past dead center, and then the weight on the arm will help carry the gate the rest of the way and lock it into position. Light chain, 6 to 7 ft. long, hangs from the outer end of each arm. The free ends are covered by a 2-ft. length of garden hose to serve as a handle.
  "To operate the gate, you pull straight down on the hanging chain, which lifts the toggle to a vertical position. As the toggle goes up, the gate moves through one half of its arc. The momentum of the moving gate carries the toggle over dead center, at which time the pull chain is released and the weight on the toggle causes the gate to complete its arc. The toggle mechanism is straight out in its extended position when the gate is closed and folded back on itself when the gate is opened. The weight locks the gate into either position until someone again pulls the chain."

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"No Power" Automatic Gate FENCING Gates 25-4-18 "You can open and shut this unusual gate just by pulling on a chain. The best part is that you don't have to get out of your vehicle," says Sam Moore, Salem, Oregon. "One of my neighbors built the gate and gave me permission to tell FARM SHOW about it. The gate can be opened or closed from either side. You tug on a rope to open it. Once you have passed through, you pull on another rope to close it. "The 16-ft. wide, 7-bar steel gate hangs on sturdy 30-in. square brick posts which are not necessary but give the gate a lot of stability. "The poles supporting the operating arms overhead consist of 4-in. well casing set in concrete footings. The operating arms are cut from 18-ft. long 2 by 6's. The gate's toggle mechanism is constructed from 2 1/2 by 3/8-in. flat steel with 1/2-in. bolts used as pivot pins. A clevis, to which the lower half of the toggle is attached, must be set in concrete. "Eyebolts and 1/4-in. chain are used to connect the inner ends of the operating arms to the 3/8-in. steel rod that lifts the toggle mechanism. To work properly, the lifting rod and chain must be adjusted so that the weighted arm of the toggle mechanism is exactly vertical, or dead center, when the gate is half opened. The weight of the swinging gate will carry the arm past dead center, and then the weight on the arm will help carry the gate the rest of the way and lock it into position. Light chain, 6 to 7 ft. long, hangs from the outer end of each arm. The free ends are covered by a 2-ft. length of garden hose to serve as a handle. "To operate the gate, you pull straight down on the hanging chain, which lifts the toggle to a vertical position. As the toggle goes up, the gate moves through one half of its arc. The momentum of the moving gate carries the toggle over dead center, at which time the pull chain is released and the weight on the toggle causes the gate to complete its arc. The toggle mechanism is straight out in its extended position when the gate is closed and folded back on itself when the gate is opened. The weight locks the gate into either position until someone again pulls the chain."

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