Gate opener

9 years ago

I purchased a single swing gate opener that states, " this gate opener must be attached to a 10 amp circuit breaker"

i currently only have 20qmp breakers in my panel. I'd like to not hard wire it directly to the panel. I'd prefer to wire it on a 3 prong plug so I can unplug it as opposed to going to the service panel and flipping the breaker.

so my question is as follows. Can I connect the motor via a plug that is 20 amps.

Featured Answer

Vith

9 years ago

last modified: 9 years ago

Hmm, I guess the control board doesnt like higher than 10A. It has an internal fuse so... that would blow if it pulled more. They say use 14 gauge then say 10A which is silly IMO. I am thinking they say to use 10A breaker so the owner doesnt have to swap out the fuse. Not much different than a furnace control panel with its fuse being like 3A for the non blower motor circuitry. Pretty sure the gate motor uses a fair amount of power being heavy duty. Almost worth plugging it into kill-a-watt and seeing how much it pulls on operation out of curiosity.

Nonrelated to electric, I am guessing that zoning didnt approve a garage? Thus the carport with gate. Otherwise they could have went for a garage door and fire rated entry door. Is that gate lockable or just for looks?

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Comments (8)

Bruce in Northern Virginia
9 years ago
Standard dual receptacles for the home are rated for either 15 amps or 20 amps, and either type can be used on a 20 amp circuit because the plug design limits the 15 amp receptacle to 15 amp (max) devices. If the directions for your opener allow you to add a plug on its power feed, it should be acceptable to plug it into a 15 amp receptacle. However, sometimes the UL approval will require it to be hardwired.

Bruce
greg_2015
9 years ago
There's two issues that I see here:

(1) Can it be put on a 20amp circuit

(2) Can it be changed to a plug instead of hardwired.

Normally, the instructions that come with the unit trumps everything else.

So if it states that it MUST be protected by a 10 amp circuit breaker, then it can't be installed on a 15 or 20 amp one. The thing that confuses me though is that 10 amp circuit breakers are pretty abnormal. 15 is usually the smallest. So I find this requirement weird.

Regarding (2), Bruce covered that. The unit (hopefully) has UL approval and that approval may be just for hardwiring. It may also be for converting it to a cord, but if so, it probably mentions it in the instructions.

Is this a known brand or some illegal Chinese import? Post the make and model and maybe we could see if we can find some information about it.
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greg_2015
9 years ago
If the question is "will it work if I do these two things" then yes. But it may not be safe or to code.
Vith
9 years ago
Wondering why they designed that motor to fry at above 10 amps. Perhaps lowers mfg costs. Can we get the model number?
PRO
CM Construction
Original Author
9 years ago
Here is a picture of the opener and the wiring diagram. But, I've already added a cord with a 3 prong plug into a 15 amp plug and it's working fine.
PRO
CM Construction
Original Author
9 years ago
It's opening this gate fine.
PRO
CM Construction
Original Author
9 years ago
Vith. It can lock from the inside. However with the motor on it now it will not budge unless you open it with the clicker. And yes due to codes etc I would have had to build a garage. That's why I went and purchased a welder ( never welded before) and watched a few welding videos then built the gate. The entire cost with the miller welder and to build he gate with motor was $2000. The most expensive part of the gate is the ironwood which is 1x6x10' and out here In Los Angeles runs $4.45 a foot. But it works great. Fuse has not blown yet.