Reddit reviews Mighty Mule Automatic Gate Opener for Light Duty Single Swing Gates Up to 12 Feet Long or 300 Pounds (MM260)
We found 2 Reddit comments about Mighty Mule Automatic Gate Opener for Light Duty Single Swing Gates Up to 12 Feet Long or 300 Pounds (MM260). Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
The new MM260 features Mighty Mule's exclusive Dual Sense Technology that meets UL325 6th Edition Standards for additional protection & safetyDesigned for light duty dual swing gates up to a maximum of 12 ft long or maximum of weight of 300 lbsIdeal for Do It Yourself property owner, the MM260 equipped with detailed instructions, installation DVD, unlimited 24 hour technical supportPerfect for all single gate types including chain link, tube, panel, vinyl and woodIncludes: Single button remote (Model # FM135), AC transformer (Model # RB570), control box, all required hardware and an installation manual with DVDRequired: 12 Volt Automotive or Marine Type Battery that produces a minimum of 250 cold cranking amps (CCA)Solar Capable: With the addition of a Mighty Mule 5-watt Solar Panel (Model # FM121) or 10-watt solar panel (Model # FM123)
Short version- it's probably cheaper to buy a 2nd robot vacuum, unless you go total DIY route.
Medium version- Unless the hallway is an outside hallway (IE one of the hallway walls is on the outside of the house) you probably aren't wasting any money heating it. If the hallway is surrounded by heated rooms, then the hallway itself won't bleed much heat except maybe through the ceiling and that's probably to another apartment.
Long version: Locking and unlocking doors is fairly easy. Unlatching doors is a bit harder- motorized doorknobs aren't really a common thing so you'd need an electric security strike plate. That would probably require cutting out a lot of the door frame to mount it. Then you have the issue of actually opening and closing the door. It has to open and close with enough force that it pushes the latch through the strike plate, but also should have some safety mechanism so it can't cause any harm to a human or pet. That's one reason why automatic door openers (like you see at the supermarket) are quite expensive- you need a powerful motor but you also need a bunch of sensors to stop the motor before it does any damage. Those things are quite expensive and require custom mounting. They're also fugly- this is the smallest most attractive one I could find and it's $530. You could use something more like an automatic gate opener but that's still $289.
If you were to do this, the DIY route is probably the way to go. The strike plate is easy enough, you can get that on Amazon for $23. That just needs 12vdc to unlock it. The opener is the harder part. You'd probably want something like a long stroke linear actuator. Alternatively you could make something using some gears and stuff- there are a few ways to do that.
But when you put all this together, you are still spending a good amount of money. Even if it's just $100 (which I'd put as the absolute bare minimum for this) how long will it take you to realize $100 worth of energy savings vs just leaving the hallway doors open?
Mighty Mule Automatic Gate Opener for Light Duty Single Swing Gates Up to 12 Feet Long or 300 Pounds (MM260) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01IYB3G0W/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_HoyvDbQZCP7CT