need some advice re wiring up electric gates

[jj1960]

hello i am a diy man who likes to have a go
electrics are something that i sometimes have trouble with
i have an electric kit for my wooden driveway gates which i got second hand
i have fitted the kit and i am now at the wiring stage
i have 2 actuator arms (calypso 400) each with 4 wires one for open one for close one is common and one is ground
i have all except the ground wires connected
the input to the control box is 240v
in the control unit there is provision for live and neutral connections i have 3core mains cable
so i have a earth cable left
so i am presuming that i can connect both actuator ground wires together and then connect them to the earth cable
could someone advise please

 

[Taylortwocities]

This is not a job for the inexperienced. There are serious safety aspects and requirements that you are not aware of.
This may give you an idea of some of the issues.

https://www.dhfonline.org.uk/media/documents/documents8a.pdf

And

Powered gates: Ensuring powered doors and gates are safe - Equipment and machinery

www.hse.gov.uk

It sounds like you have done some of the hard yards. Get an experienced installer to finish and test.

 

[jj1960]

This is not a job for the inexperienced. There are serious safety aspects and requirements that you are not aware of.
This may give you an idea of some of the issues.

https://www.dhfonline.org.uk/media/documents/documents8a.pdf

And

Powered gates: Ensuring powered doors and gates are safe - Equipment and machinery

www.hse.gov.uk

It sounds like you have done some of the hard yards. Get an experienced installer to finish and test.

i have followed all the instructions and all it says is to connect the earth to current standards EN 60335-1 , EN 60204-1

 

[PEG]

Hi,from a safety point of view,i can and will,say that your ground/earth connections,should be all grouped together. Usually where the cables enter the control unit,and connect to the board,they are grouped to the supply earth via the board. Sometimes there is a separate mechanical terminal,but the maker's instructions should show this.

There are a rake of warnings and caveats,regarding installations such as this,and i am not feeling the need to list them.....i WILL however,warn you that these devices can have automatic,and sometimes seemingly involuntary actuations,and at best,this can knock your brew,or toolbox over....or,cut a digit off,or worse

 

[jj1960]

Hi,from a safety point of view,i can and will,say that your ground/earth connections,should be all grouped together. Usually where the cables enter the control unit,and connect to the board,they are grouped to the supply earth via the board. Sometimes there is a separate mechanical terminal,but the maker's instructions should show this.

There are a rake of warnings and caveats,regarding installations such as this,and i am not feeling the need to list them.....i WILL however,warn you that these devices can have automatic,and sometimes seemingly involuntary actuations,and at best,this can knock your brew,or toolbox over....or,cut a digit off,or worse

thanks for your reply
i have double checked the instructions and the connections in the control box there is no earth connection point in the control unit and as i have said only live and neutral input terminals so to me as you have said all grounds should be grouped together
so i will go that way connect the two actuator grounds and input earth into a seperate connector and hopefully all will be fine
[automerge]1598347539[/automerge]

Hi,from a safety point of view,i can and will,say that your ground/earth connections,should be all grouped together. Usually where the cables enter the control unit,and connect to the board,they are grouped to the supply earth via the board. Sometimes there is a separate mechanical terminal,but the maker's instructions should show this.

There are a rake of warnings and caveats,regarding installations such as this,and i am not feeling the need to list them.....i WILL however,warn you that these devices can have automatic,and sometimes seemingly involuntary actuations,and at best,this can knock your brew,or toolbox over....or,cut a digit off,or worse

added the instructions that i have incase you want to have a look for me
[automerge]1598348476[/automerge]

thanks for your reply
i have double checked the instructions and the connections in the control box there is no earth connection point in the control unit and as i have said only live and neutral input terminals so to me as you have said all grounds should be grouped together
so i will go that way connect the two actuator grounds and input earth into a seperate connector and hopefully all will be fine
[automerge]1598347539[/automerge]

added the instructions that i have incase you want to have a look for me

just got a reply from the suppliers of the system telling me that i should do the connections of the ground wires and earth input so all should be good
thanks again for your input

 

[James]

Just to add, due to this being outside it should be protected by and RCD.
if it is a new circuit then it probably requires notification to building control.

 

[Taylortwocities]

I make no apology for my earlier safety concerns.
@EricMark may like to comment here. He has posted (elsewhere) an overview including a news report in the death of a 6-year old by incorrectly installed electric gates.

 

[UNG]

Why have I got that picture of someone with fingers in ears singing la la la........... as somebody mentions the safety implications

 

[EricMark]

I have looked at the reports and I think with a company name of "Cheshire Gates and Automation Limited" one gets the impression they know what they are doing, likely now they do, but in 2010 clearly they had a problem, and the news report clearly shows mistakes were made.

I see a problem with any emergency release button, in that it means anyone can open the gates. With a sliding gate there is a reasonably constant pressure, but with hinged gates the forces near the hinge are far greater than away from the hinge.

I know the gates have photo cells to stop or reopen gate, but these are really to stop gates closing on a vehicle not a child. Personally I see nothing wrong with gates which are within a private drive being powered, so for example my brother-in-law has a shared drive with a farmer, the first gate off the main road manual but there would be nothing wrong with second gate being powered when only people who can reach it is the farmer and brother-in-law. So no reason why the units should not be sold.

But without that first locked gate, the second gate would not be permitted, even a garage door is dangerous enough my father-in-law managed to capture the neighbours cat. The death of Semelia Campbell was with a sliding gate, which is normally considered safer, but as an electrical engineer if an automatic gate was required I would engage a specialist firm, I would not even consider designing it myself, I can make it work, but could not be sure it would work in a safe manor complying with regulations. Only way I would consider electric gates is with fixed push buttons placed where the person working the gate has to be in view of the gate, and finger needs to be on button all the time it is moving, same as over head crane.