Gate automation

The cost of installing a gate motor depends mainly on the gate. Its weight, length and type, sliding or swing, decide which motor it needs. A light sliding gate at a house needs a smaller motor than a heavy gate at a factory. The state of the track, wheels or hinges counts too, since a dragging gate must be fixed first. Cabling from the power supply, battery backup, safety beams, extra remotes and an anti-tamper cage all add to the price. Each one makes the setup safer or more reliable. Our accredited technicians and consultants check the gate on site and specify the right motor for it. Then we give you a written quotation listing every item before anything is ordered, so you can choose what to include.

Yes. We install, service and repair Centurion gate motors for sliding and swing gates, at homes, estates and businesses. Centurion is a South African make, so parts are close by and most repairs can be done quickly. When a motor stops, slows down, makes a new noise or ignores its remotes, we find the fault on site. Common causes are a flat battery, worn gears, a faulty control board, misaligned safety beams or a damaged gear rack (the toothed strip the motor drives along). We also install Centurion's larger motors for heavy industrial gates, and their linear motors for swing gates, such as the Vantage 500. On the site visit, we tell you what your motor can do and whether an upgrade would help, such as a rolling code receiver or an anti-tamper cage.

Yes. Every gate remote is stored on the receiver in the motor, and any one of them can be deleted. A lost or stolen remote stops working the moment it comes off the receiver, without affecting the others. To do this easily, you need to know which remote is which, so keep a written list of who has each one. Most households have at least one remote they can't account for: a former tenant, a domestic worker who left or a builder who finished years ago. Each one may still open your gate. A service visit is a good time to clear the receiver and re-add only the remotes you can find. If you're not sure which remote is lost, we can delete them all and re-add the ones you still have.

Yes, as long as the motor's battery is healthy. A gate motor runs on a battery charged from the mains, so when the power goes off, it keeps opening and closing as normal. A healthy battery can usually handle a long outage, depending on how often the gate is used. The problem is the battery nobody has tested. Batteries fade over months without a sound, and frequent load-shedding wears them out faster. A weak battery gets the gate through a short outage, then fails on a long one, often at 9:30pm with you waiting in the car. Have yours tested at a service before then. For busy gates and long outages, we can fit a bigger battery or a small solar panel to keep it charged.

Yes, in most cases. Before a motor goes on, we check the gate, the track or hinges, the wheels and the power supply. A gate must move freely by hand before it's automated. A dragging or sagging gate makes the motor work harder, so it wears out early and may stop altogether. Common fixes include replacing worn wheels, straightening a bent track, adding guide rollers or resetting hinges. We do this work ourselves, including welding in our workshop if needed. We also check whether there's power near the gate, or whether a cable needs to be run. The written quotation tells you exactly what the gate needs, which motor suits it and the extras we recommend, such as beams and battery backup.

A gate motor should be serviced when it needs one, not on a fixed date, so test it regularly and book a visit at the first sign of trouble. A busy gate at an estate, complex or business needs one more often than a home gate. A service checks the battery, the motor, the gear rack (the toothed strip the motor drives along), the track, the wheels, the hinges, the safety beams and the remotes. It's also when we tighten, clean and adjust everything, and delete any remotes you no longer use. Most breakdowns give a warning first: the gate slows down, sounds different or stops a little short. A technician on a service visit hears these signs and fixes them before the gate stops altogether. Servicing also makes the motor and battery last longer. Our service and maintenance plans can book these visits for you, so nobody forgets.

Yes. Our own service department repairs Centurion and Gemini gate motors, and older ET motors, along with their batteries, remotes, receivers and safety beams. We repair motors at homes, estates, complexes and businesses. Most faults give a warning first. A motor turns slower or noisier weeks before it stops, or the gate starts stopping short of the end. The most common causes are a flat battery, worn gears, a damaged gear rack (the toothed strip the motor drives along), misaligned beams or a faulty control board. Lightning and power surges damage boards too. We find the fault on site and fix it, often on the first visit. If a motor is too old to repair, we tell you plainly and quote for a replacement. Our gate and gate motor repairs page lists the common faults.