Getting Your Automatic Gate Ready for Storm Season on the Sunshine Coast

Ask any gate technician on the Sunshine Coast when the phone rings most and the answer is not the middle of summer. It is the week after the first proper storm of the season, usually in late spring, when the afternoon build-ups turn into lightning, hail and a few hours without power from Nambour to Caloundra. The next morning there are gates stuck open, gates stuck closed, control boards with scorch marks and remotes that no longer talk to anything.

Storm damage is the leading cause of gate motor failure in this region, ahead of ordinary wear, and most of it is preventable. This is what actually goes wrong, what protects against it, and the checks worth doing before the season starts.

What a storm does to a gate

Three things damage automatic gates in a Sunshine Coast storm, and they are worth separating because the protection for each is different.

Lightning and power surges are the big one. A strike does not have to hit the gate; a surge coming down the mains, or induced in a long cable run from the house to the gate, is enough to destroy a control board, a transformer or a receiver. Gates on acreage with long underground cable runs out toward Maleny and the hinterland are particularly exposed, because the cable acts as an antenna.

Water is the second. Driving rain and flooding find their way into motor housings, control boxes, intercom panels and keypads, especially units that were not sealed properly or have a perished gasket. Corrosion follows, and the fault shows up weeks later as an intermittent problem rather than a dramatic one.

Wind and debris are the third. Branches down across the track, a sliding gate blown off its guide, a swing gate slammed against its stop by a gust, and photocells knocked out of alignment. These are mechanical and usually obvious.

Surge protection

The single most effective protection is a dedicated surge protection device on the gate's power supply, fitted at the control board or on the circuit that feeds the gate. It diverts a surge to earth before it reaches the electronics. Many gates were installed without one, and many that had one have a device that has already absorbed a surge and needs replacing, which is not always obvious from the outside. A surge protector is a modest cost against a control board and motor replacement. If you are unsure whether your gate has one, our gate repairs and servicing visit includes checking it.

Good earthing matters too. A gate motor and its metal gate should be earthed correctly so a surge has somewhere to go. Long cable runs benefit from surge protection at both ends.

Battery backup and blackouts

Power outages are routine in storm season, and an automatic gate without backup is simply a gate that will not move. A battery backup unit fitted to the control board keeps the gate operating for a number of cycles through an outage. On solar gates the battery is already there, and the question is whether it is in good condition; our solar and battery-backup systems page covers both.

Every gate also has a manual release, a key or lever on the motor that disconnects the drive so the gate can be pushed by hand. Find yours now, in daylight, and make sure everyone in the household knows where the release key is kept.

Decide in advance what the gate should do when power fails. Some households want it to stay closed for security; others, particularly on acreage, want it left open so nobody is locked out or in. Either is fine, but it is a choice to make before the storm.

Keeping the water out

Before the season, check the motor housing and control box are sealed: lids closed and latched, gaskets intact, cable entries sealed, drain holes clear so any water that does get in can get out. Intercom panels and keypads at the gate should have their weather hoods in place and their seals sound. On coastal properties from Maroochydore to Caloundra, salt air has often already started on the seals and fixings, and replacing a perished gasket is far cheaper than replacing what it was protecting.

A pre-season check

A spring service covers the things that fail in storms: surge protection tested or replaced, battery load-tested, seals and drainage checked, photocells cleaned and aligned, the manual release operated, hinges and wheels lubricated, the track cleared, and any trees or branches that overhang the gate line noted for pruning. It is also the time to update the control board firmware if the manufacturer has released fixes, and to confirm the safety reversal works, because a gate that has been jolted around by wind can have its force settings drift. Our automatic gate maintenance article covers the full annual routine.

After a storm

If the gate has stopped after a storm, run through the basics before assuming the worst: check the breaker and isolator, look for a tripped surge device, check the battery, clear the track, check the photocells for debris and alignment, and try the manual release. If the control board shows no lights at all, or the motor hums without moving, or a keypad or intercom is dead, it is time for a technician. Our article on troubleshooting an automatic gate that is not working runs through the symptoms in detail.

A word of caution about water: if the motor pit on an underground swing motor, or the control box, has been under water, do not power it up until it has been inspected and dried. Powering a wet board is how a repairable fault becomes a replacement.

Insurance

Lightning and storm damage to a gate motor is often covered under a home and contents policy, and a technician's report describing the damage and its cause supports the claim. Take photos of any visible damage before repairs start, and keep the invoice.

The short version

Fit surge protection, have a battery or know where the manual release is, keep the water out, and get the gate checked in spring before the first storm rather than after it. If you are anywhere on the Sunshine Coast, from Noosa and Buderim to Nambour and Caloundra, and your gate has not had a pre-season check, send us the make of the motor and a note about how it is powered, and we will tell you what it needs.