Customer Reviews

Mighty Mule FM123 10-Watt Solar Panel

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Pannel works great - takes 5 minutes to install, and with the additional battery, it solved my dead battery issue using only the 5-watt pannel. Initially I was going to have to use a deep-cycle (car) battery, but did not want to mess with wiring, battery housing, etc. I was very pleased I did not have to go that route. Highly recommend this additional pannel for anyone living in the north or northwest of the world.

I just want everyone to know that this panel is nothing special. It is just a plain old Chinese made solar panel. It has two wires that wire into the control board plus and minus. If you search for a 10W solar panel on this site you'll find many for about 20% of what this one costs. They do exactly the same job. I bought this one from GTO so that they couldn't point fingers at it if there was a problem. There were problems and the panel didn't matter a bit. Actually if you buy a MightyMule or GTO then the solar panel is the least of your troubles. Either way, you don't need to spend this money for a battery trickle charger.

I bought the FM350 gate opener together with the gate locking unit, the 10 watt solar unit and the wireless keypad. It all sat around for a good six months until I got around to replacing the actual gate it was all going to be used on. The gate is a 14 foot corral type pipe gate - maybe 100 pounds or so, but I didn't weigh it. The site location is far from any electricity so battery with solar back up was needed.

Once I got around to installing and leveling the new gate, my excuses were gone so I gathered everything up and set out to do the installation. The night before I watched the dvd that comes with it. Watching that first made the instruction manual make a lot more sense and I would suggest it is worth the time to do that.

Most installation supplies are included, but not all. It is worth your time to review what is there and what you still will need for your particular installation. For me, the long drive down the mountain to somewhere that sells the stuff is a pretty good incentive.

Following the instructions, the swing arm was in place and ready to program in about an hour. Leveling and marking where to drill took the longest because I didn't have anyone helping me. It's the only part of the installation that would have gone a bit smoother, but even so it wasn't bad. The unit is not very heavy.

Installing the 12 volt battery took only minutes. Assembling and installing the solar unit took about 20 minutes. I already had the wood post the gate was mounted to. It even comes with a small compass so you can find South (for the best sunlight).

Next it was the gate lock. This one required some installation hardware because everyone's will be a bit different. Mine simply took two "u bolts" and a couple of lag screws. Everything else is in the box. Here is the only time I needed tech support. In the instructions it called for the wires to the installed in slots that were marked by a "+" and a "-". Mine had a "n" and an "l". I called the 800 number and was talking with a tech in less than three minutes. My conversation with her only took about 30 seconds.

Next it was the wireless key pad which took all of 5 minutes to install the batteries, set the dip switches, reprogram the master code and put in the first user code. Mounting it was done with two screws.

I got a total of four wireless transmitters for the vehicles. It took less than a minute each to program those dip switches. Programing to the main unit involved holding down the button on only one unit and pressing one set button in the swing arm until a beep is heard. Took about 30 seconds and all units were synced.

Getting the gate to stop at the proper location took about 5 attempts (it was actually almost perfect the first time but of course, that seemed too easy so I had to mess with it a bit first (ha ha). The locking mechanism is perfectly matched to the swing arm so there was no adjustment needed there.

So in a half a day it's all up and operational. Worked perfectly for the rest of the day and evening. Now we'll see how all that lasts. Unless I add to this later, assume all is still well. Also, got another wireless keypad for the inside so if someone is going out the gate on a horse they don't have to remember to take a transmitter with them.

And why didn't I give the FM350 a 5 star? The mounting bracket on the post side shifts with the torque of opening and closing, especially at the cotter pin. I know they were going with an "all in one" type mounting bracket design to cover pipe or wood post mounts, but better engineering could have helped for a much tighter fit. Maybe it won't make any difference in the long run, but I can't help thinking metal on metal friction is going to cause wear sooner or later. We'll see.