Ghost Controls Heavy-Duty Automatic Gate Opener Kit for Swing Gates with Long-Range Gate Opener Remote - Model TSS1

Been using for around 1 year now, and has been working perfectly! Little bit of figuring out how to install correctly, wooded post and steel gate... Directions were easy to understand, added the Zombie gate lock and extra remotes for family. I used single 18ah battery for extra use, open and close between 8- 20 times a day, 10w solar panel has kept it charged all the time, even in PNW winter. May have to adjust it about every other month as post settles or moves in ground a little, but that is minor issue... Has better range than neighbors competing brand, opens from inside living room at a distance of 130' or so, and coming down road from a little further. Gate is almost fully open by time I drive in. Did not set auto close as we have lots of family in and out, did not want gate closing on cars. Very happy with quality, ease of use and longevity so far! Worst part is dogs now recognize beeping of gate opening as chance to run out and greet people! Puppy loves to run out to be chased down! May have to add a fence and gate in my 1 acre lot!

I bought the gate opener, the lock, an extra remote and two cordless keypads for guests coming and going. It wasn't too bad installing. Here are some tips. First, i built my support columns out of 6x6 wooden posts buried 2 feet in concrete. They recommend installing the opener with posts but I wrapped the posts in salvaged stone I cut with a grinder. To affix the opener and lock I built out the posts with chunks of 4x4 as pictured. That way I could screw into wood rather than stone which I thought might not hold. The posts took about 12 hours and I am a general contractor. On the lock side i had to leave room in the stone for the zombie lock to grab hold of the stationary vertical bolt it grabs as it extends beyond the gate and my gate closes close to the stone. They say not to put a wheel on the gate which i understand in most situations. However, my driveway runs downhill and the wheel only touches ground just before the gate closes. With a wheel, my gate support post has the weight taken off it and the zombie lock glides in perfectly every time. Beneath the wheel right where the gate closes I poured some mortar flush to the ground into a small depression i dug. That way the wheel does not wear a groove into the ground defeating its purpose of gate support. Where the wheel attaches to the gate and where the arm attaches to the gate, you must bolt through everything or the wheel will rotate up and the arm will slide. If the arm slides just a little the gate will not keep shutting correctly. I thought the wiring would be hard but it was easy. The instructions were pretty good but i watched some videos on you tube. Programming remotes and keypads took longer than i would like. After you get it, its easy, but it does take a while.. The instructions they provided with the keyless pad for guests included an addendum i did not see at first. The addendum explained the programming of the keypad whereas the original instructions did not. That drove me mad for an hour and a half so i called customer service. They got back to me the next day but by then i had figured it out. It took a little while to find the buttons in the control box you must press when you first teach the opener how far to open and close. Also, that first week, my gate was smetimes just barely hitting the stone when it closed. So occasionaly it would have to stop short of closing. When it did that it would jump back a foot and stay there. It took me a while to figure out that's what it does when it hits an object while closing. Anyway, the gate was real work - mostly the stone I wanted and it took a while to iron out all of the above issues. But it has been working to perfection now for weeks and oh what a pleasure not to get out of the truck especially in the rain. I highly recommend it. A cut above the low end openers with fewer options.. Lastly, this gate, yours too, is simply a privacy feature. If somebody breaks through it I know what to do. It can easily be defeated with a wrench. You just have to unbolt the arm from the gate. Same with the lock. If somebody dislikes you they can snip the electrical control cord or steal your battery or smash the control box. All very unlikely but thats the reality.One year later or thereabouts the gate is still working great. I am.happy with it. On several occasions over the year, maybe 6 times, it has done something weird like close and then open back up partially when i have gone. At first I tried reprogramming it. Later, i just unhooked it from the battery and it seemed to reset itself and operate properly again. It just gives me peace of mind, and stops the door to door marketers and others i don't want from coming to my house especially when I am not home. So a couple glitches here and there is tolerable. Anybody can open this gate by removing a pin from the hydraulic piston that closes it, but if they do that, they understand why i have a gun in my hand when they show up. Haven't needed to do that, which is why i love the gate.

Ghost gate controller is definitely an up-grade from similar other gate controllers, (If you are reading this you know the ones I'm referring to). I have owned and installed several name brands and find Ghost to be a true DYS product.I found customer service easy to get of hold of and very easy to work with.I would spend the extra small amount of money for a great opener.Update: Well after hours on the phone with Ghost Controls it was determined the the system was defective by tech support. I sent it back with in the return time limit to Amazon. (Thanks to Amazon). Reordered and received the replacement in a few days. I installed the new unit following instruction carefully. I couldn't fine tone the soft closing.The 12' gate at 250lbs would not soft close against the stop. The gate would slow down some and hard close, and most of the times would bounce back about 3". I fix the hard close 3' foot reopen with the limit force screw. Once again after phone contact with a Ghost supervisor once again without a fix. (All phone contacts where very pleasant).Now, after all the phone time the time limit has expired for Amazon return!!Mighty Mule units do not have any "soft close" options any longer on new units! So not an option for me. I'M STUCK!!!!