5 Watt Solar Panel Kit (FM121) for Mighty Mule Automatic Gate Openers

Love this item. Easy to install and still works after 5 years. My gate battery finally died. It was 6 years old. When I realized I had bought this solar panel 5 years ago and still working strong and kept the battery working for 6 years, I bought a second for my parents. No complaints - Worth every penny!

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.

Just installed last week. Seems to be working fine. Easy to install.

The product actually works even on cloudy days. It keeps my battery charged and I don’t have anymore problems with my electricity resetting since I got the solar panel. It says it allows for 28 openings a day but I only utilize about 8 to 10 a day. I’ve had a couple of months now and it really serves the purpose.

I bought this panel to charge a 12 volt battery used to power an electric fence. I noticed the battery voltage kept dropping below 12 so i recharged it with another source.......over and over. I just assumed the battery was the problem but when I finally checked the voltage from the panel it was only 5 volts and beyond the return window. So I pried the cover from the connection on back of the panel revealing a bad solder joint at the Diode. I re-soldered the joint, applied Silicone around the cover and it is charging great.

Initially couldn’t figure why this unit stop working after 2 months but it came to be a faulty wiring. Fixed the wires and it’s up and running again.

Purchased this panel because of constant problems with lightning strikes causing destruction of my Mighty Mule circuit board. Seem every time I had a lightning storm nearby, the current would somehow affect my transformer wires causing an electrical surge which would not only destroy the circuit board but blow out the transformer. The last strike even destroyed the wires making it impossible to continue charging the batteries with 110 voltage. I was forced to then buy the panel for battery charging. I have had the panel installed now for three months and have not had one system failure as far as the gate opening. I have a duel gate system made out of iron oil field piping and go in and out at least seven times per day. I was concerned the heavy gate would draw so much battery power that the charging aspect of the 10 watt panel could not keep up and I would have to purchase a second panel to supplement the original. So far that has not been the case and the batteries have been sufficiently charged to maintain operation. Wish I had installed it years ago. Would have saved me several hundred dollars in circuit board and transformer replacement.

Mono panels by far are more efficient in the 120 deg heat our area experiences. My first gate opener which had the 5w panel couldn’t keep up w/ the frequent use and had to keep a back up battery nearby. On my second gate I opted for the 10w panel and it has no issues.

Good Quality and works fine

Quick response and delivery. Item was just as advertised. Very happy!Been using the solar gate opener for over a year with no issues!

Works now in August. We will see in January/February if there is enough sunshine to keep my gate opener battery charged

What I expected. Great.

Works great!