Vertical Pivot Gates

 

Do you need the ultimate solution in removing any gaps at the bottom of your gate?  Do you not have the storage space for a rolling, cantilever or swing gate?  Your solution may be a vertical pivot gate. 

 

Vertical pivot gates are light weight gates that operate on a single pivot point that is located on one side of the opening.  The gate pivots by lifting and vertically spinning on a single located at the base of the opening.  To accomplish this opening and closing, the gate requires a gate operator.    These operators are specific to the gate and designed to work together.  The gate operator uses a highly tensioned spring and hydraulic cylinder to open the gate.  When activated, the spring pulls the gate back and up.  The hydraulic cylinder controls the motion. When closing, the cylinder pushes up and forward, tensioning the spring. 

 

Because vertical pivot gates practically lift straight up, the gate frame can be designed to meet the terrain of the ground below the gate.  This makes these gates very popular with installations that require one hundred percent closure or no gaps such as airports and military bases.  Vertical lift gates have also become very frequent on railroad installations.  Railroad tracks are placed on a thick base of ballast.  This creates a very convex and irregular contour through the gate opening.  Vertical lift gates have been fabricated to not only mirror the ballast but to work in and over the tracks, leaving less than a four inch gap.  

 

Vertical pivot gates require less than ten feet of storage space along the gate opening.  This is often less than half of the actual gate opening unlike a cantilever gate that requires almost one and half times the opening for storage.  This also makes vertical pivot gates very practical for tight downtown parking lots. 

 

In areas of the country that receive a great deal of adverse weather and are remote enough that the gates are not regularly maintained, vertical pivot gates have become very popular.  On ranches and farms, these gates are an excellent choice when placed on solar power as these gates require little electrical demand with the hydraulic cylinder and offsetting spring gate operator installation.  Vertical pivot gates do not slide or sweep, thus are not pushing snow when opening or closing. 

 

The downside to this type of gate installation is the considerable footing required to support the gate operator.  This footing is the anchor for the system that presents a great deal of stability and lifting and lowering the gate.  There is also a much greater cost with a vertical pivot gate installation.  The gate operator is very large and it components are much more significant than a standard slide gate operator and the gate is engineered and fabricated to work with the operator’s components.