Reddit mentions of ALEKO LM114 Small J-Bolt Hinge Doors and Driveway Gates 5/8 Inch

I know this was posted over a month ago, but if you haven't moved forward here are my thoughts and experience. I will agree with most of what @jgpatty says, but I have had less problems

Install/DIY - As long as you have basic diy skills these are easy to install and the instructions are very straight forward. You will need a good drill and bits, square/measuring tools, and marking devices that is about it.

My Experience - I have installed 3 of the Mighty Mule Gate openers over the years, and was very happy with them. I find them to be very reliable. I have installed two of the m500 models at my own house. 6 years ago I installed the first M500 after after about 5 years something broke on it, BUT that is completely my fault. I neglected my gate (not the opener) it was having a bunch of problems. The hinges I installed were not very good and the post I put in was just a 4x4 which caused the gate to sag and drag on the ground. I tried adding a wheel to the gate, but in the cold weather (north east ohio) the wheel would freeze up and drag on the ground as well. Anyways after about 3 or 4 years of that the opener gave out. I am honestly surprised it lasted that long the gate was putting a ton of strain on it.

So Anyways this summer I removed my old wooden gate/post threw it all out and built a custom 5 x 5 metal post and metal gate with some good hinges and decided just to install a new opener instead of fixing the old one. Every works great

Solar Powered - The other one I installed at my parents farm. Due to the location and distance from 110v power I decided to go solar. We are in North East Ohio which has some of the most cloud coverage in the USA, and the worst rate for solar panels. I put in just one solar panel like they suggested, but in the winter they had problems with low battery, so I added a 2nd solar panel which is easy. You just splice/wire it up to the other panel and you have more charging capacity

Competition - The 2nd time around at my house I considered going with a Liftmaster/Chamberlain option because I have 3 of their garage door openers at my commercial building and they are great. For like $40 you can add an internet gateway that controls up to 16 openers, switches, lights, etc and they connect to home automation hubs as well. They mobile app/website tells you if they are opened or closed and for how long, you can get notifications, etc. BUT in the end the price was more than doubled so I passed on that. I looked into and read a ton of reviews on Aleko and Ghost controls who seem to be knocking off Mighty Mule, and the prices are a little better. But the reviews were not as consistent as mighty mule and since I had good experiences I decided to stay with them. I will say Aleko accessories are good and I have used a bunch of those

Tips & Tricks

Hinges - BUY A GOOD GATE HINGE. Your opener will last so much longer. And a gate hinge is only worth while if it has a grease fitting on the bottom. There are some great weldable ones on amazon for like $15 or $20 for a set. If you don't want to weld them on then you can get these aleko ones for like $11 a piece (they don't come as a set). I welded those ones on, but you can bolt them on as well

Solar Panels - If your gonna go solar install two panels unless you rarely use it or live in the south in a very sunny area. Also it is cheaper to buy the standard opener and just get the solar panels separate and hook them up. There is no difference between the standard opener and the solar opener it is just a bundle. For panels it is cheaper to go with Alekos panels. On Amazon you can get Aleko panels that are twice as powerful for half the cost. Might mule 10w is $99, and Aleko 20w is $45

Extra Batteries For Solar - If your not running solar the standard backup battery might mules sells for $25 is perfect, but It isn't necessarily cheaper but you do get a lot more bang for your buck if you go to home depot and get a deep cycle marine battery as an extended battery. You can then put the next to the post in the ground using one of these on amazon for like $10 - Waterproof Battery Box . That is what I did for my solar install. You wire the Solar panels to the large battery and then hook the large battery up to the main mighty mule battery or the extra battery hookups if your model has that. Make sure to use fuses :)

Mighty Mule Gate Lock - For $120 I was not impressed from a security perspective. If your gate is solid (wind can't penetrate it) then this serves a nice purpose of taking stress off the hinges, gate opener, post, brackets etc. Because a solid gate is pretty much a sail, But from a security stand point it is just too easy to bypass. The latch is just spring loaded when locked. You can stick a screw driver in there and release it. Also the retaining pin the bolt that the latch attaches to can be removed without tools and then the lock is attached to nothing. If you really want security use an aftermarket outdoor magnetic lock. They are about $60 to $80 on amazon and can be used on a mighty mule using the gate lock wiring. There is a little more DIY here. You have to put a separate circuit board in the enclosure for the magnetic lock

Keypad & Post - Don't bother hard wiring the gate keypad. It makes it a less secure system and then you have a run a wire. Using it wirelessly the batteries last more than a year with regular use. And when I say it make sit less secure all someone has to do it rip the wire out of the back of the keypad and push the two wires together to open the gate. Buy the Aleko keypad Post on Amazon. It is $35 vs the mighty mule $85

Inside or Fixed Location Opener Button - You can hardwire a garage opener style button that allows you to open the gate from inside the house, garage etc. It is cheaper and so much faster to just take a regular mighty mule clicker ($20), remove the clip from the back, and run a screw through the keychain hole to mount it to the wall of your house. it looks nice and mine worked for 5 years on the same battery with daily use.