Exit Wands and Free Exit Devices

Leaving should be automatic, and how that is arranged decides whether a gate stays in daily use or ends up propped open by the third week. The exit options compared at Pearland Gate Repair, TX Chimps Inc are judged on what happens to a visitor rather than to the owner, since in Pearland a gate that traps a delivery driver stops being closed at all.

The Buried Loop

A saw cut in the driveway with wire in it, feeding a loop detector. It sees any vehicle, needs no action from the driver, and once sealed properly it lasts decades. It costs a cut in the surface and it will not see a pedestrian or a bicycle, which is usually what is wanted.

The Exit Wand

A probe buried beside the drive that senses a moving mass of metal. No cut across the surface, quick to fit, and cheaper than a loop. It is also less consistent: a small aluminum bodied vehicle at walking pace may not trigger it, and it can be set off by a mower passing close.

Photo Beam Across the Drive

A beam set to trigger on being broken from the inside. Simple and cheap, and it opens for anything including a dog or a wheelie bin. Suitable where the exit path is enclosed and nothing else crosses it, and a nuisance anywhere else.

A Button Nobody Reaches

A push button on a post is honest and cheap and requires a driver to open a window in the rain. It works as a backup beside one of the options above, and it is a poor primary on a busy entrance.

Placement Matters More Than Type

Whatever is used, it triggers early enough that a swing leaf has opened by the time the car arrives, and it stops holding the gate once the vehicle has cleared. Too close to the opening and the driver waits at a moving gate. Too far back and the gate opens for a car that was only turning around.

Interaction With Safety

An exit device asks the gate to open, and a safety loop or a photo eye stops it closing on something. They are not the same device and one does not cover the other. On a driveway used by children the safety side is specified first and the convenience side fitted around it.