"Bounce" on Spring OPen Gate

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*5 J's*
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"Bounce" on Spring OPen Gate

Post by *5 J's* »

Any ideas on minimizing the "bounce" created by a sprin open gate. I have added some 1/8" high density foam - and it helps - but not quite as well as I would like.

Like to hear what others have done.
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Stan Pope
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Re: "Bounce" on Spring OPen Gate

Post by Stan Pope »

If it bounces, then the "foam" is too "springy". The momentum of the gate needs to be smoothly absorbed, then very slowly returned to full open. My experience with stop mechanisms suggests something like a pad (thickness to be determined) of TempurPedic (don't recall the generic name) which recoils very slowly. I think that the greater the momentum, the thicker the pad needs to be. I'd start with around 1" thick with the pad extending about 1/2" from "full open." Then thin per experiment.

Of course, if someone comes through with something that has worked, then you can avoid the cut and try experimenting. :)
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FatSebastian
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Re: "Bounce" on Spring OPen Gate

Post by FatSebastian »

*5 J's* wrote:Any ideas on minimizing the "bounce" created by a sprin open gate. [...] Like to hear what others have done.
In addition to using a dampening material, we ultimately had to use a slightly weaker spring / rubber bands to solve our "bounce" problem. (It may be possible to weaken your existing spring just by stretching it out a little.)
Stan Pope wrote:TempurPedic (don't recall the generic name)
I would say "memory foam" but Tempur-Pedic might argue otherwise!
Last edited by FatSebastian on Sat Oct 30, 2010 1:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Darin McGrew
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Re: "Bounce" on Spring OPen Gate

Post by Darin McGrew »

It's been several months since I've seen ours, but IIRC, the spring was adjusted so it pulls until just after the gate arms drop below the surface of the track. At that point, the flat gate arms catch enough air that the mechanism slows down before there is a "thunk".

There isn't much mass in our gate. There is a dowel that is the "axle" that rotates. (It might be an aluminum rod or tube rather than a dowel.) The gate arms attached to that "axle" are four pieces of thin aluminum, about 1" wide by a few inches long. It doesn't take much force for the spring to open the gate quickly, so the spring is pretty light. Once the gate is open and the spring stops pulling, there isn't much momentum, and the gate arms catch a lot of air. There is also a latch and the brackets that support the "axle" at each end, but none of that contributes to the rotating mass.
*5 J's*
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Re: "Bounce" on Spring OPen Gate

Post by *5 J's* »

Thanks for the suggestions. I looked at some different springs yesterday, but didn't see any that I liked. I tried an elastic band to counter the spring, and this seemed to work okay, but wasn't real "clean" looking. I'm going to try some visco-elastic foam (aka memory foam, aka Tempur-Pedic).
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Re: "Bounce" on Spring OPen Gate

Post by Mr. Slick »

I went the other way.... strong springs and 5/8" dense foam from a door insulation kit. The start drops and stops on the foam.
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