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G Wood G Wood is offline
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Default kink in motorized gate drive chain

"Jim Beaver" wrote in message
...
I've got a sliding (rolling, actually, but you know) gate on my driveway,
driven by a motor with a drive chain of the same sort as on a bicycle,
basically. It's got a couple of links that are kinking, preventing the
chain from processing through the drive mechanism and thus preventing the
gate from opening all the way. I've lubed the heck out of the chain, but
the kinks won't loosen up, even twisting them with pliers. They're not

HUGE
kinks, just a quarter- to a half-inch out of alignment, but it's enough to
stop them from going through.

Trying to DIY, but gave up and called the company that installed the gate
two years ago, Himco. Himco has promised me for two days in a row that
someone would be out "today." So I'm back to DIY, in hopes someday of
getting my car out of my driveway.

Jim Beaver

If the chain is bike sized, you could use a bike chain tool to release the
tension on the messed up links. Happens to me all the time when biking, I
will suddenly develop "Chain-suck" and kinks due to damage / rightness
caused by some sort of contaminant.

From your description it sounds like many links are involved in the kink?
This almost sounds like a twist pressure has been or is being exerted on the
chain. If a few links get bent, the chain is usually toast.

Anyways, a chain tool simply isolates a link and lines up the link-pin with
a a thumb driven driver. A few turns of the screw from each side will help
re-center the pin, possibly displacing the contaminant as well? Don't turn
too far, as you're not looking to displace the pin entirely. Then apply a
healthy lubricant.

If it's been a long time since maintenance, there are also cheap bike chain
cleaners out there too. If the chain is mounted with plates vertical (like
on a bike), you don't need to remove the chain to clean it. Use a
envir-friendly degreaser in the cleaner to clean the chain, dry it, then try
a standard oil as lube, or a wax-based lube to reduce attraction of
dust/dirt.