Choosing A Gate Arm

Gate Arms also known as Boom barrier or a gate operator is a bar or pole shaped mechanical device that is installed horizontally with the purpose of blocking vehicular access at the check points. They are opened and closed by raising them in a vertical arc. Before choosing to buy a gate arm for a particular checkpoint it is good to have prior knowledge about these traffic controlling elements.

There are basically 3 types of swing gate arms/operators available in the markets nowadays, which are ‘Articulated arm’ swing gate arms, ‘Underground’ swing gate operators and ‘Linear’ swing gate operators. Each of them has their respective advantages which are as follows:

• Articulated arm swing gate arms

1. Generally one is able to open these gates at much quicker than the linear actuators.
2. These serve the function of opening the gate much more efficiently than linear actuators.

• They do not put any additional load over the gate brackets as well as the hinges than what is needed in true sense for the opening and closing of the gate.

1. They are able to deal with much bigger leaf gates with supreme duty cycles

• Linear Actuators

1. They require very less side room to open the gate as compared to the articulated swing gate arms.
2. They generally appear to be much neater than the articulated arm arms.

• They are most likely the cheapest of all the 3 swing gate arms.
• Underground swing gate operators

1. Nothing is seen on the front or the back side of the gate.
2. Rather it has its disadvantages such as the cost, limited to smaller size gates and subject to corrosion due to being ‘underground’

Overall when there is limited side room plus cost in the main concern, one must opt for linear actuators. If aesthetics are the main concern, plus the gates aren’t too large, then underground operators are the best options.

If you are in search of good quality and easy to install gate arms then ParkingZone is the right destination for you. Here one can get the widest range of gate arms with good quality, variety in designs and yet are budget friendly. Besides only the gate arms there are also various extra items available here such as the Protective Gate Arms sleeves, gate arm warning sticker, gate arm pad, replacement signs and much more at the best prices.