The picture to the left shows a close up of the sealing washer that comes with the Add A Motor D20. I am posting the photo in response to a question about the automatic chicken door conversion.
I remember wondering what the sealing washer was when I was reading the installation instructions. Now that I have installed the motor and had some experience with it, I can explain this design feature.
The sealing washer came with the motor. It is basically a washer with a rubber gasket on one side. The lift cable is attached to the door with the sealing washer.
Benefit of the Sealing Washer
Basically, the lift cable is held against the door by a piece of rubber. If the door gets stuck, the lift cable will strip out of the sealing washer. The motor will then run until it reaches the stop position. But the door will not open. This design prevents damage to the motor if the door gets stuck.
My door stuck the first time I had freezing temperatures at night. I had to take the door out and shave off the edge to make it slightly smaller. The key to success with this motor is proper fit of the door in the rails. This enables the door to slide freely while being held securely by the door rails.
While it required extra work to adjust the size of the door and re-install it, this is preferable to burning up the motor and having to buy a new one.
Related Pages
- Automatic Chicken Coop Door Conversion Phase One
- Automatic Chicken Coop Door Conversion Phase Two
- DIY Chicken Perches
- How big should a chicken door be?
- Low cost rubber membrane for coop roof.
Let me know what you think about automatic chicken doors in the comments section below.
