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Safety Edge or Photo Eyes for doors?
- Thread starter Waxman
- Start date
car washing systems inc
Member
I want to add more safety to my IBA entry door.
What is best, I.Y.O.; photo eyes or a safety edge?
I want to avoid mishaps, customer damage, personal injury, and don't want to freeze the bay if either eyes or safety edge foul up.
Thanks!
I would go with the photo eyes i have them on many doors and have good luck with them. I mount them inside the bay so the floor heat will help with any ice. If ice is still a problem i have also put the eyes in a ss box and put heaters and t-stats on them.
I use both options on my door, just in case. I don't worry about the safety edge freezing to the ground for the floor heat extends out past the door onto the apron by the autocashier.
If you use a safety edge, one thing a colleague of mine noticed was that the safety edge on my door is a normally open switch. Thus when it hits something, the switch closes indicating a problem and the door reverses. What happens if the cord between the safety edge and controller is cut, damaged, etc.. It'll never detect hitting something, right? So make sure your installer wires/configures it as a normally closed switch, so if the cord does fail or get's cut, you'll know you have a problem and won't damage any cars.
If you use a safety edge, one thing a colleague of mine noticed was that the safety edge on my door is a normally open switch. Thus when it hits something, the switch closes indicating a problem and the door reverses. What happens if the cord between the safety edge and controller is cut, damaged, etc.. It'll never detect hitting something, right? So make sure your installer wires/configures it as a normally closed switch, so if the cord does fail or get's cut, you'll know you have a problem and won't damage any cars.
A few notes about electric door operators....
I prefer to use Telco eyes for the door safety. I did have one door with both a safety edge and a set of telco eyes. Every now and then, the curly cable for safety edge would get in front of the eyes and cause the door to go back up.
Be sure to wire the eyes into the operator in a way that the door doesn't open every time the eyes are blocked. The eyes should only reverse a closing door.
Newer door operators are getting "electronically smarter". I just purchased a new door and operator. The operator will not work off of a momentary close signal unless a set of eyes is installed. Here's the kicker: You have to buy a seperate circuit board for the eyes and that board only recognizes their type of photocell eye. My door guy, who loves the Telco eyes, says that the eyes they get with the operator are nema-? (supposed to be for the harsh environments). However, he admits they won't hold up in a carwash like Telco's would. He had a clever solution; we ordered the cheapest eyes that were compatible with the circuit board, mounted them facing each other about 5 inches apart, inside the equipment room. Then we were able to use Telco's in the bay and wire them into the operator.
I prefer to use Telco eyes for the door safety. I did have one door with both a safety edge and a set of telco eyes. Every now and then, the curly cable for safety edge would get in front of the eyes and cause the door to go back up.
Be sure to wire the eyes into the operator in a way that the door doesn't open every time the eyes are blocked. The eyes should only reverse a closing door.
Newer door operators are getting "electronically smarter". I just purchased a new door and operator. The operator will not work off of a momentary close signal unless a set of eyes is installed. Here's the kicker: You have to buy a seperate circuit board for the eyes and that board only recognizes their type of photocell eye. My door guy, who loves the Telco eyes, says that the eyes they get with the operator are nema-? (supposed to be for the harsh environments). However, he admits they won't hold up in a carwash like Telco's would. He had a clever solution; we ordered the cheapest eyes that were compatible with the circuit board, mounted them facing each other about 5 inches apart, inside the equipment room. Then we were able to use Telco's in the bay and wire them into the operator.
