Push-to-open vs pull-to-open gate openers

Pull vs push in plain words

• Pull-to-open: the gate swings in, toward the property and toward the opener. This is the usual setup.
• Push-to-open: the gate swings out, away from the property. The opener pushes the leaf away from the post.

TOPENS, for example, defines them exactly that way and ships one bracket for each mode. On most of its boards a DIP switch selects the mode: off (the factory default) for pull, on for push.

Why most gates pull to open

Three reasons:

1. Safety and public space. UL 325’s installation instructions, reproduced in Eagle’s manuals, say swinging gates must not open into public access areas. A driveway gate near the street that swings out can block the sidewalk or the road, or hit someone on it.
2. The opener lives inside. Pad-mounted and post-mounted openers sit inside the property, out of reach. Pulling the gate toward them is the natural geometry.
3. Kits ship that way. Most swing openers come with pull-to-open hardware and settings. Push-to-open is an add-on.

When push-to-open makes sense

• The drive rises inside the gate. A leaf swinging uphill hits the ground. Swinging it out, onto a flatter apron, can clear it. Mighty Mule markets its push-to-open bracket for sloping driveways and tight spaces.
• No room inside. A building, a slope, parked cars or a turn right behind the gate leave no space for the leaf to swing in.
• Livestock or a cattle guard inside the gate, where an inward swing would sweep through the herd’s path.

Only consider it if the area the leaf swings into is your own land and not a public sidewalk or road.

What a push-to-open setup needs

1. An opener that supports it. Check the manual for a push-to-open installation drawing. If there isn’t one, don’t improvise.
2. The maker’s push-to-open bracket. It moves the opener’s rear mount so the arm can push. Brackets are model-specific. Mighty Mule’s FM148, an 11 in metal bracket, lists the specific Mighty Mule models it fits; don’t assume a bracket fits another brand.
3. One bracket per leaf on a double gate.
4. The right board setting, where the opener uses one, such as TOPENS’ push/pull DIP switch.
5. New limit and force settings. The geometry changes, so the open and close positions and the reversing sensitivity must be set again.
6. Sensors on the outside. The leaf now sweeps the outside area, so that’s where photo eyes and edges must protect people (more below).

Converting an existing opener from pull to push

If your opener’s maker supports push-to-open, the switch usually goes like this. Follow your manual where it differs.

1. Confirm the model. Find the push-to-open kit listed for your exact opener model.
2. Disconnect power and release the opener so the gate moves by hand.
3. Remove the pull-to-open rear bracket and fit the push-to-open bracket to the post, at the position the manual gives.
4. Reattach the arm to the gate with the gate in the position the manual specifies for setup.
5. Change the mode setting on the board, if your opener has one.
6. Set the limits again for the new open and closed positions.
7. Set the force or reversing sensitivity for the new geometry, then do the reverse test: the gate must reverse when it meets a rigid object.
8. Move the sensors to cover the new outside sweep, and move the keypad if the leaf now passes near it.

Double gates

With two leaves, each leaf needs its own push-to-open bracket. The leaves still meet in the middle, so set the open and close delay so they don’t clash, as you would on a pull-to-open pair. Check that both leaves clear the outside apron along their whole swing; one leaf may have more slope or less room than the other.

Alternatives worth checking first

• Uphill hinges. They lift the leaf as it swings, so it can pull open over a rising drive. The pair our partner sells is rated for slopes up to 15 degrees and 2,500 lb per hinge, per the store page. They weld to the post.
• A slide gate. It doesn’t swing at all, so slope and swing space stop mattering. You need a level run along the fence as long as the opening. See the best sliding gate openers.
• Move the gate. Setting it farther back from the road can create a flat apron for a normal inward swing.

Safety for an outward swing

Push-to-open changes where the danger is. With the leaf swinging out:

• The outside leading edge now sweeps toward whoever stands outside, often a visitor or a delivery driver at the keypad. UL 325’s instructions call for contact sensors on both the inside and outside leading edges of a swing gate.
• The keypad must be at least 6 ft from any moving part. If it was placed for an inward swing, the outward-swinging leaf may now pass right by it.
• The area between the open leaf and a fence or wall outside can become a new trap zone.

Read our UL 325 guide for how many sensors each zone needs.

Decision table

Your situation	Best option
Flat drive, room inside	Pull-to-open (standard)
Drive rises gently inside (up to about 15 degrees)	Pull-to-open with uphill hinges
Drive rises steeply inside, flat outside, gate set back from the road	Push-to-open, with the maker’s bracket
No room inside, gate right at the sidewalk or road	Slide gate, not push-to-open
Wide opening, long leaves, windy site	Slide gate

Common mistakes

• Buying an opener before checking for a push kit. Not every model has one.
• Mixing brands. A bracket from one maker won’t fit another’s opener.
• Swinging into the street. It may break the install rules and can hurt someone.
• Reusing pull-to-open limit and force settings. Set them again for the new geometry, then do the monthly reverse test.
• Forgetting the outside sensors. The hazard moved outside with the gate.

Eagle openers and push-to-open

The Eagle swing operators our partner sells (Eagle-II, Eagle-100, Eagle-200) are pad-mounted with an articulated arm. The Eagle-II installation manual we read shows standard and compact layouts, both with the gate opening toward the operator. We found no push-to-open bracket in its parts list or in the store. If your gate must swing out, ask Eagle before you buy, or consider a slide operator.

Related

• Start with our guide to choosing a gate opener, or answer a few questions in the Gate Opener Finder.
• Weigh the leaf first: how much does my gate weigh?
• For inward-swinging gates, see the best swing gate openers.