Solenoid bolt for lock

[Jasper]

I have an up-and-over garage door. It has occurred to me that I can probably add an electrically operated solenoid bolt - protruding into the track of the door as an extra level of security. When the bolt was home the door would not lift up as the bolt would block the movement of the wheel in the track Rather than going out each night to check if I have locked the garage - I could have a fused spur switch (with a red-light on) in the hall (common wall to the garage) - I could just flick the switch to slide the bolt home in case I had not locked the door. Light on when I come down in morning - switch off the bolt.

Any recommendations for a suitable solenoid : I don't think I need a purpose built solenoid door bolt - just something to operate off a transformer.

[Bob Minchin]

No specific item recommendation but do make sure you get a continuously rated one as unless you devise some sort of bistable latch mechanism, the solenoid will be energised for hours on end and you don't want it to burn out. Maybe consider some sort of varistor in series to drop the current to a lower holding figure after a short period. Maybe salvage the degaussing circuit from an old cathode ray tube tv?

[Andrew Gabriel]

Here are some examples:

If you search for more specialist suppliers, you'll find a better selection. You can sometimes find these at very good prices when on special offer, but they aren't cheap otherwise.

The options you may or may not get in different products/models are: Fail safe, or fail locked (what happens when power fails), Monitored bolt position (can signal back if bolt is locked or open), Monitored door position (open or closed - might not work in your case), Full controller built in, or just solenoid and monitoring connections. Breaking force.

These normally run from 12V or 24V (some can be set after purchase), so they can run from a battery backed supply if maains fails.

[Peter Parry]

Something like a car door actuator

might be suitable with a steel rod going across the track?

It drives in both directions so only needs power when changing state so overheating is eliminated. It also minimises the problem with solenoid bolts where the power on force can be quite significant but changing to the power off state relies on a spring so the bolt has a tendency to bind if there is any slight misalignment between the solenoid and door.

[Jasper]

Many thanks to you and Bob

[newshound]

Looks like a good approach to me too!