Yes, but not just any ordinary Lithium battery will do. You will need a Lithium battery that has been specifically designed for the strenuous demands that a Gate Motor puts a battery under.

High Current:
A typical Gate motor can draw upwards of 25A – 35A when the gate starts rolling. This high current draw requires a specially designed cell and Battery management System. The Uniross LFP12-7HD battery has been designed with this exact requirement in mind. We use a specially designed 5C capable cell, along with a Battery Management System using components designed specifically for high currents.

Charging:
All Gate Motors have built in chargers that were designed for the old Lead type battery. However, what many people do not know, is that the charging algorithm of an old Lead Battery and the New Lithium batteries, are the same, with the only difference coming in the voltage parameters for each chemistry.
Lead Batteries typically have their charge voltages set to 13.8v upper voltage, while Lithium can be charged up to 14.6v. Charging a Lithium battery to a lower voltage (13.8v) as provided for by the Lead charger, is actually good for the battery and results in much longer service life.

Temperature:
Because the battery is housed inside the Gate Motor, which in turn, is located outside, next to the gate, we need to be aware of the effect of temperature on the battery.
Lithium batteries have a very good wide operating temperature range (-20°C ~ +60°C) with charging temperature being a little less (0°C ~ 40°C).

Keeping in mind that because these batteries are backup batteries, they are constantly connected to the gate motor charger and are therefore, permanently on charge. If a Lithium battery is exposed to temperatures higher or lower than the safe operating limit, it can cause damage to the battery. Uniross Lithium batteries, however, all come fitted with a state-of-the-art Battery Management System (BMS). This electronic device is constantly monitoring, amongst other parameters, the battery temperature and if exceeded, will automatically shut the battery off.
Although South Africa is not a terribly cold climate, there are still certain areas of the country that do drop below freezing in the winter months. In these areas, the charging of a Lithium battery becomes a safety concern. If a Lithium battery is charged at Sub Zero temperatures, something called “Lithium Plating” starts to occur on the anode, which can lead to safety issues.

Although many of the cheaper Chinese manufactured Lithium battery do have a Battery management System built in, not too many of them cater for Low temperature monitoring, making those batteries a significant safety hazard in the colder climates.
Furthermore, in the instances where the manufacturer has provided for low temperature monitoring, a “low temperature” trigger, usually results in the entire battery being shut off. In the case of a Gate Motor application, this could mean you finding yourself locked out of your property in the dead of Winter.

The Uniross Gate Motor BMS has been designed with this in mind and will not leave you stranded when the mercury drops below freezing.