Hoover Crowdgate Controller – User Guide

Overview

The Hoover Crowdgate controller runs a dairy crowd gate. It uses a custom VFD (variable frequency drive) and a small control board to drive two motors: an up/down motor that raises and lowers the gate, and a forward/reverse motor that drives the gate forward and back. Pushbuttons at the front and rear of the holding area, plus limit switches, tell the controller what to do, and control buttons and LEDs on the board make installation, testing, and troubleshooting easier.

Power in is 240v 20 amp single phase. The controller also has a wifi radio and setup screen, and supports Farmshield.net remote diagnostics. All gate control logic is done with a custom firmware loaded at the time of manufacture.

Features

• Adjustable torque: how hard the gate motor pushes is adjustable. This torque adjustment lets you set the max torque the gate uses. Note: cold weather takes more torque.
• Jog forward feature: press and release the Forward button to jog the gate forward for an adjustable amount of seconds. Each additional quick press and release of the Forward button adds additional time.
• Reversing feature: press Reverse and UP at the same time to make the gate go Up, then Back.
• Down jog feature: press and release Down quickly to jog the gate down.
• Control buttons to simplify installation and testing.
• LEDs to simplify troubleshooting.
• Easy-to-wire terminals to connect to button boxes and limit switches.
• Wifi setup screen and wifi radio.
• Keypad to change settings.
• Power in 240v 20 amp single phase.

Inside the controller

Inside the enclosure, the pushbutton control wires connect at one terminal block and the limit switches connect at another. Use normally open limit switches. The motor connects to the 3 pole relay, and the motor ground wire connects to the plate. If the motor goes the wrong way, swap 2 of the conductors.

• The 5v power supply is for the wifi.
• The 24v power supply is for the contactors.

Electrical layout & power

The crowd gate needs a 240v 20 amp breaker in your breaker panel to power it. From the breaker panel, an electrician-supplied 18 AWG 5-conductor cable runs to an electrician-supplied junction box. An included junction box sits at the front of the holding pen.

Run button cords up and away from moisture. The electrician-provided 5-conductor cord is needed to connect to the junction at the front of the holding pen.

Flat yellow cable conductor numbers

The flat yellow cable has its conductors numbered, printed on the inner insulation.

Pushbutton boxes & wiring

Each button uses 2 wires. Black can be the switch common, and Red is the input to the controller. The electrician supplies a 240v 20 amp breaker and the 18 AWG 5-conductor cable.

Front and rear button boxes

• Front buttons: the electrician supplies a junction box to connect button wires and a 5-conductor wire to go to the supplied junction box at the front of the holding area.
• Rear buttons: the electrician supplies a 5-conductor wire to go to the supplied junction box at the front of the holding area.

Prox connections

Control buttons & LEDs

The board has control buttons and LEDs to help install, test, and troubleshoot:

• Control buttons on the board operate the gate directly for testing.
• Pushbutton LEDs illuminate when a button is pressed.
• Limit switch LEDs illuminate when a limit is against its stop.

Operating features

How hard the gate motor pushes is adjustable. The torque adjustment lets you set the max torque the gate uses. Cold weather takes more torque.

• Jog forward: press and release the Forward button to jog the gate forward for an adjustable amount of seconds. Each additional quick press and release of the Forward button adds additional time.
• Reversing: press Reverse and UP at the same time to make the gate go Up, then Back.
• Down jog: press and release Down quickly to jog the gate down.

Changing parameters

You can change numerous parameters to make your crowd gate operate correctly for your installation. The parameters are set on the VFD keypad.

To get into the Programming menu

1. Press Back/Reset twice.
2. Use the Up/Down arrows to put the arrow on the left of the screen to PAR.
3. With the arrow at PAR, press OK. You are now in the Parameter menu.
4. Press the Down arrow to scroll through the menu. (Left and Right arrows jump in big increments.)

To see or change a parameter

1. Once you are at the parameter you want to see or change, press OK. (This displays the parameter’s value.)
2. To change the value, press OK again. The value’s right-most digit should blink.
3. While it’s blinking, use the Up and Down arrows to change it.
4. Press OK when done to save it permanently.

To get out of the Parameter menu, press Back/Reset repeatedly.

Parameter reference

Parameters that need to be set

P1.4 – put to the motor nameplate amps. If torque is not high enough you will have to set it higher until it runs satisfactorily. Usually 1.5x the motor rating doesn’t harm the motor for short-duty-cycle applications like crowd gates.

Set the max torques to whatever you prefer. Test by using several people to push against it while it’s running.

Diagnostic monitor reference

To access the Diagnostic menu

1. Press Back/Reset twice.
2. Use the Up/Down buttons to move the arrow to MON.
3. Press OK.
4. Press the Right key till you get to 5.1.
5. Press Down to scroll and find the diagnostic register you want.
6. Press OK to see the results.

Wiring schematics

240v wiring

Wiring theory: 240v single phase comes from the festoon cable into the bottom of the breaker. 240v power goes to 4 places: the VFD, the brake, and both power supplies. All gate control logic is done with a custom firmware loaded at the time of manufacture.

The VFD’s relay 1 controls the (2) 24vdc coil contactors. These relays both turn on when the Up/Down motor is engaged. The 3 pole relay connects the VFD to the correct motor, and the 2 pole releases the brake. The Up/Down motor uses 12 AWG; the brake is wired with 14 AWG.

Internal control wiring

The internal control wiring connects the custom VFD’s control terminals to the PCB and the relays.

Parts list

Troubleshooting

If the gate does not respond to the pushbuttons

1. Press the pushbuttons at all operator locations. If the pushbutton LEDs don’t illuminate, check the wires going to the pushbuttons.
2. Press the control buttons on the board. If the on-board buttons activate the gate, the wires going to the pit or rear of the holding area have a problem.
3. Make sure the VFD is in IO mode. Press Loc/Rem and watch the arrow on the bottom of the screen. Make sure the arrow is above IO. Gate control will not work when the arrow is above Hand.
4. If a pushbutton LED stays illuminated all the time, check the cables or for water in a button box.
5. If a limit LED is on all the time, cycle the limit to make sure it’s not stuck. The limit switch should click when moved.
6. If a limit LED never turns on, check the connections in the limit.

If the forward/reverse motor runs all the time

If the forward/reverse motor runs all the time, even when the up/down motor is to be running, check to make sure the 3 pole relay is switching on when the Up/Down button is pressed. If it’s not, inspect the contactor and check if it’s getting 24vdc.

Specifications

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