Home |
Search |
Today's Posts |
|
UK diy (uk.d-i-y) For the discussion of all topics related to diy (do-it-yourself) in the UK. All levels of experience and proficency are welcome to join in to ask questions or offer solutions. |
Reply |
|
LinkBack | Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
Posted to uk.d-i-y
|
|||
|
|||
Battery testing
For some reasone I have a Burglar Alarm serviced every year - it is
wireless. The guy usually puts a voltmeter on the various batteries and usually declares them okay for another year. I would thing the no-load voltage is a poor indication of likely life. Am I right? |
#2
Posted to uk.d-i-y
|
|||
|
|||
Battery testing
On 15/02/2019 14:58, DerbyBorn wrote:
For some reasone I have a Burglar Alarm serviced every year - it is wireless. The guy usually puts a voltmeter on the various batteries and usually declares them okay for another year. I would thing the no-load voltage is a poor indication of likely life. Am I right? no. -- "Strange as it seems, no amount of learning can cure stupidity, and higher education positively fortifies it." - Stephen Vizinczey |
#3
Posted to uk.d-i-y
|
|||
|
|||
Battery testing
On 15/02/2019 14:58, DerbyBorn wrote:
For some reasone I have a Burglar Alarm serviced every year - it is wireless. The guy usually puts a voltmeter on the various batteries and usually declares them okay for another year. I would thing the no-load voltage is a poor indication of likely life. Am I right? Poor indication. In my mains powered alarm base unit a "failed" battery will still show the correct terminal voltage. What it will fail to do is provide enough instantaneous power in the event of a power cut. The mains will cut out, the backup battery will not cut in fast enough and the alarm will trigger. The battery will then recover enough to leave the alarm in the triggered state with the strobe flashing and the horn sounding. Unfortunately you may not realise that the battery is on its way out until you get a power cut. I stick a label on my alarm box detailing when I last changed the battery and I replace it after around 3 years. Is there a reason for getting your alarm serviced this way each year? As this a DIY group I'm sure that you could have a routine to replace the batteries every so often. The money saved by declaring an alarm on for insurance is minimal. -- mailto : news {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk |
#4
Posted to uk.d-i-y
|
|||
|
|||
Battery testing
On 15/02/2019 14:58, DerbyBorn wrote:
For some reasone I have a Burglar Alarm serviced every year - it is wireless. The guy usually puts a voltmeter on the various batteries and usually declares them okay for another year. I would thing the no-load voltage is a poor indication of likely life. Am I right? I frequently test batteries for mobility scooters.I've found that a no load voltage test isn't much help. I therefore do a discharge test. It doesn't actually take long for a poor battery to reveal itself. But in the case of alarms I would be inclined to replace routinely every three years. Bill |
#5
Posted to uk.d-i-y
|
|||
|
|||
Battery testing
DerbyBorn explained on 15/02/2019 :
For some reasone I have a Burglar Alarm serviced every year - it is wireless. The guy usually puts a voltmeter on the various batteries and usually declares them okay for another year. I would thing the no-load voltage is a poor indication of likely life. Am I right? Yes, it is pointless - even off charge it takes a while for battery volts to fall. The proper test method is a drop test - a suitable load is applied and then the voltage monitored, for a rough idea. |
#6
Posted to uk.d-i-y
|
|||
|
|||
Battery testing
Chris Hogg presented the following explanation :
My DVM has a setting for no-load voltage measurement, and a different setting for battery testing. In the latter case, AIUI some load is put on the battery, i.e. current is drawn, and the voltage reading will fall away quite quickly if the battery is on its last legs. Perhaps your guy has such a setting on his meter. Those good for small primary batteries, but not much use for a lead acid battery - the tiny discharge will not really affect the voltage much. |
#7
Posted to uk.d-i-y
|
|||
|
|||
Battery testing
Is there a reason for getting your alarm serviced this way each year? As this a DIY group I'm sure that you could have a routine to replace the batteries every so often. The money saved by declaring an alarm on for insurance is minimal. I was conerned about my wife coping with my home installed alarm when I pop my clogs. I did have a mains powered one I installed myself - a kitchen extension made it necessary to change it. |
#8
Posted to uk.d-i-y
|
|||
|
|||
Battery testing
alan_m wrote:
On 15/02/2019 14:58, DerbyBorn wrote: For some reasone I have a Burglar Alarm serviced every year - it is wireless. The guy usually puts a voltmeter on the various batteries and usually declares them okay for another year. I would thing the no-load voltage is a poor indication of likely life. Am I right? Poor indication. In my mains powered alarm base unit a "failed" battery will still show the correct terminal voltage. What it will fail to do is provide enough instantaneous power in the event of a power cut. The mains will cut out, the backup battery will not cut in fast enough and the alarm will trigger. The battery will then recover enough to leave the alarm in the triggered state with the strobe flashing and the horn sounding. Unfortunately you may not realise that the battery is on its way out until you get a power cut. Interesting theory but wrong. Old batteries dont get €śslow€ť or then recover to provide power for the sounder etc. When the mains goes, they fail to provide enough power for the system and the external sounder/strobe responds to this as a €śtamper€ť. The sounder/strobe has its own battery that can keep the sounder going for ages without any external supply. Its got nothing to do with the main battery €śrecovering€ť. Tim -- Please don't feed the trolls |
#9
Posted to uk.d-i-y
|
|||
|
|||
Battery testing
Are they rechargeable?
I would have thought that a realistic load and voltage drop measurement might be a good idea, certainly. I have an old laptop where the battery reads fine after a charge, for all of five minutes in use! Brian -- ----- -- This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from... The Sofa of Brian Gaff... Blind user, so no pictures please Note this Signature is meaningless.! "DerbyBorn" wrote in message 2.222... For some reasone I have a Burglar Alarm serviced every year - it is wireless. The guy usually puts a voltmeter on the various batteries and usually declares them okay for another year. I would thing the no-load voltage is a poor indication of likely life. Am I right? |
#10
Posted to uk.d-i-y
|
|||
|
|||
Battery testing
On 16/02/2019 07:35, Tim+ wrote:
alan_m wrote: On 15/02/2019 14:58, DerbyBorn wrote: For some reasone I have a Burglar Alarm serviced every year - it is wireless. The guy usually puts a voltmeter on the various batteries and usually declares them okay for another year. I would thing the no-load voltage is a poor indication of likely life. Am I right? Poor indication. In my mains powered alarm base unit a "failed" battery will still show the correct terminal voltage. What it will fail to do is provide enough instantaneous power in the event of a power cut. The mains will cut out, the backup battery will not cut in fast enough and the alarm will trigger. The battery will then recover enough to leave the alarm in the triggered state with the strobe flashing and the horn sounding. Unfortunately you may not realise that the battery is on its way out until you get a power cut. Interesting theory but wrong. Old batteries dont get €śslow€ť or then recover to provide power for the sounder etc. When the mains goes, they fail to provide enough power for the system and the external sounder/strobe responds to this as a €śtamper€ť. The sounder/strobe has its own battery that can keep the sounder going for ages without any external supply. Its got nothing to do with the main battery €śrecovering€ť. Yes, the bell box may detect a a short drop of power as a tamper but battery is still well enough to allow the control unit to be fully working to cancel the alarm. While the battery in the control unit may be replaced at regular intervals I wonder how may batteries in the bell box are replaced likewise? In an alarm system batteries tend to never go through a discharge cycle unless there is a power cut. -- mailto : news {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk |
#11
Posted to uk.d-i-y
|
|||
|
|||
Battery testing
On Fri, 15 Feb 2019 14:58:57 GMT, DerbyBorn wrote:
I would thing the no-load voltage is a poor indication of likely life. Am I right? For a mains powered panel: If the mains supply is still on, he's measuring the charging voltage - pointless. If the mains is off, he measuring the voltage under load. If he's measures it immediatly after the mains is switched off and again 10 mins later the difference will give a reasonable indication of the state of the battery. For the sensors they take very little energy, what are the batteries? Tewrminal voltage might be good enough. I'd assume that there is some method that gives a low battery warning for a given sensor. -- Cheers Dave. |
#12
Posted to uk.d-i-y
|
|||
|
|||
Battery testing
"Dave Liquorice" wrote in
idual.net: On Fri, 15 Feb 2019 14:58:57 GMT, DerbyBorn wrote: I would thing the no-load voltage is a poor indication of likely life. Am I right? For a mains powered panel: If the mains supply is still on, he's measuring the charging voltage - pointless. If the mains is off, he measuring the voltage under load. If he's measures it immediatly after the mains is switched off and again 10 mins later the difference will give a reasonable indication of the state of the battery. For the sensors they take very little energy, what are the batteries? Tewrminal voltage might be good enough. I'd assume that there is some method that gives a low battery warning for a given sensor. CR123 BATTERIES - in the sensors. |
#13
Posted to uk.d-i-y
|
|||
|
|||
Battery testing
On 16/02/2019 10:28, Dave Liquorice wrote:
For the sensors they take very little energy, what are the batteries? Tewrminal voltage might be good enough. I'd assume that there is some method that gives a low battery warning for a given sensor. Surely if its an expensive maintenance contract any non-rechargeable batteries probably should be replaced yearly to ensure that the system works reliably for a future 12 months? -- mailto : news {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk |
#14
Posted to uk.d-i-y
|
|||
|
|||
Battery testing
alan_m wrote:
On 16/02/2019 10:28, Dave Liquorice wrote: For the sensors they take very little energy, what are the batteries? Tewrminal voltage might be good enough. I'd assume that there is some method that gives a low battery warning for a given sensor. Surely if its an expensive maintenance contract any non-rechargeable batteries probably should be replaced yearly to ensure that the system works reliably for a future 12 months? That would be a bit of an expensive waste, especially if the likely lifetime is about 10 years for a lightly loaded lithium primary cell. -- Roger Hayter |
Reply |
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Forum | |||
testing testing | Home Repair | |||
Milwaukee/Porter Cable Tool Battery Testing | Home Repair | |||
9V battery testing; Thevenin equivalent; car headlamps. | Electronics Repair | |||
Alkaline battery testing | Electronics Repair | |||
Laws requiring portable appliance testing and electrical installation testing if any? | UK diy |