Battery operated alarms

stephen1974 · Post by **stephen1974** » Fri Jun 14, 2019 9:01 pm

Anyone with any experience of stand alone push button alarms?

They are battery operated and i'm just wondering how long do the batteries last. I guess they are not draining power when not in use but I could be wrong.

Post by **Waterbaby** » Sun Jun 16, 2019 9:11 am

Bump

WB

Andyblue · Post by **Andyblue** » Sun Jun 16, 2019 2:31 pm

What batteries do you mean. Today, I have been replacing the batteries to my home smoke/heat alarms (Hard wired with 9v battery back up) as one was beeping to say it was getting low. I had dated them when installed in May'15 and the batteries showed May/June'19 as the best by date. For me it was a full 4yrs since replacement (checked annually), the battery Best Before was fairly accurate for this task, and replacing at 3rd anniversary would certainly be reasonably achievable providing that is within the Best Before date.

stephen1974 · Post by **stephen1974** » Sun Jun 16, 2019 3:11 pm

This is what I am on about.

https://www.fireprotectionshop.co.uk/co ... r4QAvD_BwE

I guess the issues are in regards to maintenance. I see a lot of batteries these days leaking and causing corrosion.
How quickly do they drain if being tested weekly - cant imagine it would be a lot but you never know.
If youhave them linked to other units does that cause any drain on the battery

A lot of old buildings im seeing at the moment dont have fire alarms, and arguably dont need them, so its a case of looking at alternatives and if I want to recommend something I would like to know of any issues. Its hard enough getting people to push a button once a week, let alone checking batteries, keeping spares, botheting to buy spares if they run out etc...

Messy · Post by **Messy** » Sun Jun 16, 2019 9:26 pm

Is that the right link Stephen? That takes you to a battery manual call point designed for building sites, caravan parks and temporary applications.

Are you saying you are proposing using this sort of system as a permanent solution? If so what sort of building in terms of use, size and risk profile?

Its a very unorthodox method and may require some justification before being acceptable

baywaves · Post by **baywaves** » Tue Jun 18, 2019 9:44 am

The description of the alarm in the link says that it "is designed for emergency situations ........ For use in temporary buildings, premises under construction and camp sites".

In this type of 'temporary' use, the longevity of the battery (i.e. the number of years it will last) is not so much an issue.

But in my opinion, this is not what you should be considering as a permanent option.

stephen1974 · Post by **stephen1974** » Tue Jun 18, 2019 9:20 pm

These companies wont pay for an alarm system and some are using just air horns and in some cases a hand bell. We are talking about small to medium size workshops, with a large open area and the odd office room on the side, not buildings with lots of rooms or corridors.

Its not what I would want them to have, but its an option that others are presenting and I just wanted to find out a bit more about them.

Post by **bernicarey** » Thu Jun 20, 2019 9:09 am

Back in the 1990s, I was working in an aircraft hangar where there was often a lot of noise.
Although there was an alarm system around all the ancillary offices and workrooms, it often couldn't be heard in the main hangar hall, about the 1/2 the size of a football pitch, lengthways.
We had 3 of these type units installed, interlinked, positioned on the 3 sides of the hangar that didn't have the main doors along it.
See photo to get the idea of size.
They served a purpose. It was the 90s, but I don't see why something similar couldn't work today, if justified for the particular location and with suitable maintenance regime in place for battery replacement.

baywaves · Post by **baywaves** » Thu Jun 20, 2019 10:36 am

Just for clarity.

Was the alarm system in the ancillary offices and workrooms interlinked with the 3 separate units in the main hangar hall?.

If not then that would mean that there were two separate fire alarm systems in use within the one building.

Post by **bernicarey** » Tue Jun 25, 2019 2:31 pm

baywaves wrote: ↑Thu Jun 20, 2019 10:36 am Just for clarity.

Was the alarm system in the ancillary offices and workrooms interlinked with the 3 separate units in the main hangar hall?.

If not then that would mean that there were two separate fire alarm systems in use within the one building.

That I can't remember, it was a long time ago. It was literally 1990/91 so almost 30 years ago.
The offices might even have only had rotary hand bells in their areas.