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Kwikset 910 Z-Wave Battery Level Information


PhanTomiZ

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Posted

Hi,

 

Background:  I like this lock and realize it's not the most secure on the market.  

 

Problem:  I found that I was changing the batteries every 3 to 4 months which I thought to be excessive.

 

Usage:  Lock cycles are roughly 6 per day.  

 

Batteries:  I use 4 generic "Kirkland" Costco AA batteries.  I decided to run this lock until the batteries were completely dead to find out whether the settings reported by the lock were accurate.

 

Observations:  Here is some information on battery Control for the Kwikset 910 Z-Wave door lock.  I've spent the past few months monitoring:

 

Battery Low

Battery Critical Low

Battery Too Low to Operate

 

These three are used in simple programs that check the battery level using "Control" and a notification email.

 

The "Battery Low" started to show up at the 3 month mark. (This is the time I would normally change the batteries).  This condition lasts 2 months.

The "Battery Critical Low" shows up at the 5 month mark. (At this point the "Battery Low" condition no longer is true and the lock continues to work normally).  This condition lasts 2 months all the way to battery failure.

The Battery "Too Low to Operate" never shows up.

 

The battery level in the "Battery Critical Low" stage bounces around from 60% to 10%.  Not a very good indicator.

 

I also use a program that looks at "Status" of the battery to be <5%.  In reality, the status shows 10% with the next step 0%.  The lock still functions when "Status" is 0%, but it will sometimes show "Bolt Position Unknown".  Once you execute a "Query", the lock shows correct "Status". 

 

Battery failure was approximately 15 days after the battery "Status" was 0% and the "Battery Critical Low" were true.   Battery Voltage measured, after taking them out of the lock, was 1.1V ea or 4.4Vdc total.

 

Conclusion:  After gathering all this information, my program I will now use, which should give me 15 days of lead time to change the batteries in the lock, is:

 

 ZW 007 Kwikset Battery Critically Low Change Batteries Now - [iD 0139][Parent 010B]

 
If
        Control 'Kitchen / Devices / ZW 007 Kwikset Side Door Lock' is switched Critical Low Battery
    And Status  'Kitchen / Devices / ZW 007 Kwikset Side Door Lock' < 5% (Battery Level)
 
Then
        Send Notification to 'Default' content 'Default Subject'
 
Else
   - No Actions - (To add one, press 'Action')
 
When these 2 conditions are true, you have 15 days to change the batteries before the lock is inoperable.
 
I hope someone finds this information useful and is my way to contribute to the community.
 
PhanTomiZ
 

 

 

Posted

PhanTomiZ,

 

Have you considered investing in high output rechargeable lithium cells instead? Good for the longer service life, good for the pocket book, and good for the Earth.

Posted

PhanTomiZ,

 

Have you considered investing in high output rechargeable lithium cells instead? Good for the longer service life, good for the pocket book, and good for the Earth.

Hi,

 

No, but I will.  How much longer do they last as compared to regular alkaline batteries?  Would I get 12 months instead of 7 months?  Do you have a good source for purchasing?  What brand do you use?

 

Thanks

PhanTomiZ

Posted

For most of the devices in my home I use a combination of NiMH Duracell 2500 mA  AA, Duracell 850 mA AAA, Eneloop 2000 mA AA, Eneloop 800 mA AAA, Eneloop Pro 2550 mA AA, Eneloop Pro 900 mA AAA, Nitcore Lithium in various sizes and capacity.

 

The Duracell Duralock are the daily go to batteries. The Standard Eneloop are for LSD (Low Self Discharge) for long term storage, use, and cold weather applications. The Eneloop Pro are used for high drain items that can be recharged quickly and offer instant power for camera (strobe) flashes etc.

 

The Nitecore are used for special applications where extreme temperature, vibration, and endurance cycle use is always present. I use them for life and safety devices such as radios, beacons, strobe, GPS, lasers, NVG, range finders etc.

 

For items where rechargeable are not allowed in my devices (smoke / co detectors) I use Energizer Ultimate Lithium cells. Costco sells both brands of Duracell and Eneloop cells in multi packs.

Posted

The literature included with my Schlage locks indicated to avoid lithium batteries. Although they do last considerable longer, they go from enough power to operate the lock to nonfunctional with little or no warning. My Schlage locks give a warning when the batteries are low, but I have many days to change them before they're too weak to control the lock.

 

Try a quality battery. I use only Procell batteries by Duracell.

Posted

Which would offer the same or more operational time than alkaline?

 

That would depend upon the reference battery in use. In this case your using Kirkland (Costco) batteries so you would need to know what the mAh those cells provide. If we assume they are standard 1500 mA (AA) cells like many others and compare them to the Energizer / Eneloop of 2500 / 2550 you would see almost double the operational usage.

 

Worst case scenario you would see at least 12 months of operational use based on your 6 cycles per day. 

 

If you decide to go with the lithium type rechargeable cells 12 months would easily be seen. Other things to keep in mind is every brand / type of battery offers unique attributes which should be considered. If you have a flash light for example that spends 99% of its time sitting on the floor.

 

You absolutely want a LSD (Eneloop Standard) battery in place . . .

 

If you have a high power flash light that relies upon long range and must balance hourly usage Eneloop Pro / Duracell Duralock are a great choice . . .

 

If you need something that will offer extreme performance in all weather, environmental, and huge amounts of consistent power output (amperes) Nitecore or similar LiPoe cells are the go too batteries to use. Obviously, a person needs to balance cost vs value and long term ROI if that is something on the radar.

 

I can safely state anything you buy moving forward and stop using the Kirkland branded batteries will be a huge leap toward longer service life . . . 

Posted

My experience with Kirkland batteries is they have a higher tendency to leak. I've had the battery compartments of many small appliances coated in white crud from them and I'm switching to alternatives.

Posted

My experience with Kirkland batteries is they have a higher tendency to leak. I've had the battery compartments of many small appliances coated in white crud from them and I'm switching to alternatives.

 

I have to agree with this statement too. The Internet is full of incidents of these batteries leaking, exploding, and offering varied performance. We purchased a case lot for very large project in late 2015 and found several unopened and sealed 48 packs leaking and showing the white crusties.

 

Like you I've had several Insteon devices damaged because of the poor quality of these Kirkland batteries.

 

In this case cheap directly translates to cheap performance and huge potential of hardware damage.

Posted

Kinda off topic, but I have one of these and I had less than stellar battery life also. Even with fresh batteries it sounded like it was dying. I got one without the zwave chip from lowes for about $60 and swapped the chip into it and now my battery life is much much better. You can hear the difference between how the old one operated and how the new one does.

 

The other question is do you have a good zwave network? Making sure you have a good beaming capable zwave device near enough to your lock is important.

I only have one program to let me know that the battery percentage is less than or equal to 40 percent and I change the batteries then.

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