DST Has Arrived ~ Change your battery's

[Teken]

DST has arrived for many of us who observe it.

[Teken]

For those of you who still use battery operated thermostats please ensure you change those batteries! Don't want to come home from vacation / work to find out the water lines burst because the heat wasn't turned on due to a exhausted battery cell.

 

I changed mine out just today even though they both showed ample voltage because this is a critical infrastructure system and you don't want a failure due to a bad cell. 

[elvisimprsntr]

I have smoke/cos with the battery door. Takes 5 minutes to change all 9 out. The down side is bulk 9v batteries come in 8 packs, so I end up buying a separate 2 pack.

 

Duracell copper top for smokes. Don’t waste time with other brands or discounted batteries.

[larryllix]

I have smoke/cos with the battery door. Takes 5 minutes to change all 9 out. The down side is bulk 9v batteries come in 8 packs, so I end up buying a separate 2 pack.

 

Duracell copper top for smokes. Don’t waste time with other brands or discounted batteries.

I have found the Duracell brand to not last as long as almost any cheap brand now.

They have reduced quality when they brought out their premium 10 year line in Canada.

 

I have been marking the install date on them all in my 11 MSes. They (coppertop)  typically don't last as long as the dollar store, no name brands, but are sale-priced below $2 per battery now. Formerly it was hard to get them under about $3-$4

[elvisimprsntr]

I have found the Duracell brand to not last as long as almost any cheap brand now.

They have reduced quality when they brought out their premium 10 year line in Canada.

 

I have been marking the install date on them all in my 11 MSes. They (coppertop) typically don't last as long as the dollar store, no name brands, but are sale-priced below $2 per battery now. Formerly it was hard to get them under about $3-$4

I get a minimum of 24 months out Duracell 9v in my smoke/cos before one starts chirping. I buy mine at Costco, which do not sit on the shelf long.

 

Is it possible you are getting batteries that are already near the end of shelf life and/or your smoke/cos have a high parasitic current drain? I thought Dollar Store mostly sells discontinued and/or items nearing the end of shelf life.

 

Consumer Reports pointed out several types of products that dollar store denizens should avoid. Things like knock-off batteries (like Dinacell) that leak acid,

[Brian H]

I have had some name brand batteries go dead in a short time or leak.

My unproven theory is they where counterfeit and not the real thing.

[Teken]

Having used the majority of the name brands, specialty ones, to no name. It's always been a mixed bag whether the batteries leak.

 

I've been a die hard Duracell / Energizer user my entire life. Sadly unless they state leak free such as energizer lithium it's luck of the draw.

[larryllix]

Some of my Duracell batteries were bought at Costco, but their prices are too high, when not on sale, for batteries that do not last as long and still leak inside equipment. I have only had leaks with AA and AAA cells and not 9V yet.

 

I mark dates on them when installed and my Duracells never gave more than about 8-9 months in Insteon MSes. No  brands have ever lasted two years from my experience. The dates are marked on the packages.

 

At one time Duracell was the best battery on the market.

[elvisimprsntr]

I agree 9v batteries don’t last long in Insteon motion sensors, regardless of which brand. 6 months if you are lucky.

[Teken]

I agree 9v batteries don’t last long in Insteon motion sensors, regardless of which brand. 6 months if you are lucky.

Would you so happen to be tracking the amount of traffic to offer more insight like below.

 

 

Also have you tried to reduce or turn off the LED? Also how many are set to ON only vs the standard On / Off. I have a mixed bag of the two and almost all of the MS last at the minimum of 9~12 months.

 

Also what are the hardware production dates and revision / ISY firmware? I have a mix of 2.0 to 2.4? Always curious to learn what environment is offering such a disparity of performance and usage.

 

Lastly, if I was seeing less than 6 months this would be a good time to consider rechargeable lithium 9 volt cells. I've been using them in high traffic / extreme climate / extreme height locations.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[larryllix]

I was tracking individual motion detection way back but never found a use for it. This could be useful for battery life prediction/analysis.

 

Now I track total motion detection counts but eliminate repeated detections from the same MS.

 

I have been wanting to convert these MSes to an AC adaptor since the birth of mankind. (exag.) The nicely done solutions with proper connectors and premade extensions just cost too much. Then the cheaper units are not CSA/ULc/ETL approved.

[Teken]

I was tracking individual motion detection way back but never found a use for it. This could be useful for battery life prediction/analysis.

 

Now I track total motion detection counts but eliminate repeated detections from the same MS.

 

I have been wanting to convert these MSes to an AC adaptor since the birth of mankind. (exag.) The nicely done solutions with proper connectors and premade extensions just cost too much. Then the cheaper units are not CSA/ULc/ETL approved.

 

The primary reason I started tracking the motion events was to obtain factual data in hopes of correlating foot traffic to battery life. It probably had more relevance when I used standard primary cells like the Duracells from Costco. But as the consumption & prices went up it made very little sense in using throw away cells. It still didn't pencil out using more expansive lithium 9 volt cells regardless of the brand.

 

Due to the insane long term costs . . .

 

Therefor I made a conscious decision to invest in rechargeable high output lithium 9 volt cells. I haven't looked back since and the ROI was paid back in a year and half based on the above consumption stats. Everyone needs to determine what makes sense to them in terms of value vs long term use. I'm done being a party of the *Throw Away* society and filling up the land fill.

 

The adage pay now, or pay later, rings strong in my head everyday . . .