My home security system has a SLA battery (12V, 5AHr).

If I have a spare battery, can I use the battery tender I use for my car? Something like this: https://www.batterytender.com/products/plus

I would need to figure out how to connect it to the battery (need small alligator clips or something). But would it safely work?

Any other recommendations? I see wall charger type units with small alligator clips but they all seem like fly-by-night chicom crap. Don't trust, don't buy.

You could.
I wouldn't want some permanent installation but when those batteries go it is usually just wise to go buy another battery.
They are cheap and doubtful a battery charger would pay for itself by extending the battery life.

The alarm system at my old house used a similar battery & my office system uses 6

Agreed that it's likely simpler to just order one when the existing battery gets weak.

In both of the above cases, the alarm still functioned & the battery was just for keeping it energized in a power outage.

My current system [Vivint] has its own internal battery & keeps charged from house power.
Lasts quite a while in a power outage, even though the networked bits [cameras] are inop.

Assuming the battery in use is being kept at full charge as long as the power is on, seems to me that swapping the batteries periodically might be your "easiest" option. Yes, you will lose some run-time (your swap interval) if you have to swap in the spare during an extended power outage, SHTF situation, etc. but are you really going to be relying on the security system at that point? Likely have graver things to worry about. Spend the money on ammo, or a whole house generator rather than a battery charger (wouldn't be of much value in an extended power outage in any case). If it gets that bad, you could always "borrow" a car battery from one of the many vehicles that have run out of gas.

The Battery Tender brand comes with a set of gator clips, but I don't know about the Chicom imitators. They connect to the electronic part of the charger with a two-wire stepped connector. I may have a spare set around here if you still want to go that route. E-mail me.

Thanks guys.

I already have the batter tender - using it for my car.

I noticed in a recent power outage that the security battery only lasted for an hour or so. And it was purchased new last year. I'm trying to find the security system power requirement but I expected the battery to last more than 1 hour; at least 8 hours is what I would want (sleep through the night).

So, I bought a spare battery thinking that the other battery is either dying or is not large enough to last the night.

I'd plan to charge the spare battery and then keep it on the shelf as backup. Maybe re-charge it every few months or so (whatever is appropriate).

If the battery tender would safely work, I don't need to buy anything (other than perhaps small alligator clips).

Battery is something like this with "F1" clips.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Exell...Batteries/1000681819

I think there's some other drain if that battery, new, is only lasting an hour. I have similar and have had power out for a day or more and no issues. I guess I've never considered how much the system pulls armed vs. disarmed.

The phone app for my system also gives a warning when the battery gets worn out so I can replace before it's fully expired and not going to be a decent backup. I assume the panel would show similar.

On a new build have gone to SimpliSafe, and been very please. Their published estimate is only 24 hours, but that is a tiny battery in comparison.

BTW - if you're there to replace the battery, aren't you also there to just disarm it? Or are you worried about the horde during the outage?

I would get a UPS and plug into that.

The larger the unit the longer it would last.

Price vs performance.

figure out how long it needs to last during an outage and go from there.

Are you sure your home system doesn't have a charger built in?
Mine would only kick in if no power an it only got replaced every 4 or 5 years.
Maybe mine didn't charge it not sure and the system would alert ir the battery wasn't working.
Regardless it seemed to last quite a while.

Home system has a replaceable battery built-in. The battery is only lasting about an hour and it's only 1 year old.

I'd like to have the system running at least 8-12 hours (dusk to dawn) just for peace of mind. Do I need it? Probably no more than concealed carry. But a shame not to use a capability that is there.

I replaced the initial battery after about 15+ years. The second lasted 2-3 years. This one seems to be insufficient after 1 year.

Short term looking at a spare battery but need a way to charge it (worst case, I'll just replace it in the system and keep the other one as a spare but would still want to top it off once in awhile).

Long term, looking at other solutions. UPS, larger battery, ???

Short term, long term, whatever, still think you have an issue that needs to be addressed if only lasting an hour. Either the charger built into system isn't working, or there is some significant drain in the system when armed.

Batteries are cheap, just buy a big ass spare. Get a 12/35 and keep it in the closet if you ever need it, hook it up.

I don't understand the purpose of the charger, how would it be used in an outage?

Just buy a UPS or cheap large AH battery. A quick Google search shows 12/35s are selling for $60-100.

Either way I would investigate why the battery only lasts an hour. Possibly the cellular tx/rx for status?

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
Thanks guys.

I already have the batter tender - using it for my car.

I noticed in a recent power outage that the security battery only lasted for an hour or so. And it was purchased new last year. I'm trying to find the security system power requirement but I expected the battery to last more than 1 hour; at least 8 hours is what I would want (sleep through the night).

So, I bought a spare battery thinking that the other battery is either dying or is not large enough to last the night.

I'd plan to charge the spare battery and then keep it on the shelf as backup. Maybe re-charge it every few months or so (whatever is appropriate).

If the battery tender would safely work, I don't need to buy anything (other than perhaps small alligator clips).

Battery is something like this with "F1" clips.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Exell...Batteries/1000681819

hey if the ADT one only lasted an hour and its a new system, maybe you got a bad battery. I had a new system put in this year and my battery lasted for about 5 hours when we lost power last week.

quote:

Originally posted by Skins2881:

I would investigate why the battery only lasts an hour. Possibly the cellular tx/rx for status?

Every hangar at Our Little Airport is required to have a fire alarm monitoring service. The system exchanges a handshake with the Mother Ship once every second. If the heartbeats are not received by the Mother Ship for more than one minute, they start to take action.

A properly working backup battery should keep the system working for a day or more. If not, then either you have a bad battery or the battery is too small for the application.

Verify it is a 12 volt battery (most likely is), and you can use any 12 volt (ish) battery to run the system. When we’ve been out of power for days following hurricanes, I bought auto batteries and wired them in at my retail stores. Worked for nearly a week. I’ve used a motorcycle or garden tractor size battery at home.

Lastly, I’d do some research on your battery tender to find out what it does when fully charged. Specs says “float”. I know some battery chargers charge at a regular rate until the battery is fully charged, then drop to a maintenance or trickle charge. That may be fine for a car sized battery, but even a trickle charge from a car charger can cook a small battery. I highly recommend the Noco Genius line of chargers.

https://no.co/products/charging/genius

Possible that the battery you just put in had an older manufacturing date and was sitting on a shelf somewhere before you got it. Even big sellers like Amazon sell by first in, first out and batteries start degrading even if unused.

I'd do like others have recommended. Just buy a fresh battery (should have a MFG date somewhere) that will fit in your box that has a bit higher amp hour rating.

Thanks guys. Lots of good, helpful info above. Much appreciated.

I checked the date code of the current battery - indicates it really is only about 1 year old.

I tried measuring power using a multimeter but couldn’t measure current. Voltage was 14.05V.

As far as I can guess from documentation, given a 5AH battery, the system is only designed to last about 4 hours (less if the alarm actually goes off, perhaps half the time).

I think a larger battery may be a good path but I would have to keep the battery outside locked enclosure. Not really a big deal since it can be broken into pretty easily I’d imagine. And anyway, just want it to keep the system alive while sleeping (dusk to dawn).

So, I’ll look into a 12V battery with F1 connectors with at least 10-15AH.

I have a honeywell system, (Ademco) I installed 2 batteries since I had the room in the box. It will last 6 days fully armed operating normally.