Replacing intruder alarm

Input the Engineer Code. But, once the old unit is removed, the bell box will sound, thats if the battery in it still holds charge.

Is it going to be used again, if not, you'd have a live cable terminated behind the new panel, so it would be far better to get it isolated correctly by removing the old cable, or at least disconnecting it at the fused spur end.

They can go for quite some time! I believe the old house-breakers trick was to fill the external sounder with spray foam.

Of course it may not, but best to warn neighbours and don’t disconnect in the evening. ;-)

Tim

That really isn't what I wanted to hear. And it won't be what the neighbours want to hear either! Sounds like a job for a 12-bore. Perhaps not...

Frank

Thanks, but I can't get to the spur end: it's behind some seriously heavy and expensive built-in wardrobes.

I was looking for the safest way to terminate it behind what will be a new battery powered keypad. The Wago was the only option I could think of...

Frank

I'd not want a live cable lurking there, even with wagos on the end. Too many surprises for somebody who thinks the panel is safe to work on but is actually live. Or who drills into the wall not expecting the cable to be there.

Could you pull it out from behind the panel and put a socket on it? Then at least it's obviously doing something. It also means it's easy to confirm its live status with a socket tester, and means power is still available there in case somebody wants to use it for something later.

Theo

I shall do just that. It'll need a surface box but at least it'll be safe. Thank you.

Frank

It's probably protected by the FCU which has an unknown fuse in it (eg could be 3A if it was for the alarm) which might make it awkward if it blows and you did want to use the socket. You could put an 'odd' socket on it like a

Or what I've done recently is make up a euro modular panel with socket, switch and fuse:

Theo

Also put a note in the in there saying live or sourced from fused spur upstairs.

Don't worry about it. Modern alarms aren't that loud. Mine's been subject to random triggering in the night for a few months and I've been the only person who was woken by it. or no one complained if I wasn't. It only ran for 5 or 10 minutes. The installer's been round this morning. And a few years ago, when a house not far away was burgled one evening, the alarm was triggered but no one heard it going. All inside watching TV I guess.

I can rely on Management to check that out!

Alarms (car and house) go off so often that no-one takes any notice of them anymore unless they go off every day and then they just get annoyed.

Do you get lots of very short power losses (less than a second)

If so the cause could be the backup battery in the control box if it's a sealed lead acid type of battery and it's around 5 or more years old.

A new battery cures this type of problem. They should be replaced approx every 5 years.

You can quickly test the battery by turning of the mains to your house at the consumer unit. The alarm should not sound on the mains failure.

According to the company who service my alarm (an insurance requirement) external alarm batteries are not replaceable. The whole unit needs to be replaced. Mine must be 15 years old at a minimum.

Depending on the type of alarm there can be two batteries. I have a wired alarm with a bell-box connected by wire to the control box.

There is a rechargeable battery in the bell-box. The aim of that battery is to sound the bell-box alarm if it's power supply is disconnected. On the bell-boxes I've had it's been a ni-cad battery with tabs that has been soldered to the printed circuit board. It can be replaced but possibly for the purposes of maintenance considered a non-replaceable part because its not in a battery holder. The bell-box may independently sound the alarm because the tamper switch may be in series with the power supply line. Remove the bell box from a wall and the tamper switch becomes open circuit removing power from the bell-box.

In my alarm the power to the bell-box is supplied by the control panel box usually from 12V derived from the mains. In the event of a mains power loss the power is supplied from a backup 12V rechargeable battery. It's this battery that can cause false triggering on a 220V power loss if it is 5 or more years old. The mains loss could be the type where it is less than a second long.

How much do you save on your house/contents insurance by declaring an alarm? When I've checked in the past it's been less than £10 with the stipulation that it must have yearly maintenance by an approved third party contractor (and not DIY) and/or it must be an externally monitored system thus at a cost a lot more than you are saving on the premium.

And they can refuse a payout or reduce it, if you are burgled and the alarm was not armed.

I've always made it a point to not tell my insurer that I have an alarm.

My contents policy required an externally maintained alarm to be fitted. I had a DIY system before that.

When I decommissioned our alarm on the grounds of cost of maintenance, I duly informed the insurance company, who recalculated the premium. It went down by 2p.

Perhaps living in a street where the most popular occupation is police officer, two of which are dog handlers, might have had something to do with it.

It's always worth getting quotes with and without the alarm, and comparing the difference to the annual maintenance charges. I'd guess the maintenance cost is going to far outweigh any saving on the insurance.

Although if you have a million quid's worth of antiques then I suppose the calculus may be different...

Theo

I don't think you need that amout. We simply had a pearl necklace that belonged to my mother. Alarm mandatory.

I should also have mentioned that we've been burgled on two separate occasions, No 1, we had a window broken & VCR stolen. No 2 was a bit worse, patio doors broken and I lost some cuff links.