Security Alarm Batteries | Is your Alarm system up when your power is down?

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You use the alarm panel every time you enter or leave your property. The simple Bleep sound it emits tells you a lot about the status of the system.

So a monitored door or window, or a fire detector, motion detector or other sense device is determined to be in the non-alarm state and with just that simple, reassuring Bleep you can rest knowing that your system is protecting you or allowing your entrance.

But, is that true, even when your AC power is out? Your alarm panel should have a big black battery that provides power to the system when the AC is out. But is that battery protecting you?

Reasons your Battery backup may not be protecting you:

1. The Battery is missing and the cable for it is dangling.
2. The battery is dead due to a charger problem.
3. The battery is dead because it is old.
4. The battery has an internal short and does not work.
5. The battery is old and will not charge.
6. The battery charges to fill voltage but does not charge to full current, resulting in low battery capacity.

What can you do:

1. Call us and we will help determine the correct Security battery to protect your system. Call 317-222-1329. Once the battery arrives just attached that dangling cable to it, let a day or so go by to fully charge the new battery and you should be working with full power outage protection.

2. If your situation is #2 above, Look at the side of the battery for the battery number or capacity. It may have a number like UB6120 or specifications like 6 volt DC 12 aH. Once you have those numbers, call me @ 317-222-1329 amd I can help you pick the correct replacement security battery.

3. If your situation is #3 above then you will need to replace the battery. Reasons for the ultimate failure of your old battery can vary, but in all cases, Sealed Lead Acid batteries suffer a degrading called sulfation. I picture this as similar to rust on iron. As the sulfation layer thickens the battery cannot re-charge to full capacity since the lead plates and the acid cannot make the best level of contact. As the sulphation thickens, then the battery capacity dimishes until it no longer meets your operational needs. There is no fix for this, and it is ultimately unavoidable.
Pleas gather numbers from your battery and call me @ 317-222-1329. myBatteryman.com can supply batteries for all makes and types of security systems. If you do not see what you need, let me know, That is how we determine what to add to our catalog.

4. If you are in situation 4 above, this should be fairly rare in a stationary alarm panel, since battery shorts are a mechanical failure inside the battery. The primary way to recognize the problem is that the system’s charger is working but, when power is removed, the battery voltage drops below the rated voltage of the battery. All Sealed Lead Acid batteries are charged at something more than their rated voltage. A 12 volt battery may be charged at 13 or 14 volts for example. If the battery, when disconnected from the alarm system, drops below the rating of the battery and it has been charged prior to disconnection should have a DC voltage of the same or higher than that battery’s rating. A 12 volt 12 aH battery for example, should measure 12-14 volts disconnected from the system. A 6 volt battery should show DC volts of 6 to 7 volts. Anything less than that indicates a internally shorted battery. Gather the specifications from the side of the battery, and call me with your multimeter reading sand I will help you determine if a need for replacement is indicated. Call Jim @ 317-222-1329 or visit the wevste

5. 6. If your situation is number 5 or 6, the problem is tough to recognize. The reason is that the battery will likely appear to be fully charged since the battery voltage is at or above the rated voltage. See situation 4 above for reasons.. But the primary effect that proves the need for replacement batteries is that when the alarm panel is not connected to AC house power, the alarm system run-time is insufficient. As a matter of fact, the battery voltage may reach necessary levels but the stored capacity (current) is mortally insufficient.

This is the most difficult to diagnose for these reasons:
1. The system remains operational when disconnected from the AC Power by a crook or the weather.
2. System appears fine when not in Alarm.
3. If voltage on battery is checked, it appears normal.
4. Only when a high current load, such as a siren is sounded, the battery capacity cannot sustain the alarm as is expected.

This problem can be tested but only under a load. Unfortunately if you sound you alarm long enough to test it, your neighbors won't be happy.

As a final thought, if your battery is more than 5 years old, it might make sense to replace it. Just a good idea I think. The few dollars the battery will cost you will help assure your peace of mind. If the battery is of unknown age, and no one put a date label on it, it might be a good idea to start with a known good battery.

If your battery is dead and still in that panel, don't feel alone. A lot of people think they have a security system that is, in reality, a fair weather security system. Let a intruder kill the power or storm come through and that system just might not be working.

Call me with any questions: Jim 317-222-1329
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Invacare Pronto Batteries QUICK Selector

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Invacare Pronto Wheelchairs are highly reliable and help assure that elderly and other people with limitations maintain a good level of mobility.

At myBatteryman.com we work with people who have a wheelchair but need to re-power it to restore its full capacity. Wheelchair batteries last for years but over time they will appear to be charging completely, but their ability to provide sufficient power decreases until the wheelchair is not reliable.

We have created a Quick Selector system to help you find the right replacement bayyeries for the Invacare Pronto.
Please Double click your model Invacare Pronto listed below to see more:

I am available by phone to answer questions. Call 317-222-1329. I am a technician and look forward to helping you.

Elderly Mobility – You can help re-connect them to the world | myBatteryman.com

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Mom used to work, drive, shop, got to the movies. But now she can’t walk far and the risk of falling keeps her locked in her home.

A powered wheelchair like a Hoveround MPV or Invacare Pronto can open the possibility of getting out and about again, but then the scooter is heavy and tough to move without a lift.

I have helped many many people re-power their Hoveround or Pride Mobility scooter, and I have learned something you might not have thought about…

You could plan an outing with her but instead of driving, use your local transit company bus.

They will have service with lifts that will allow you easy access from home to shopping, a movie, or the library. If you live in an area where transit services do not exist, look for a church that has the ability to lift Hoveround wheelchairs. Just a simple outing to Church will be very valuable to one nearly shut in.

I suggest you set up the firstoutings and go along to help keep the stress of trying something new to a minimum.

You will find the drivers of these specialized lift buses not only provide transportation but they also look out for their riders. If you are like me, you will find their operations to be very professional and friendly.

We all know how cabin fever feels.. We want to get out but weather or, in this case, infirmity holds us in.

By doinga little local research and spending a few pleasant afternoons, you can help her see that a true independence is possible, thanks to the transit service, their personnel and safteyequipment like cane, walker, wheelchair or powered wheelchair or scooter.

If you need a powered wheelchair, these are available with support of Medicare or insurance. Check your policy to see what is required. If she is disabled but not yet eligible for Medicare, you can find very nice scooters and power chairs on Craigslist and Thrifty Nickel publications. If you need to re-power the ride, call me and I will help you sort out what is needed. Some power chairs are built for exreme bodyweights, so if sheis not heavy you will want to pick a chair that is rated smaller since it will need smaller and therefore cheaper batteries. Most Craigslist units will need new batteries so factor that in before you buy.

The Transit company fare should provide door to door service. In my area that ride can cost as little as $1.50 per stop with pickup on the hour or on demand if you cannot wait for the circulating bus.

We all see those buses but they seem to be something for someone else. But they are a remarkable and easy service to use and maybe one of the best gifts you will give her.

Happy trails!

Business Restoration Planning Checklist — FREE

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This article is to discuss Business Restoration Planning. We all know that a disaster- a hurricane, tornado, storm, fire and flodd to name a few can affect us at anytime sometimes with no warning at all.

Bringing a business or organization back to operation in the aftermath of calamity may fail without adequate preparation before the event.

What needs to be done will vary, but Who needs to do it is pretty clear. You.Whether you are a manager or a worker bee, it is in your interest to do all you can to allow successful resumption of operations. After all, who benefits most from that recovery than the team working there before the disaster.
A good Business Restoration Plan is a lot of work. The more complex the business, the more complex the plan will need to be.

I assist companies and organizations with planning and recovery in one small but important area. I provide replacement sealed lead acid batteries for the Computer Backup power requirements of the company and its emergency lighting and other equipment dependant on storage batteries. It is not unusual for the installed protective power units, like APC Backup Power, to do their job early in a disaster but once depleted to be unable to charge the old batteries back to full capacity, maybe not at all. Please feel free to call me (317-222-1329) to discuss planning and recovery. I support many brands of Computer Backups Like APC Smart Cell, Best, Tripp Lite and Powerwave and APC Smart UPS

We are well suited to vend these products to you, especially if you are not in Indiana or central Texas. Planning to use local suppliers post disaster may be a problem since their stocks may be depleted. We are located well away from coastal storms and we are in a stable quake territory. So we should be here and be operational when you need us.

The Business Restoration Plan may already exist in your company and may only need review. One great way of auditing your plan is to use a free Checklist that the Federal Emergency Management Agency has published Click here to get it.

I am going to suggest that you divide the work to create this across a number of people. If you are a small business or group, you may just need to take a nibble at a time. One way to do this is post a topic to consider to everyone involved and let them think about as they work on other things. This will allow a thoughtful, well considered set of issues to emerge. Once the ream pulls this information together the item on the checklist and the plan itself should be easier to quantify and be more accurate to need.

Don’t be surprised if you get some pretty cool ideas not directly related to the plan but will enrich your operations in other simple perhaps subtle ways. Be alert to improve operations from these ideas and at the same time complete a plan where everyone knows their part when it really matters.

After all– the Sun WILL come out tomorrow.

Storms, Power, and Technology – Are you really ready?

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So you heard today that the hurricane season is coming and you have the responsibility of keeping your company’s Information Technology assets working. But the storm is not on top of you, and you can take one of two views on it.

You can ignore the warning, after all you cannot run around yelling “The Sky is falling”. Maybe you like to work in a disaster recovery mode. After all lots of people like to feel important in times of need.

On the other hand you may want to assure that you roll through the storm with little effect. This direction will allow you to take a few prudent steps now to minimize systems downtime later.

As I write this, I cannot help but think about how little recognition comes from prudence, but over many years I have oscillated between these two response patterns. Maybe I have ran through all of my adrenaline. I like to be prepared to handle the unexpected.

Of course, Hurricanes, tornadoes, and thunder storms all can hardly be called unexpected in most places. Unless you work in the Sahara or somewhere exotic, to assume you need not plan seems foolish. But I admit I haveworked in more than a few teams that just think they are bothe invincible and I guress immortal.

So what is the likely scenario you may see in any time of tempest?
1. Power black outs or brownouts as the storm enters proxima.
2. Backup Power supplies detect glitch and begin supporting the Information technology systems.
3. Power restores momentarily and Bacup power supplies continue supplying power or may reset and allow grid power to resume powering the systems.
4. Some systems go down as power outage continues and backup batteries fail.
5. Systems are damaged as power surges and perhaps lightning strikes blow out the equipment.

So this is a picture of trouble that is headed your way now or later.

What can you do in advance? Some things you should be doing for simple business continuity reasons. The routine things like data backups, of site storage o backups,

But what else can you do?
If you are like most IT teams, you have a pile of unused and is card in place Uninterruptable Power Supplies. I suggest that you consider re=powering these extra power supplies with new batteries and do this as a redundant, but Unpowered and disconnected unit to be used immediately after grid power is restored to your facility.
Pending need you will power these units up to top off their charge them return them to disconnected standby. Charging these on a monthly schedule should suffice to assure they are available when you really need them.

Remember that a power restoration is not an assurance that power will not fluctuate as crews make repairs in places near and far from you and on a schedule you cannot know. So the the spare and ready backup power units will assure that you have a healthy fully charged support system as you bring your production environment back to life.
You could purchase extra UPS units to supply this protection. But the discarded units can be eaily and cheaply be re-powered. In the case of APC Smart Cell or Smart UPS units, Tripp Lite or Powerwave, this replacement is easy and simple.

Please feel free to call me to discuss this anytime. 317-222-1329. The store can be found at http://myBatteryman.com

You can expect that batteries to re-power you spent UPS to full power will cost about 15 percent of the replacement cost of the UPS, but this varies. You can feel comfortable that you can do this re-power easily and by preparing early, you will able to rapidly restore your primary backup power supplies following production system restoration.

Invacare Pronto Wheelchair support

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Invacare Pronto batteries will restore your Ride.

You ordered your Invacare Pronto Scooter a while ago, or maybe you picked one up on Craigslist or eBay.  You find the wheelchair charges up completely, yet it does not run as long before slowing or showing a need to charge up the power chair again.

Why is this?
Your Invacare Pronto, like most other electric wheelchairs operates from the charge on 2 batteries. Some Pronto wheelchais have larger batteries, type 22NF, some use a moderate sized battery, Tyoe U1.

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The batteries, over time, charge up less and less successfully as they get olrder. The ability to be recharged successfully is reduced if the wheelchair is not recharged event month or so if the power chair is not being used.
Should you find yourself needing a new set of batteries, you can find a cross reference of the batteries used by Invacare Pronto wheelchairs http://mybatteryman.com/index.php/cPath/47_62.

I also provide telephone support. You talk to me, not a sales clerk. My goal is to assure you get the correct set of battiers everytime. I have been selling wheelchair batteries for 6 or 7 years, so I am confident of my ability to support you. Call me with questions at 317-222-1329.

So the next question you might have after deciding the batteries are in need of replacement is Can I do this myslef?

The simple answer is Yes you can do this easily. But if you are too infirmed, or prefer to have someone else do this, These are no more difficult to change than a small car battery and they can be changed by you or any available handyman.  And don’t  forget that I can help you over the phone.