Could someone advise whether I need to change the battery in my bell box? It still sounds when both mains power and battery are disconnected from the control panel (although I’ve only tried it for a few seconds). However, it’s been in place for nearly 8 years. I know the control panel battery needs changing every four of five years; what’s the average lifespan of bell box batteries?

 

I’m not sure what kind of bell box it is, unfortunately, but the control panel – installed at the same time - is a Gardtec 580.

 

Also, if the battery does need replacing, is there a way to do this without getting deafened by triggering the tamper circuit? I do have the engineer code, but I’m not sure whether it’s simply a case of entering engineer mode first or whether you have to do something when you’re in there to stop the alarm sounding.

 

Lastly, are the bell boxes fairly easy to get into? I’m assuming there’s a screw holding the front on somewhere, although there’s not one visible from the ground. Perhaps it just clicks in place?

self activating bell...

when the hold supply is removed the bell rings off its own battery

Removing the hold-off for a minute or so is enough to check the battery.

If the sound dips or has a low output it's likely it's near to failure.

They are Nicd so last longer than the lead acid type batteries in the panel.

Depending on the box you can't disable the sounder triggering.

It will have at least one fixing screw you can't have something like that in the elements only clip on.

Thanks for your reply, sixwheeledbeast. Very helpful.

Could anyone else tell me whether the Gardtec 580 allows you to disable the sounder triggering in engineer mode when changing bell box battery?

And how many years do these Nicd batteries in bell boxes last on average?

How often do professionals replace them under servicing contracts etc?

How often do professionals replace them under servicing contracts etc?

 

when they fail, so  between 1 week & 25+yrs

Has anyone ever thought of making a 7aH battery comprised of several bellbox batteries?

Has anyone ever thought of making a 7aH battery comprised of several bellbox batteries?

 

Lol, bit tricky to get the right voltage.

You can get other types like gel and lithium but are they really worth the extra?

Was it something like lead carbon I saw in Rs last year, five times the price but a ten year warranty?

Was it something like lead carbon I saw in Rs last year, five times the price but a ten year warranty?

 

Yeah there's Lead Carbon, Sealed Gel but also LiFePo batteries are getting popular for mobility stuff and available in 7Ah I believe.

But again is it worth the cost, really the system needs checking yearly anyway.

Yep this is it when you're checking every year, it's not so relevant.