I have the VeraLite with a Kwikset lock at one location and have only had to replace the batteries once in over a year. I have the Vera 3 at my new house where I have three of the kwikset locks and I’ve replaced the batteries 3 times in each of the locks. I’ve only lived in the new house for 5 months. Any ideas on why the batteries would be draining so quickly?
Chris
Random guess, more zwave activity at one location? I thought all zwave units repeat a message when they hear it, for better coverage.
Did you ever solve this? I have Kwikset 910 and the batteries drain within 6-8 weeks after install. I have multiple locations and the problem is the same. In 1 location I have Schlage and Kiwkset. The Schlage have no problems just the kwikset. In the other location I have only a few devices total and just Kwikset locks.
What is the polling set for your kwikset locks?
I’m having the same problem. I have 3 kwikset locks and have had to replace the batteries on my front door lock constantly. The lock is next to 3 aeon micro switches which I think might have something to do with it. My side door lock is next to 1 micro switch and it’s not quite as bad. My back door lock isn’t near any other zwave device and I’ve gone 6 months on one set of batteries although we don’t normally use that lock.
I’m thinking that the locks are waking up and rebroadcasting the signals from the micro switches which is draining the batteries. I don’t know if that’s true, but is it possible to make the locks not act as repeaters?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Battery operated devices do not rebroardcast the z-wave signal. They will only wake up on the set wake up interval set in the settings of the device in Vera. For locks there is a thing called beaming which will wake up the lock if a message is sent to a node that supports beaming to pass on the message to the lock. Like I asked in my previous post, what is the wake up interval set for the locks.
I have 2 Kwikset deadbolts and 2 Kwikset door knob locks. 1 set is on the front door and used everyday and I have only replaced the batteries twice in 2 years and the set in use is at 70%. Poll rate is 1080 seconds.
Notifications are set for:
Failed Lock
Bad Pin Code
Pin Code Change
Low Battery at 20%
The other set is on the garage entrance door that is not used very often and they are just over 1 year old and I have replaced the batteries once and this set is at 50%
I find that my battery readings are not accurate. Are you sure they are dead?
Some of my locks I put new batteries in and a day later or sometime instantly they say 80 or 70% I can take the batteries out of the door that says 100% and put them in same thing. I have came to the conclusion that I don’t trust the % reading. I have yet to actually kill a set despite it sitting a 50% for months.
[quote=“integlikewhoa, post:8, topic:177920”]I find that my battery readings are not accurate. Are you sure they are dead?
Some of my locks I put new batteries in and a day later or sometime instantly they say 80 or 70% I can take the batteries out of the door that says 100% and put them in same thing. I have came to the conclusion that I don’t trust the % reading. I have yet to actually kill a set despite it sitting a 50% for months.[/quote]
What kind of batteries are you using in the locks? If the batteries are rated at 1.5V, than they should report about 100%. If you are using rechargeable or batteries rated at 1.2V, they will report 90 to 80%. This is because the locks are designed for 1.5V batteries and the battery readings are based off 1.5V.
[quote=“garrettwp, post:9, topic:177920”][quote=“integlikewhoa, post:8, topic:177920”]I find that my battery readings are not accurate. Are you sure they are dead?
Some of my locks I put new batteries in and a day later or sometime instantly they say 80 or 70% I can take the batteries out of the door that says 100% and put them in same thing. I have came to the conclusion that I don’t trust the % reading. I have yet to actually kill a set despite it sitting a 50% for months.[/quote]
What kind of batteries are you using in the locks? If the batteries are rated at 1.5V, than they should report about 100%. If you are using rechargeable or batteries rated at 1.2V, they will report 90 to 80%. This is because the locks are designed for 1.5V batteries and the battery readings are based off 1.5V.
I only use energizer lithium and I can transfer batteries one to another and they read different % with same batteries… Sometimes.
Garrettwp, I have the poll interval set to 1080 seconds which i believe is default.
If i set it to poll the lock once every 24 hours is there a downside to that?
I have it set to poll once ever 3 hrs (10800 sec). Notifications low battery and open/close. One location open close happens every 2 weeks and it still drains fast. Only other devices there are an Aeon repeater and my micasa. I use Energizer alkaline. No other settings out of the ordinary. Didn’t change anything in the micasa at time of install.
I don’t recall, but are there settings for how long the internal LED’s are on after you press a button? These times may be configurable at the keypad but not within Vera… I just don’t know.
I have a bunch of these but haven’t looked at the configurations since they were installed.
If the locks are motorized deadbolts, check to see if the deadbolt is binding somehow. If the hole is not deep enough for the deadbolt when extended, or the deadbolt is rubbing on something as it extents, then you will drain the battery quickly.
For those with multiple locks behaving the same way, I have no idea.
But for those with only one suspect lock, check to make sure that a battery has not leaked onto the contacts inside the lock or the springs on the battery holder. I had one eating batteries before I figured out that a leak occurred. It’s just like having buildup on car battery terminals; drains them very quickly.
And of course if it has communications problems … it needs to stay awake and spend more energy doing the Z-Wave error recovery/retry protocols.
Paying it forward… I had this issue where my batteries were literally being drained weekly. On a hunch I removed the zwave card from the lock, blew some air into it Nintendo style, and put it back in. Seemed to correct my battery drainage issues.
this seems to be a general issue (about battery redings)
i have a chinese z-wave locks (for standard US-Style single bolt doors) … leading to garage and to the backyard.
they run on 4 AA Batteries (i use rechargables, but the issue was with normal batteries as well)
after 3-4 weeks the battery level sets between 3 and 0% … but the lock does work for at least another month. (2 lock and 2 unlock action in average per day)
the backyard lock unlocks and locks only once a day, same thing.
so this really seems to be a reading issue or not really the right battery type.
well i can live with this, since the locks never failed me.
[quote=“nullx8, post:18, topic:177920”][…]
they run on 4 AA Batteries (i use rechargables, but the issue was with normal batteries as well)
after 3-4 weeks the battery level sets between 3 and 0% … but the lock does work for at least another month. (2 lock and 2 unlock action in average per day)
the backyard lock unlocks and locks only once a day, same thing.
so this really seems to be a reading issue or not really the right battery type.
well i can live with this, since the locks never failed me.[/quote]
this makes sense if you use rechargeables, because many devices assumes you are using Alkaline batteries and reads the level accordingly. if you use different types of batteries the readings can become off.
[quote=“Albeebe, post:5, topic:177920”]I’m having the same problem. I have 3 kwikset locks and have had to replace the batteries on my front door lock constantly. The lock is next to 3 aeon micro switches which I think might have something to do with it. My side door lock is next to 1 micro switch and it’s not quite as bad. My back door lock isn’t near any other zwave device and I’ve gone 6 months on one set of batteries although we don’t normally use that lock.
I’m thinking that the locks are waking up and rebroadcasting the signals from the micro switches which is draining the batteries. I don’t know if that’s true, but is it possible to make the locks not act as repeaters?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk[/quote]
I also have the aeon door sensor and my batteries (kwikset lever) now only last about a month since I’ve installed the sensor, vrs the year or 2 I used to get.
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