Emergency Lighting Batteries , Longevity Of?

[Evans Electric]

Anyone  have a ruling on the life of Em. Ltg.batts ?   The big  7 AHr   ones for the twinspot units .

I replaced 5 in July this year after they failed a 3 hour test ,  H&S have been there and insisted upon another 3 hour test which I carried out while doing another job there.

Only 2 of the 5 batts did 3 hours , the others did 2 .  I'm taking it up with wholesaler but I need to quote  the make , this means waiting for my invoices to come back from the accountant or going back and looking ( which I don't have time for this week)    

The other job by the way was to move the electric truck charger 8 mtrs away from the Dist.Bd as it may cause an explosion .

( Their words not mine )   Oh well keeps Deke in work .

 

[kerching]

Not 7Ah units but,,,,,

Had a job last year....fitted replacement NM3s with NiCad Batts. Showed manager how to test.  Manager called me after 9 months saying they were not lighting for 3h.  I did not rush to get there, BUT luckily got there before the 12 month warranty was up.  Battery life varied between 30 secs and 30 mins!!!!!!!!

Contacted Manuf.    they  said it was ambient temp.  I said Ball c o c k s .  they replaced them all as a 'gesture of goodwill'   . I will not be using them ever again

 

[sellers]

is anything made to last?

I had 4 greenbrook timers from the local wholesalers.  fitted just under 2 years ago.  All broken!  I took them back, and apparantly they only come with a years warranty?  I said, its all 4 gone, not just a one off.  I couldn't beleive they saw it as acceptable.  I will be replacing FOC and with another brand.  I may ask the customer to split the cost of the new ones.  The wholesalers thought I was being daft?

Does anyone not value custom or quality today?

 

[Sharpend]

No, it's all about the money and the moment.

Quality and respect are seen as old fashioned and out of date.

 

[binky]

problem is we all like bargains - result lots of crap in wholesalers

 

[kerching]

is anything made to last?

I had 4 greenbrook timers from the local wholesalers.  fitted just under 2 years ago.  All broken!  I took them back, and apparantly they only come with a years warranty?  I said, its all 4 gone, not just a one off.  I couldn't beleive they saw it as acceptable.  I will be replacing FOC and with another brand.  I may ask the customer to split the cost of the new ones.  The wholesalers thought I was being daft?

Does anyone not value custom or quality today?

Would that local wholesalers begin with the letter B ?.................as that was where my dodgy NM3s came from, and they didn't want to know and said take it up with the manufacturers

 

[steptoe]

:slap

well, as a subby one of my clients has changed wholesalers recently,

and they sell carp, told both of the line managers I thought so, have also told one of the directors,

last week had a call back to a job I had already raised with a manager about not thinking some of the switches etc were working OK,

changed 2 switches that were faulty, charged £30 [goodwill fee] , they probably saved in total less than a fiver on materials for what I used on the original visit, so where do they get their figures?

savings pennies that costs pounds eventually.

 

[SLIPSHOD & SLAPDASH]

Are you sure the twin spot emg you have are 3hr NM ? I  fitted a few i got cheap and only noticed after they were 1hr. Fitting the second batt in would not help as the charger was not up to it.

 

[Andy™]

are the 7ah abtteries the same as used in alarms? if so, 5 years would be about right

 

[Evans Electric]

Andy    these are fatter than the usual alarm battery , quite heavy in fact .  Two in parallel .

Slippery     They are marked up as 3 hour   .  Eterna twinspots  .  I suppose its the usual case of buy in cheap from the far east load of crap which is now costing me money in call backs .

 2 of the 5 fittings did the 3 hours but  I only fitted batts in July this year .     I need to go back there and get the maker's name , I know they were chinese but isn't everything ?   

 

[Steve3948]

Could it also possibly be the trickle charger not working correctly.

I'm sure about 6-8 years we had the exact same issue but it was the charger not the battery.

Have you tried to charge the battery away from the fitting ??

 

[sellers]

Would that local wholesalers begin with the letter B ?.................as that was where my dodgy NM3s came from, and they didn't want to know and said take it up with the manufacturers

Rymes with Crackpool telectrical paraders?

 

[kerching]

Rymes with Crackpool telectrical paraders?

Correct-a-mundo

Everytime I have been in recently the staff have changed.   They have been handy for my job around the corner but that finishes soon so ................ :red card     they seem to run around like headless chickens

 

[sellers]

Ive been a good customer for 3 years, almost 80% of my materials go through there.  Think I am going to give them a boycott for a while.

And anyway, gerrrofff my patch!!

 

[kerching]

I boycott them occasionally....not done it since their Rep left though. It used to make them a bit keener; not so sure now that they have this 'middle management structure'....Don't you think it is getting the look of 'Express'?...and who used to be the Manager there....One  boycott lasted 7 months over 47 quid!    Light fitting failed after 14 months [2 year warranty]   hadn't got a direct swap, 'gave me another', then invoiced it as it had 'gone through the door so was off stock', then couldn't credit me as it was the 'old VAT rate'!!!! then credit arrived in the form of materials not money

whilst I am on a role....does it not Pee you off when they are serving you AND in the middle of it they answer the phone!!!

 

[sellers]

Im quite easy going, I just want to go in, get my gear and get out as quick as poss.

I don't want any prices, I don't want to sign anything, I just want to get home and not get ripped off when the invoice arrives.  This doesn't seem to happen though.  I received a bill in a single invoice for 1200, it was actually supposed to be a quote, that went through as an invoice, I went in instantly, moaned everytime since then, and it got credited the month after! 

 

[SPECIAL LOCATION]

are the 7ah abtteries the same as used in alarms? if so, 5 years would be about right

As Andy suggest, a lot of lead acid sealed rechargeable cells have a manufactures recommended lifespan of 5 years dependent upon the frequency and duration of usage under load.

Some will go for longer, others shorter...

but without researching manufactures data I always consider 5 years a good rule of thumb for any rechargeable batteries..

opcorn

 

[Evans Electric]

Could it also possibly be the trickle charger not working correctly. I'm sure about 6-8 years we had the exact same issue but it was the charger not the battery. Have you tried to charge the battery away from the fitting ??

No I havn't tried that Steve , the only charger I have is the car battery one .  I'm fairly certain these batts are NiCads , TBH I'm not sure about re

charging those with a car charger .

Its a good point though M8 , could be the fittings although I'm begining to think on lines of CCC (Cheapo Chinese Carp)  that don't meet the relevent  British Standard  .

I know these batts last a lot longer if they are discharged often instead of cooking away a couple of years . 

 

[Apache]

Deke - you need one of these

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-12-VOLT-TRICKLE-BATTERY-CHARGER-CAR-VAN-MOTORHOME-CARAVAN-MOTORBIKE-QUAD-12V-/400345115936?pt=UK_Recovery_Tools&hash=item5d366dad20

 

[steptoe]

Deke - you need one of these

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-12-VOLT-TRICKLE-BATTERY-CHARGER-CAR-VAN-MOTORHOME-CARAVAN-MOTORBIKE-QUAD-12V-/400345115936?pt=UK_Recovery_Tools&hash=item5d366dad20

:slap

:slap

:slap

this is more like it

or, if you are feeling flush, try this   :slap