The way I handle old alarm panel batteries changed after a bad call in Phoenix

I used to just clip the old battery leads and tape them up before putting in the new one, you know, to keep things moving. That changed about six months ago after a service call for a false alarm at a house in Phoenix. The panel was a 20-year-old Ademco, and the battery leads I'd taped up years before had somehow shorted against the metal backplate. It didn't cause a fire, but it fried a board and the customer was not happy. Now, I always use heat shrink tubing on every single cut lead, no matter how tight the space is. I keep a little butane torch and a bag of assorted tubing sizes in my truck. It adds maybe two minutes to the job, but it's worth it for the peace of mind. Has anyone else had a close call that made them change a simple habit like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_cameron27d ago

Honestly, I was on team electrical tape for a long time too. Seeing a board fried from a taped-up lead shorting out changed my mind completely. The extra two minutes with heat shrink just feels like cheap insurance now.

johnson.betty27d ago

Yeah, that "cheap insurance" feeling @the_cameron mentioned... I see that everywhere now. People skip the little safe step to save a minute, and it almost always comes back around.

harper_burns5927d ago

Heat shrink is solid, but man, that's a lot of extra work for every job. I've been using high-quality electrical tape for decades, the good 3M stuff, and I've never had a short. The key is a tight wrap with multiple layers. A butane torch in a hot attic sounds like a hassle I'd rather avoid.