How to 'hardwire' motion/contact sensor

I have 4 zooz motions,2 inside and 2 outside. They are powered, by design, by usb. Been at least a couple years, I'd say.

You did spell it correctly.

While I have soldered power supplies for a lot of my sensors, you can also use things like these:

https://www.amazon.com/Lenink-Battery-Supply-Adapter-Replace/dp/B0874HWL2L/

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I use these Lenink kits from Amazon to "hard-wire" anything I can (8 different devices currently), and I've had excellent luck with them - no failures or weirdness.

A few of them are out in my detached garage here in MN where seasonal temp swings in the garage can go from 110+F this time of year down to -20F or worse in winter. No issues at all with any of them.

ETA - Third Reality devices & sensors are nice for this since they mostly (all?) use AA or AAA batts.

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@aaiyar Thanks for the link... didn't know about that... should be good enough... now gonna look for a more europe plugg etc but it helps a lot...
Thx also for the spelling check :stuck_out_tongue:

@velvetfoot also thx for the link... no spelling check but that's fine... and btw... who used F... °C is the way... hihi :stuck_out_tongue:

But there are two pronunciations,

I grew up saying “soddering ” and have heard it pronounced “sol der ring”

Guess it is like”a loo minum” and “alu min ium”

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"Shelly I4" has four digital inputs which could be used by any motion sensor with dry contact output.
There two versions on this device. One takes DC power 5-24V and second one powered by line voltage. And there is a HE driver for these toys.

The Aeotech Door/Window Sensor 7 Pro contact sensor has screw terminals where an external supply can be connected. The appropriate page from the manual is attached. I have several of them, work fine.

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Not sure what batteries you are trying to replace but I posted this a while back where I am using wooden dowel as the battery while using usb to power the sensor. I have 6 of these in my house replacing CR2 batteries.

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Anyone seen those Lenink battery eliminator kits in CR2 or CR123? Or just AA/AAA?

Just AA or AAA, unfortunately. I'm guessing the market for doing the coin-style batts isn't deemed worthwhile.

Dealing aesthetically with the wiring is a challenge, so I only do this in places where it's easy and I don't really care how it looks (detached garage), or the wires are easily covered (light fabric curtain that's always over the window there blackout blinds are installed, and a Hue motion sensor in small bathroom's corner that's close to a plug).

I started using these in my detached garage since the temp extremes out there are murder on batteries. I even have one powering my Yale lock out there.

I even used one to power my hue outdoor sensor - I had to splice in a ~20' run of 18-2 that I tucked along the top of the fence out to the sensor, but it's worked like a boss.

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Hi @marktheknife

While I have Lenink kits in my "things-I-might-need" drawer, I haven't actually used any.

For all the hardwiring I've done so far (about a dozen sensors, including 3 with CR123A batteries), I make a small hole in the case, pass through connectors for a barrel female connector and directly solder it onto the positive and negative terminals. Then I seal the hole and close the case. I solder on the barrel male to the power-supply end.

If the sensor/power-supply are being placed outdoors (or in the attic), I use a little heat-shrink tubing around the connected barrel connectors.

I purchase these barrel connectors from Amazon (pictured below). They are rated for 5A at 12V - amply sufficient for everything I have used.

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I’ve also been thinking about this for sensors in my detached garage, doesn’t get quite as cold here as it does by @hydro311, but changing batteries can be a pain.

For me, soldering, however one chooses to pronounce it :upside_down_face:, is always a limiting step for any solution.

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The contact pads for CR123A batteries (and AA, AAA) are nice and big. So even a clumsy oaf like me can do it without killing the sensor. With your medical training, you'll be a dab hand at it. Just practice a couple times on something that you don't care about.

Also, in addition to using flux, I score the tinned contacts with a Dremel tool; it seems to make the solder grab on tighter.

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I lied, the real rate-limiting step is cleaning up the garage enough to make some room to work :open_mouth:.

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On the other hand, I've had a Hue motion sensor in my freezer for going on three years, in December. It's a couple degrees below zero in there ALL the time. Still kicking out reports every 10 minutes and battery at 54%.

image

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Maybe the permanent cold is better then my garage door for batteries.
My garage goes from -5 to +30°C... yeah i should insolate better but first the main house.
and there is a plexi plate so in summer it adds up to the temperature.
In the beginning of summer when its around 16-20°C we even use this effect to help heat up the house by leaving the doors open :stuck_out_tongue:

Think the difference between day/night and sumer/winter is a b*tch for the shrinking and expanding batterij/parts.

I've had zigbee contact and Hue motion sensors in my mailbox and package bins for several years too. If it wouldn't be for the fact they're at the very edge of range, and rain and vegetation knock them off the mesh, they'd still be there. The boxes they are in are black, and since the sensors were zigbee, you could see the temperature. It got up to 125 F in there. Plus, ambient cold overnight, and it actually got down to -20 F here last winter, which was rare; usually, several cold snaps of below 0 F.

I'm now trying a couple of Z-wave sensors. I hear they're harder on batteries, and they do have the more expensive 123A batteries, but the range is better. So far.

On the other hand...my wife thought collecting used batteries would be a good thing. We had accumulated quite a pile, and I tried to dispose of them yesterday, calling everywhere. Bottom line, the only things they'll take are rechargeable batteries and car batteries (which are pretty much taken care of for years here, along with tires). I think the lead acid car-type batteries can be recycled successfully.

My county recycling center takes alkaline batteries. It’s a facility to take large appliances, TVs, computers, paint, used oil, etc. I make a run there every few months and take all my batteries. Obviously YMMV but assuming your local county has such a facility they might take them.

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I checked with the Town (pretty small). Apparently, there's a hazardous waste collection day, like once or twice a year, run by the county I believe. Alkaline batteries weren't on the list.

Best Buy will take your electronic stuff for a fee. Last time my TV crapped out, I went on line, figured out what was wrong, and replaced power supply (or something) for, like, 35 bucks. If you have to take it to someone to get it fixed, forget about it.

But...the thread digresses. :slight_smile:

Here if you buy a tv or big appliances or even a smartphone the 'fee' for recycling is included in the price.
That made it possible to get the old tv or whatever getting picked up while they bring you a new one. Also, that way only really dumb ppl dump a tv or fridge or whatever in public places, they already payed for recycling :stuck_out_tongue:
Almost every city here has a recycle center... even my -6000 ppl town where you can drop off your old electro and batteries for free.
Bigger stores even have containers where you can dump your old batteries. In my town we have 1 recycle center and as far as i know about 4 stores where you can dump batteries. But we save them for the kids. school does a yearly action to collect as much old batteries for money, that supports school trips etc.

it's funny how different places can be... not saying any is better or not... just different