Byron BY101 door chime problem

JustAnotherSaver

I wondered why nobody was ringing my doorbell lately & everyone was knocking instead. Turns out the door chime at the front of the house has gone kaput as the batteries have all crystalised inside and for some reason the other chime at the rear of the house that's mains powered took a couple presses to work but then worked every time.


I was looking at https://www.amazon.co.uk/Byron-Sentry-BY101-Wireless-Portable/dp/B004OTVDSG


It's just 1 battery powered chime and a ringer. I don't actually need the ringer, just the chime.


I was wondering can this be paired to my existing ringer (the pressy button thing) or would it have to be the supplied ringer? And would it work alongside the mains powered chime i already have?

Myser

Are they AA batteries that have leaked?


You can clean the battery compartment and contacts with a cotton bud and white vinegar.

molerat

The chemical make up of modern batteries must be different as they don't seem anywhere near as corrosive as they used to be and most leakages can be cleaned up satisfactorily with a moist wipe with no long lasting effects.

JustAnotherSaver

I’m about to go out for the day so it’ll be later that I can get you photo of the inside.

Most contacts don’t appear overly bad. I’ve had worse. One of the springs though is quite rusted.
I’ve had it before where the batteries have leaked but I put that down to them being in place for years and years without change or use.

These are 4.5 years old at the very oldest. I thought it perhaps that they’ve been stored in a cold/damp area of the house, even though we’ve had damp treatment.

I have ‘normal’ vinegar and pickled onion vinegar as well as balsamic vinegar. If any of that is considered white then I’m good to go. And don’t worry, I’m not being difficult over that, even the wife takes the puddle out of me with that stuff :rotfl:

Yes they’re AA’s.

Myser

Normal vinegar should be fine. You should see the deposits dissolve when you apply it. You only need a tiny amount on some cotton buds. Too much and it will drip into the casing and eventually damage the components inside.

Jackmydad

Don't buy cheap batteries.
More and more of 'em seem to leak when they go flat. Which they do far too easily these days.
I was sick of battery powered things that weren't used all the time having leaking batteries, even though I was using a supposed "premium brand"
I've started using Energiser batteries (no affiliation) which seem to be the only ones who give some sort of guarantee of not leaking these days.
Early days yet as I only swapped over a few months back, but so far so good.

Myser

Jackmydad wrote: »

I've started using Energiser batteries (no affiliation) which seem to be the only ones who give some sort of guarantee of not leaking these days.
Early days yet as I only swapped over a few months back, but so far so good.

Yup agree, avoid Duracell they always seem to leak!

Andy_WSM

And to take that a stage further, Energizer Lithium batteries are a bit more expensive but last forever! There are reputable dealers on eBay that sell them for about £1 each as they are reselling broken down bulk packs. I use them in some wifi door sensors I have as part of an alarm system and they have already lasted 4 times longer than alkalines and no signs of needing changing yet.

Jackmydad

Andy_WSM wrote: »

And to take that a stage further, Energizer Lithium batteries are a bit more expensive but last forever! There are reputable dealers on eBay that sell them for about £1 each as they are reselling broken down bulk packs. I use them in some wifi door sensors I have as part of an alarm system and they have already lasted 4 times longer than alkalines and no signs of needing changing yet.

I bought a couple of bulk packs of AAs and AAAs, but when they've gone, I was looking at getting Lithium ones.
Seems like a good MSE thing assuming you can afford them in the first place.

JustAnotherSaver

Myser wrote: »

Yup agree, avoid Duracell they always seem to leak!

Funny that, because that's what were in. I tend to not buy unbranded batteries as i don't know how good/crap they'll be.


Seems i don't know how good/crap 'good' ones will be either.

jamesperrett

JustAnotherSaver wrote: »

Funny that, because that's what were in. I tend to not buy unbranded batteries as i don't know how good/crap they'll be.

Duracell are notorious for problems like leaking or simply not working. In my old job we used to buy tens of thousands of alkaline batteries each year and we soon learned not to buy Duracell. Panasonic, Varta and Rayovac were our preferred suppliers but I've also found GP to be fine as well.