Electrical outlet power failure monitor Vista 20p


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Old 09-16-20, 12:42 PM
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Electrical outlet power failure monitor Vista 20p

Yesterday, I found out that the power to my garage freezer had shut off. The GFCI that it was plugged into had tripped for a yet to be determined reason. I'm not sure how long it was off for, but I ended up losing most of the contents. While I plan to figure why the GFCI tripped, I thought I would look into a monitoring device that I can plug into that outlet. I have seen some stand alone ones that give out an audible siren, but am curious if there are any devices that are compatible with a Vista 20p system. I know they have monitoring devices such as heat and water leak detectors, but have not found anything yet to monitor power outage to a particular device. This is something that would not set off an alarm, but could notify through Total Connect app.
 

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09-17-20, 03:39 PM
MrRonFL
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The standard 5816 transmitter can be configured to take a NC switch input. You could use that with the various relay schemes described.

That said, you wan't to get your freezer on a non-GFCI circuit. The way refrigeration compressors work, the current draw they create as they cycle on and off will degrade and damage the protection device. Same goes for microwaves.
 
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Old 09-16-20, 03:26 PM
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Power a 120 vac neon lamp from the outlet the freezer is powered from. Locate the lamp where it is obvious. Only problem is you have to notice the lamp is not on.
 
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Old 09-16-20, 04:39 PM
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I found something like this on Amazon that will probably work, but without remote notification ability. There are some more expensive devices that connect to Wi-Fi for notification ability, but was first looking for Vista 20p compatibility.

https://www.amazon.com/Reliance-Cont...CHYWWQF2ZWSYXA

 
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Old 09-16-20, 07:02 PM
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you could get a 120 volt relay and connect it to the circuit and use the com, and NC contacts on relay and wire that to a 24 hour zone. when you loose power it will open contacts and trip the alarm
 
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Old 09-17-20, 05:37 AM
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Like Elite says below, I would take something like this, chop up and old extension cord to plug into the wall and power the relay, then use a contact on the relay as a zone contact for the Vista. Program the zone for whatever notification you want.
https://www.amazon.com/110VAC-120VAC...s%2C250&sr=8-4
 
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Old 09-17-20, 05:41 AM
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Powering a relay off the outlet was my thought too, but I'd do it a bit differently. I would plug in a low-voltage power supply, say 5V, 6V, or 12VDC to power a low-voltage "sensitive" relay; i.e., a relay that energizes at low voltage and draws very little current (typically around 1 mA).
The reason I'd use that low-voltage, low-current stuff is that you could then put a resistor and capacitor, in series with each other, but in parallel across the relay coil; so that when power fails from the outlet, the capacitor will supply enough current discharging to keep the relay energized for anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes before it de-energizes and trips a zone. The resistor-capacitor makes a super-simple & cheap rudimentary time delay.
The reason for the time delay is that you probably don't want to be notified every time your mains power hiccups for a split-second, up to a few minutes---which, in my area, is not unusual during a storm anywhere between your house and your power station.

I used to jackleg these makeshift time-delay relays back in the old days, and they're "primitive" but also highly efficacious. Unfortunately, I'd have to find the values of the capacitor & resistor by experimentation, so that might not be a suitable fix for you. But whatever you do, I recommend using some provision so you don't get notified every time you have a power blip.
 
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Old 09-17-20, 05:46 AM
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Device listed in post 3 requires a battery to alarm and power LED. While the ad states rechargeable battery included, the product information following states no for " battery included" and "battery required" and no mention if device contains a battery charger. Buyer beware.
 
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Old 09-17-20, 01:35 PM
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Thanks for the suggestions, guys. I have all wireless sensors (doors, windows, smoke, motion) and should have mentioned that I was looking for a compatible wireless device. I'm not committed enough at this time to wire up a relay to the system. Something similar to what I had found would be simple enough to at least notify of an outage at that outlet while I'm home. I plan on replacing the GFCI and monitoring the circuit for more trips if any.
 
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Old 09-17-20, 02:52 PM
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Have you considered taking the transformer for the alarm panel and moving it to the plug that the freezer uses? this will give you a system trouble when the freezer loses power whether the system is armed or disarmed.
 
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Old 09-17-20, 03:03 PM
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As I work on mostly high end and commercial installs I don't use the Vista panels much.
Based on the series of wireless transmitters that your system uses..... you should be able to buy a door/window type transmitter that doesn't use a magnet but a hard wired connection. Then you could still use a relay like mentioned above.
 
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Old 09-17-20, 03:39 PM
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The standard 5816 transmitter can be configured to take a NC switch input. You could use that with the various relay schemes described.

That said, you wan't to get your freezer on a non-GFCI circuit. The way refrigeration compressors work, the current draw they create as they cycle on and off will degrade and damage the protection device. Same goes for microwaves.
 
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Old 09-17-20, 07:07 PM
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That's an interesting idea putting the panel transformer on garage outlet. During an outage, I would get a Total Connect message. However, not willing at this time to reroute the power line through my garage and attic to get to the panel.

I was not aware that a 5 cu.ft. freezer couldn't be on a GFCI. I will have to look into that. An electrician installed the GFCI outlets in the garage prior to the city inspection. Not sure I have other options in the garage.
 
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Old 09-17-20, 08:16 PM
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Replacing the actual breaker for that circuit with a GFCI model will meet that code requirement, and those are more robust against the inductive load of the compressor. If you want to stick with the current configuration, they make new GFCI outlets with audible trip alarm features. There are even some that can send to your smartphone.
 
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Old 09-18-20, 01:50 AM
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Thanks, I'll look into that.
 
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Old 10-06-20, 02:19 PM
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The idea is good but the method is not. A capacitor activating a relay coil for 30 minutes would need to be enormous... not practical. Why do you really need a delay anyway?

Alan
 
 

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