FIRE ALARM unit - Fault finding and battery test | Thomas Nagy

Dave and I tested a fire alarm unit at an Amnesty Bookstore in Hammersmith. Took a while to get down to the source of the problem, but I eventually found it (amidst a pile of rat shit). I'm also explaining a little bit on testing batteries as lots of people were interested in the comments.
Here a link to a similar model of the battery tester I used:
bit.ly/2OcT5pH
* Subscribe to my channel for free and never miss a video *
bit.ly/2IGEhcW
Don't forget to follow me on:
*Twitter: / tomthespark
*Instagram: / tomthespark_official
My website:
www.thomasnagy...
If you would like to support my work and donate a small amount that goes directly to my video production, please have a look at my PATREON page:
/ tomthespark
Our preferred tool supplier is here:
www.its.co.uk/
DONT FORGET to use the discount code ITSTOM when shopping!
Thank you for watching!
Thomas Nagy
WARNING:
This video is for entertainment purposes only. If you use the information from this video for your own projects then you assume complete responsibility for the results.

[@MrMarkusTribee]

Legit, at my place of work, to be "allowed" to use a step ladder above the first step I had to sit through a 30 min death by powerpoint about how to use a stepladder.

[@nbandit2k9]

thats because technically you are working at height XD

[@metro_ken]

f

[@abandondacc]

E

[@chrisb4009]

In fairness 75% of domestic electrical work is just common sense. I doubt there is a house in the country that doesn’t include work done by a DIYer. There’s also plenty of shocking work done by supposedly competent sparks.

[@dc-sd3gd]

Im a spark and rewired my house, is that diy or professional work lol?😂

[@veritasaequitas9875]

Not if you're working to BS7671 which everyone should do. It's anything but common sense.

[@JG-ls4gh]

Id have to disagree with your first statement my friend. Wiring up a plug or changing a light fitting should be generalised common sense but even those abilities seem lacking for most common folk these days. Sparky's or engineers such as fire, security, access, nurse call etc are individually specialised in those areas. There's is a lot more to it than just running cables and hanging lights, lol, having said that. Sadly, from experience I would say there's 1 good engineer to ever 5 bad one. Most are just too lazy to do the job right and i spend all day running around after the dodgy gits, lol still works works ;)

[@heinzschmitt9661]

8:49 You hit the nail on the head there. I work for a UK fire alarm system manufacturer and the number of times people blame the equipment when the real issue is their install......

[@toranine09]

You'll be pleased to know that I'm not watching your vids (or anyone else's) for the purpose of doing a trained electricians job. I found you through a particularly deep KZbin rabbit hole one evening. A bit of backstory, I'm autistic and have CPTSD stemming primarily from 2 house fires and an incident with the fire alarm system at my primary school (TLDR: the room the boiler was in had some upgrades done to it or something and they didn't think to silence the detectors nearby). When I was around 13-15, I decided the only way to not be scared of fire, was to know what it was doing. So I learned about fires & the physicsy-chemically side of them. One of my Special Interests (that is, the things that an autistic person enjoys or focuses on) is tech, especially smart home tech. I discovered the Nest Protect which was absolutely the COOLEST thing I'd ever seen, and that got me interested in fire & home safety systems... Blah blah blah eventually I stumbled on that old fire system test video from like 2 years ago, and was immediately enthralled by your realness & humour. Closest your videos got me to be an idiot and do these things IRL was inspired me to perhaps pursue a fire systems design course; put my interest to good use. Keep it up.

[@thomasnagy]

Hats off to you, pal! That's pretty cool, if watching my videos has helped you out in some way. BTW: What's that deep KZbin rabbit hole you were referring to ... ??? ;-)

[@Cjrelectrical]

I’ve got that book and it’s what I used to become an elektric.

[@janesouth5649]

Electrician

[@swaterman08]

Good Tip, when moving the ceiling tiles you use the back of your hand so you do not get dirty fingerprints all over it.

[@philcollins6498]

Is a Skirting board ladder 😜, I sent email to manufacturer asking for a 3/4 refund 🤷‍♂️🙈🤣🤣, have got the same ladder 😏

[@twinbuster21]

try finding a fault on an addressable system that has had all the heads replaced trying to sort out fault. Last resort was contacting the manufacture and them digging into the firmware and going 'oh yeah we have a bug, here's an updated version'. Now that is a joke, 1 year later and £££ lost of call outs and a customer not happy. Conventional panels are a piece of piss to find a fault in theory until you come onto a panel you've never seen before and have no clue on what is what. Keep up the good work pal, enjoying the videos.

[@artisanelectrics]

Got one of these to do this week as well! Fire alarm has got fault lights all over!

[@jaycee1980]

As far as I'm concerned Part P is a load of shit. I safely rewired my parents house, fitted plenty of light fittings, sockets etc... all perfectly safe and passed a full test. And i'm not a qualified spark. A knowlegable DIYer is perfectly capable of doing such work safely.

[@BJJJAY985]

The build quality of rafiki is not great compared to Apollo and Hochiki I know most fire and security engineers prefer the above

[@jameswilliamson4728]

Thank you tomas for posting this vlog for a Monday night and keep up the good work.

[@DanstheEngineer]

When you post videos on fire alarms it naturally catches my eye 👀 Hope all is well Thomas

[@oDOOZ3Ro]

The tips of those clips are made to fit on the spades on batteries tom :)

[@TheJakeman789]

You know I found your video interesting to show my electrical license classes, but your cussing ruined that.

[@0Tweaky0]

The part where you're looking above the ceiling tiles reminds me of Aliens I can just imagine 5-6 rats racing towards you, then you jumping down and spraying your pulse rifle with a badly fitting helmet and armour.

[@Rob_M_jr]

I have the same battery tester. It's a great tester, but alot of technicians dont know that those should be sent back to ACT annually for recalibration. As an edit: ACT sells a self calibration kit also. Keep up the great videos Thomas.

[@mssecurity1930]

Also fire alarms do go wrong and there not all perfect but well designed installed and commissioned serviced always works

[@jefferysutton7064]

ms security can u just stop if u don’t like them then burn to death you always have to critasise everything just keep ur opinion to urself bcos he is the election ur the viewer if u want to bring it up bring it up to someone who actually and generally cares

[@ashmanelectricalservices4318]

As a general rule of thumb, your waist area shouldn't be any higher than the top tread as this is where your centre of gravity is. You can easily lose your balance or have the stepladder topple from beneath if you climb any higher. Dave is clearly using the wrong size stepladder, 6 treads fit nicely in the van and are easy enough to carry round on site.

[@gman6055]

In terms of H&S: don’t stand and work on the top three steps (including a step forming the very top of the stepladder) unless there is a suitable handhold (which could include something above your head)... you can if you have a handhold. It's not illegal anyway, only guidance.

[@veritasaequitas9875]

It's stupid. Guidance given by some pencil neck who has never been up a ladder.

[@lelandclayton5462]

Don't waste your money on a battery tester. Just replace it after three and a half years after the manufacture date.

[@robertgane-howe5177]

Brilliant love the reading there Tom. Gotta teach them old people 😂😂

[@OfficialiGHazee]

Just can't help myself Tom 🤣 It's from ADT so it is rubbish the twinflex. De commission it and quote for an Advanced Panel or a gent. There miles ahead of any others atm. Great video tho. Always intriguing when you do fire alarms 👍🏻

[@MisterBrownJack]

Gent is the best system in the UK and that's the same with Twin flex

[@FernandoTSacher]

Wait people complain about Twinflex ? hahahaha man if this people see what kind of panels the companies uses here in brazil ... Thankfuly we have some companies who uses SIMPLEX,Siemens,EST, Honeywell/Firelite ... I wish we have more versatile systems like Twinflex here !

[@Graeme566]

tWiN fLeX iS jUnK

[@_Steven_S]

6:08 saw a Sky installer the other day adding another feed out of a pre-existing dish on a bungalow. Ladder bolted down to the paving slabs, eye-bolts in to the brick for ratchet straps, hardhat, full body harness. I almost cried :'(

[@Seiskid]

Those Tyco/minerva smoke detectors are really good. Is the mains coloured zone wiring a common thing in the uk?? In australia fire circuit inner conductors are usually white and red. Brown and blue inside the fire panel usually means internal 240.

[@markwatson9816]

WTFudge? First on Tom's upload? Wake everybody! View/Like/Subscribe!!!

[@NLind]

Those wiring/DIY books are all over the place here in the US. Also as an American fire alarm enthusiast I love these videos seeing how UK systems are different than our own.

[@NLind]

Also here in the US the equivalent to Job and Knock would be called Trunk Slammers.

[@abandondacc]

Ohhh

[@BEARELECTRICS.DCSPARKS]

Hi Tom. Great video on the fire alarm system. Was wondering if you have got the Ferret WiFi inspection camera it's brilliant for voids and ceilings and it attaches to superods. 👍

[@obalarms]

1:23 was so unexpected that I literally jumped. 😂😂

[@connorcop08]

You’re too addictive to watch Tom

[@andrewwise5277]

Wait for it, Had a call out last night and a twin flex pro smoke head had gone down 😂😂😂😂😂

[@paulnewman3282]

Why his he looking above the system ..find the eol ..check voltage and work your way back til u find the issue .typical sparks lol

[@harryhall2709]

And here was me thinking Tom was just gonna put EOL resistor in the panel 🙈

[@darrenwillingham506]

Wouldn’t use those battery testers on a power sonic battery. Anything above a 12Ahr will give you bad readings and will fail even new ones.

[@JG-ls4gh]

Lol, TwinFlex! Guy's! Give me a multi paneled Gent system any day of the week, hahaha. TFs panels are sound little units though. Small installs ideal does what it says in the tin

[@MrWeddingPhotography]

Battery tester from ACT Meters own website is on sale at the moment 😀👍 www.actmeters.co.uk/battery-testing/chrome-ibt

[@veritasaequitas9875]

Tom. Please ignore the moaners. These people have nothing else to do. What you do is incredibly interesting and there are so many people who would watch just to see how it's done without actually wanting to attempt it themselves.

[@TDSWar]

(Fire alarm sounder goes off) Thomas: there she blows! At 9:36 but it goes off 4 seconds later

[@tpottrell]

I genuinely have that book... never actually used it though!

[@sirajudeenshamsudeen6969]

HI THOMAS NAGGY YOU IN GOING NORTHOLT NEAR Belvue school

[@chriswalker1899]

😂😂😂 so glad I have come across this channel.... sorry fellas!

[@calumdavie9291]

Health and safety you should be using taller steps. You should have safety glasses on when lifting out tiles. Other than that good video

[@NACAFireAndSecurity]

Have used the exact ACT battery tester on work experience! Brilliant pieces of kit they are, quite accurate as well!

[@ben-ux1zf]

Anyone know how to wire an Apollo smoke head ? And how to wire two together?

[@lilithdhara]

Just saw your van pass by in central London!

[@thomasnagy]

:-)

[@the_alex_ellis_channel6923]

As my Grandfather says, the problem with common sense is that these days it tends to not be that common.....With your videos, it is blatantly obvious that you're a professional spark, and not just some dingus who thinks he knows what he's doing. You're not liable for someone else's stupidity if they try to replicate what you're doing.

[@hardave17]

Anyone got Lauras insta? Asking for a friend...

[@Uncandan]

I agree with you on this Tom!

[@johnminywe3341]

How do i clear a prealarm fault on the addressable fire alarm plane?

[@acat6821]

You say its never a women, one job we were on a young women had a go at absolutely everything, tiling building a stud wall... the kitchen plumbing electrics, and it was fucking shit state!

[@thomasnagy]

Oh well, exceptions confirm the rule I guess!

[@Warlock1178x]

Can you not just use a multimeter to test the capacitors ?

[@tonymcclave9198]

Just watched a heart transplant looks fu**ing easy gonna give it a go on my mate he's got a dodgy ticker

[@mauricionardin1863]

Hi Thomaz, I am from Brazil, I am an electrician like you I happen to every problem of low quality material so I buy a screwdriver as a kinpex or wiha it is impossible to find, in LONDON it has everything from GERMANY, if I had a job in LONDON electricity would be a big hug tomorrow.

[@NBundyElectrical]

Poo Poo 😂 nice vid bud 👌

[@mozismobile]

You can get the very cheap and nasty battery testers for about $AU50 on eBay. They work, they're just not as accurate or reliable as the proper ones. "12V Car Vehicle Battery Tester Automotive Analyzer Digital Display" is what I have, does what it says on the tin :) If you're buying second hand lead acid batteries they are really valuable. Not what you should be doing for a business, but us bottom-feeding private users scrimp every penny.

[@pineappleroad]

6:00 when i had to remove the battery from a smoke detector at my sisters house (She had got a new smoke detector and neither me nor her fancied trying to remove the thing from the ceiling, as it is over a staircase) im pretty certain i had to stand on the platform bit at the top (the step ladder thing I was using rather curiously had a handle like thing as though it intends on people standing on the top of it)

[@phildxyz]

Fortunately it's perfectly legal to do your own electrical work in the UK. Yes you can even change a CU if you pay building control a couple of hundred quid to inspect and certify. Done it all my life, did my 18th edition exams (yes passed fine) got the correct test equipment. Tom is clearly excellent at what he does, but seen too many awful 'professional' jobs. Sits back and waits for screaming :)

[@wimseffelaar8950]

That literature helps thinning out the gene pool and makes for awesome Darwin Awards!

[@hughtattersall5594]

That book was probably written in the 14th era, when DIY was king and everybody else was a cowboy :-)

[@tomorichard]

Fp200 can be tan with mains it’s a screened cable. It shouldn’t be ran with any other service due to the fact it’s a safety system. No interference would be induced

[@ianmelzer]

I went to a technical high school and have electrical training from a licensed electrician, but beyond changing a switch, socket or fixture I am hesitant. In America there is a law that you can work on your own stuff but if you work on someone else property and something terrible happens you a criminally liable. My teacher told us the story of a elderly couple who had a neighbor do work on a new furnace. The neighbor made a mistake and the furnace housing and part of the duct-work was made live. The couple had their young grand-kids over and as they waved goodbye to their parents out the window they leaned on the live heat vent and another part of the duct work that was earthed. Both kids died, and my teacher was the electrician that was called in after to fix the furnace.

[@karateandy76]

I actually like the twinflex stuff. Like you say it's almost always installed badly, by sparkys! hehehe ;)

[@zacky180]

Yes they are pricey I’m looking at starting a tool and equipment hire business next year and I’m looking at price of tools

[@SKREES7991]

good comment tom, i might work for a company involved with making fire detection systems the amount of reports we get with the equipment reporting faults because of installations not complying to the BS standards in incredible

[@danboyle6792]

I use the exact same ACT battery tester here in the USA. It works great. I had the gold one like yours but it walked off. I have the chrome model now. I test alarm batteries on every call.

[@goaway9487]

I didn't see a single ghost.

[@mikeberry304]

Great video Tom, that Roland gets everywhere, always wear gloves when you see poo poo , very dangerous to us humans , dirty little basses, leave shit everywhere, and eat lots of cables

[@andrewmcneill7398]

What everybody’s thoughts on domestic installer training. Worth it or not???? Go

[@martinlongbottom7851]

Great video. Do you see much of the really rigid pyro cable that used to be used for fire alarms? Those kind of looked like normal cabling. I have worked in a building where they had all the emergency lighting run using this type of cable from a big main battery as well. Cheers

[@damian9690]

Call out in finchley thats where i live!! Where abouts?

[@mark90229]

Poo poo are you serious

[@michaeljane6141]

I've got that book

[@HiSmartAlarms]

Wow! In america we are not supposed to step on the top rung but got uk

[@90msg90]

Can someone explain to me, why are these batteries still not li-ions? Same with exit and emergency lights, NiCads everywhere!

[@AvroVulcanXH607]

Not an expert, but I guess because they're safer to continuously trickle charge. Li-ions don't take kindly to trickle charging!

[@firstsurname9893]

Because you don't change what works without a damned good reason. From a technical perspective NiCads are more temperature stable, last longer, aren't full of smoke & fire, don't require complicated battery management and are almost completely recyclable. Changing to Lithium would involve a costly and time consuming process to get them approved for use in critical applications.

[@davidshields1240]

90msg90 I think their are regulations on not using lithium for fire/emergency systems

[@brad30]

Price.

[@44R0Ndin]

Li-Ion batteries are expensive both for just the battery and for the more complex charging circuitry needed to prevent over charge and discharge. Lead Acid and NiCd batteries are cheaper, and the charging circuitry is much simpler. Li-Ion car battery = $800 USD, Li-Ion battery management system = $200 USD. Compare that to just a regular lead-acid car battery at around $100. With NiCd and Lead Acid batteries, the charging circuit can (and therefore usually is) extremely simple. All you need is a transformer with the appropriate output voltage, a single diode to turn the AC into pulsing DC, and a current limiting resistor if you are charging NiCd batteries. Doesn't even need a smoothing capacitor! For NiCd batteries the idea is to charge the cell at such a slow rate that it takes 10 to 20 hours to charge it from flat. This is called "trickle charging" and NiCd cells can tolerate it for 3-5 years before needing replacement. Lead Acid batteries are similarly tolerant of constant charging regardless of actual state-of-charge, however the numbers are different. On the other hand, Li-Ion batteries will burst into flames if left on any kind of constant charge. They require circuitry which can turn off the charging current, which is more complex and there are many chips designed specifically for the task of protecting lithium ion cells from over charge or over discharge.

[@astplatinum]

Powersonic batteries have correction factors to apply when using the ACT test meters (According to Powersonic).

[@mssecurity1930]

With fire systems tom the batterys should always have the install date on them also have you done any training and courses with fire alarms

[@ptopping2012]

Great video yet again.......😁📽️👊👍✌️🏍️

[@stevebrindley]

got the same battery tester ! fantastic bit of kit , also gives you the ampere hour range on the side for reference which makes it super easy to diagnose faulty batteries

[@Sprengi86]

I once opened up a suspended ceiling - there was a brown spot on the panel next to it and i didn't think much of it - until i saw the dead mummified cat staring right at me when i stuck my head up there.

[@thomasnagy]

Mate that’s rough! I’ve seen dead mice and small birds etc but a cat never. 🤐

[@Vikingza]

Hi Tom, I just have a sticker with my company details on which I stick to the batteries and the date and technicians name get written on.

[@BillyNoMates1974]

Thomas, what is your favourite job to do ? and your least liked job ? I would imagine your least liked job is being called in to fix what someone else has bodged up

[@dansmith436]

TOP RIGHT AT 0:39 HAD ME DIEING HAHAHAH

[@thomasnagy]

;-)

[@Stoney_Eagle]

How are those wires complying with safety regulations? Here in the Netherlands it is mandatory to have Cables with functional integrity. The regulation states that a fire in one area can not disable equipment in another, 30 minutes for power and 15 minutes for signal wires. The wires you're using are normal 110/230 power wires which have no protection what so ever.

[@willgrand461]

Stoney_Eagle that cable is FP200, fireproof cable. 99.9% of fire alarm installations in the UK are wired in that. You can see the red sheath of the cable when he opens up the panel.

[@bjaminm428]

New favourite youtuber. These videos are strangely moreish. Keep up the good work sir. Twinflex is bollocks though x

[@thomasnagy]

Cheers mate! Glad you enjoy the vids!

[@davidshields1240]

H&S with step ladders is a nightmare, I did a course on it and basically the top of the steps should be waist height, making small steps useless unless your a midget

[@jonathancook4022]

Funny video mate :D Great content and chatter as always! :

[@marcopetrillo6867]

Common sense is such an understated idea to apply to everything in life. The arses that complain about people sharing information should move to North Korea or a censored regime. People like you making entertaining and informative videos should be championed. The troll voice you do is classic too.

[@thomasnagy]

Couldn't agree more: Applying common sense is totally underrated. Cheers!

[@matthewpearce9909]

great vid. having just finished my level 2 really interesting to see what a fire alarm based job is all about - we dont learn this stuff in college!

[@richardwash6678]

Brilliant video Tom, keep up the ranting! Give us good as you get. 👍

[@deanlittle1693]

I find the twin flex fire alarms are far too sensitive.

[@idiotdrummer60]

Galvanized band, or as we called in Harland & Wolff shipyard, bicycle chain. We used the plastic coated version to clip cables onto tray.

[@thomasnagy]

Never heard it called that but I’m stealing that now; it’s a much better name! 🍻

[@zacky180]

Here is a good health and safety topic I now a man who works on high voltage cables for national grid but he can’t change a light bulb in the office as he is not certified as he could injury himself or electrocute himself

[@thomasnagy]

Lol

[@steveeverett8143]

Great video All ways look forward to seeing them. Not a electrician but work in the motor trade loads of health and safety rubbish in this trade. Keep up the good work.

[@thomasnagy]

Hi pal, yeah I guess all trades struggle with that, it's often just a load of bollocks, not practicable at all if you ask me, but hey ho!

[@grahamhardyvanlife5704]

2:28 not just you pal. I have had a close call in my parents garage going to pick up a paint brush and there was a mouse just sat there, my hand got about 6 inches away and he jumped up and legged it to the side and scaled the wall and got out through the roof.

[@thomasnagy]

It's a fucking night mare working on such stuff ... not my preferred way of working, but I've seen it all: rat shit, dog shit, mouse traps, spider nests .... ugh

[@0-B1]

Nice ladder I have shame I cant use the second step its just not possible

[@dspot66]

How do you know how to wire up any smoke detector?

[@tommcdermott1989]

I am taller than Dave even when he got up to that third rung !!