Old timer told me to stop using screw terminals on panel batteries back in 2017

I was working a residential install in an attic during a heatwave, dude must have been 70 years old. He showed up to check my work and saw I had the backup battery terminals cranked down with a screwdriver. Told me I was asking for trouble, that the vibration from the alarm horn would loosen them over time and I'd get false signals. I shrugged it off, thought he was just old school. Fast forward to last spring, I'm getting a call from a customer every Tuesday night at 6 PM their alarm goes off. Drove out there three times, replaced sensors, checked wiring, finally noticed the battery terminals were barely making contact. Had to eat the service call cost on two of those visits. That guy was right. Who else has gotten advice from an older installer that turned out to be the real deal?

2 comments

2 Comments

christopher_coleman172d ago

You ever notice how the stuff old timers tell you usually comes from getting burned the hard way? That's what I've seen in construction and even just fixing stuff around the house. Like my grandpa always said to never use cheap tape on ductwork, just use foil tape. I thought he was being picky, but after three summers of peeling up half the joints I had to redo, I learned the lesson. Same goes for using a torque wrench on lug nuts instead of just cranking them down with an impact. The old school guys didn't have fancy tools, they just learned what fails and what doesn't. That battery terminal thing you described is exactly the kind of small detail that only comes from years of fixing someone else's shortcuts.

lucas_price831d ago

@christopher_coleman17 The real trick is learning which old timers to trust. Some guys just repeat stuff they heard, but the ones who show you their own messed up hands are the ones who been there.