Kwikset deadbolt experiences

I've had a Kwikset deadbolt for at least 3 months, and while it works well "most of the time," here are the issues I've encountered & that are still plaguing me:

• Battery life--I'm consuming a lot of batteries. One set per 4-6 weeks. Nothing much I can do about this. (I have the status LED set to blink; I could shut this off & see how it improves)
• Deadbolt direction--it seems to "forget" its direction once the batteries get below 60-80%, as indicated.
• Notifications--this is the only thing I feel I might be able to fix, somehow. I don't get notifications of battery life, even though I've configured it through Vera to do so. I also get erroneous notifications.

I currently have two entry codes programmed. I have configured the lock to send a notification when the lock fails to operate; when a bad PIN code is entered; or when PIN code #2 is entered. As far as I can tell, if a bad PIN code is entered, it sends me a notification that PIN code #2 is entered. I just entered PIN code #1 (for which I have no notifications), and it sent me TWO notifications that PIN code #2 was entered. Any ideas??

I had those problems with the predecessor to the newer units. Batteries lasted a month, worse when the temperature swung (unheated garage) and finally I had enough so I put in a true electric strike and tied it to my M1. Relegated the deadbolt to being powered off a standalone supply with some tinkering and have that lock via a rule on the M1.

Unfortunately, I think it comes down to consumer grade hardware and leave it as that.

I got my lock sometime in March and replaced the batteries sometime last month. Not as long as advertised, that's for sure. The one thing I haven't tried is Lithium batteries, which should last longer and handle the temps much better.

Lithium batteries do last longer, however they don't slowly die like alkalines, they're working fine one day, then they just die. I used to use them in all my meters, toners, butt set, etc.

I would also say to try Lithium batteries. I used to use standard AA batts in my thermostats and they would go every year or two. When I put in the lithium batteries I dated them with a sharpie. Two different thermostats have batteries dated from 2003 and 2004.
They also have a better shelf life.

I have had my Kwikset for about 10 months. Locks every day at night and 2-4 locks/unlocks throughout the day. Batteries are still original and down to about 80%.

ASIHome said:

I have had my Kwikset for about 10 months. Locks every day at night and 2-4 locks/unlocks throughout the day. Batteries are still original and down to about 80%.

Click to expand...

That's amazing--lithium batteries?

Does anyone have any thoughts on my notification issues?

DeltaNu1142 said:

That's amazing--lithium batteries?

Click to expand...

I have similar performance, on plain old Duracell Alkaline coppertops... too lazy to look for the date at the moment, but I pre-ordered 2 deadbolts from ASIHome and I've only had to replace the batteries once in the front door because it gets a LOT of activity. The back door is still running on the same set as when I installed the lock.

DeltaNu1142 said:

That's amazing--lithium batteries?

Does anyone have any thoughts on my notification issues?

Click to expand...

I think mine are plain old Energizers. Part of it may be the fact that the door closes properly and the lock does not have to force the door shut to engage the bolt.

ASIHome said:

I think mine are plain old Energizers. Part of it may be the fact that the door closes properly and the lock does not have to force the door shut to engage the bolt.

Click to expand...

Neither does mine. Manual operation is effortless. I notched the door strike to ensure that...

ASIHome said:

I have had my Kwikset for about 10 months. Locks every day at night and 2-4 locks/unlocks throughout the day. Batteries are still original and down to about 80%.

Click to expand...

Same usage pattern here, but batteries last only a few months. I do have it set to notify me when the door opens/closes, but would be surprised if this would be responsible for the huge difference in battery usage.

I have had my Kwikset for about 8 months, on Energizers, 2-4 opens per day and notifications for all entries and messages and I am only now just getting low battery notifications. Just a FYI.

Maybe it was the batteries I'm using; but I'm at least three months since my last replacement & they're doing fine.

I changed my "polling" time just for the lock from 60 seconds to 1,440 so that it polls the lock for battery life once a day, not every minute. That must wear the battery down polling too often. I've had the lock 2 months and I'm getting "low battery" notifications!