Power supply for XEP

So my Elk system is up and running and now I am in the cleanup process of tucking in all the wires neatly.
 
I am stuck at XEP power. Currenly its powered by a wall wart outside the can and the wire going all around. 
 
Should I move the wall wart INSIDE the can? If yes, how do I get power in the can?
 
Should I keep the wall wart outside and take the wire in? I am afraid that if and when the wall wart breaks, I will have to fish the wire for the new wall wart. Its easy now because I have drywall cut out but once I patch it, it wouldnt be so straight forward.
 
Thanks
-AM

activemind said:

So my Elk system is up and running and now I am in the cleanup process of tucking in all the wires neatly.
 
I am stuck at XEP power. Currenly its powered by a wall wart outside the can and the wire going all around. 
 
Should I move the wall wart INSIDE the can? If yes, how do I get power in the can?
 
Should I keep the wall wart outside and take the wire in? I am afraid that if and when the wall wart breaks, I will have to fish the wire for the new wall wart. Its easy now because I have drywall cut out but once I patch it, it wouldnt be so straight forward.
 
Thanks
-AM

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You must have an AC outlet nearby that powers the transformer for the M1 control, no?
 
I installed an AC single gang outlet box in the bottom of the Elk enclosure and powered the M1 and the XEP both from that for a while but later removed the XEP transformer and powered the XEP from the 12vdc aux power supply on the M1. That way it benefits from the M1 battery backup.
 
Mike.

"later removed the XEP transformer and powered the XEP from the 12vdc aux power supply on the M1."
 
How did you do this? More details on this please or maybe a pic, this is exactly what I would like to do too.
 
 
-AM

The XEP power transformer (wallwart) converts the 120vac to 12vdc that powers the xep. The M1 can supply that 12 volts to the xep by wiring the AUX power on the M1 to the power plug on the xep. I cut the wire on the wall wart and used the power plug from it but it's a common plug and you can buy one online. Just be certain to get the polarity correct. the job requires simple soldering skills and a basic knowledge of DC circuits.
 
Mike.

Let me know if you still have questions and I'll be glad to get into the details with you. Right now I'm working in the garage and can't spend the time with it.
 
Mike.

If you do decide to power the XEP from the M1's VAUX power, make sure you stay within 1 Amp limit of the M1's power supply.  The XEP requires 300 mA, so it will consume a good chunk of what's available. 
 
Elk has a current draw spreadsheet that will help you add up your power usage.

I pretty much exclusively power the XEP's off the M1 or secondary power supply. The other item to consider is whether or not to break the power through a controllable relay on the M1. I've done this on customer's jobs but haven't implemented at my own house.

Sometimes I get a message that the XEP is restarting when I try to log in so I decided to disconnect it from the M1 and try powering it from my secondary power supply to see if it helps. I also installed a microcell to boost my cell signal which might help with logging in from the cell phone. Have you guys seen your XEP restarting itself?
 
Mike.

DELInstallations said:

I pretty much exclusively power the XEP's off the M1 or secondary power supply. The other item to consider is whether or not to break the power through a controllable relay on the M1. I've done this on customer's jobs but haven't implemented at my own house.

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Why do you need to cycle the power on the XEP with a relay?

activemind said:

So my Elk system is up and running and now I am in the cleanup process of tucking in all the wires neatly.
 
I am stuck at XEP power. Currenly its powered by a wall wart outside the can and the wire going all around. 
 
Should I move the wall wart INSIDE the can? If yes, how do I get power in the can?
 
Should I keep the wall wart outside and take the wire in? I am afraid that if and when the wall wart breaks, I will have to fish the wire for the new wall wart. Its easy now because I have drywall cut out but once I patch it, it wouldnt be so straight forward.
 
Thanks
-AM

Click to expand...

 
Another option for you is to keep the wall wart outside of the box and snake the low voltage wire in to the M1 like you said and when the wall wart dies you can just replace it by cutting the wire. Or even cut the wire near the wall wart when you install it and splice the cut with a power connector.
 
Mike.

mikefamig said:

Why do you need to cycle the power on the XEP with a relay?

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Many reasons....ATT to Frontier conversion would be a great example in this state. Every time they push something down to the GW and it reboots, I've seen the XEP not allow inbound traffic even though everything is configured correctly. Some 3rd party routers develop issues. I also have a site with a static XEP that, while pingable, is unable to connect to RP. A relay controllable via a phone call or app is a lot easier than rolling a truck. I'd rather call a customer's M1 and reboot X or Y remotely and roll that into a PSA agreement than drive 2 hours to do the same.
 
Also can have it reboot additional equipment upon ethernet trouble, such as the router, gateway, modem, etc. and set up a delayed power sequence automatically.

DEL
 
At this point my network gateway and switches have no power backup and I plan to remotely control the Elk using the telephone in the case of a power outage.
 
In your experience do most residential installations have their network power backed up? If yes then what does this look like? What sort of backup supplies do they use? The Elk is cabled directly to the gateway but I also have cameras that use two switches and would back up the network if there is a simple way to do it.
 
Mike.

mikefamig said:

 If yes then what does this look like? What sort of backup supplies do they use? The Elk is cabled directly to the gateway but I also have cameras that use two switches and would back up the network if there is a simple way to do it.

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I have a 10 port POE switch, 24 port switch, 16 port dual wan router, cable modem, telephone modem, household NAS and the telephone base station powered by a Tripp-lite UPS unit.  Its consumer grade and lasts about an hour when I cut the power...only cost ~$100, but there is a lot of options/price points... http://www.newegg.com/Power-Protection/Category/ID-314?Tpk=ups
 
Also have a UPS in the office and a couple A/V setups on backup...did this so backing up the network wasn't completely pointless.  

A UPS is one way to go. But since many cable modems, routers and switches are powered by 12VDC wall warts, I use an Altronix power supply to provide power to them. I felt I got greater capacity at lower cost this way since it removes the inefficiency of converting 12VDC from the batteries to 120 VAC and then back to 12VDC again through the wall warts.

Whether a UPS or an auxiliary 12volt power supply the wiring would be the hard part. The switches and gateway are in three different locations. Plus my 4 amp Altronix would have to be replaced for a larger supply if I went that route. Decisions decisions.