Wiring Elk Keypad

[Sacedog]

I am looking at replacing a Honeywell system at my in-laws, with an Elk M1. At each of the keypads, there is 22/12 wire! From the looks of previous posts I have read, it seems like I can just reuse this wire, and not run new Cat5.

Anything wrong with doing this?

 

[BraveSirRobbin]

22 gauge wiring will work fine for the keypads, just remember to terminate them correctly. I would quickly ring out the ones you want to use with a multimeter (since it's old wiring) once you have both ends free of the old equipment (and before you connect anything to them).

If you need assistance view my Home Security How-To or just reply here.

 

[CORT]

I am looking at replacing a Honeywell system at my in-laws, with an Elk M1. At each of the keypads, there is 22/12 wire! From the looks of previous posts I have read, it seems like I can just reuse this wire, and not run new Cat5.

Anything wrong with doing this?

22/12? Does that mean there are twelve 22 gauge conductors in the bundle? I wonder why so many.

Cat5(e) cable is generally comprised of eight 24 gauge conductors, so your 22 gauge should be even better for conductivity. You could use some of those extra conductors to carry analog audio for a small speaker behind the keypad (M1KP2). I think you will want to use the Elk data base hub for retrofit. It will make your connections much simpler if you have multiple keypads. Good luck. How about posting some pictures when you are done.

 

[robolo]

I am looking at replacing a Honeywell system at my in-laws, with an Elk M1. At each of the keypads, there is 22/12 wire! From the looks of previous posts I have read, it seems like I can just reuse this wire, and not run new Cat5.

Anything wrong with doing this?

22/12? Does that mean there are twelve 22 gauge conductors in the bundle? I wonder why so many.

Cat5(e) cable is generally comprised of eight 24 gauge conductors, so your 22 gauge should be even better for conductivity. You could use some of those extra conductors to carry analog audio for a small speaker behind the keypad (M1KP2). I think you will want to use the Elk data base hub for retrofit. It will make your connections much simpler if you have multiple keypads. Good luck. How about posting some pictures when you are done.

What you are planning will work fine. It is EXACTLY the same situation I had and I did as CORT suggested, used a few of the extra wires to run a the ELK speaker behind the keypad. I would also recommend using the Flush Mount Back Box ELK-M1BBK2 as it gives a really nice final result with the keypad. I also second the use of the retrofit data base hub. I initially tried connecting without it and daisy chaining everything but it became a mess when adding on. The data base hub makes it a lot easier.

 

[Sacedog]

Nice! Thanks for all of the replies.

Yep. Twelve 22 guage wires. 10 of them were connected to the Honeywell keypad. It's a 15 year-old system, so it only does very basic security. I can't figure out why all of the conductors. But that is one NASTY wire run that I will not have to pull. Seriously, I think I would have had to route out a channel of sheetrock to get wire there, then have someone else patch it (cause I stink at patching sheetrock). So, I'm happy that I don't need new wire.

God, I love this forum!