this post was submitted on 24 Sep 2026
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Tired of expensive disposable batteries and rechargeable AA suck. So I made a 10k mAh pack for my deadbolt. (sh.itjust.works)
submitted 5 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago) by ThePantser@sh.itjust.works to c/3dprinting@lemmy.world
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Eneloops would only last about 3 weeks. And disposable last 2 months. This door is used a lot and since it has Zwave and a door open sensor it sends info on every open.

Bonus, since it can handle the lipo AA batteries that put out 1.8v and it gives the motor more oomph I made the battery pack give 7.2v and it never sticks anymore.

This is a garage-door so its not critical access but is used a lot.

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[–] Imgonnatrythis@sh.itjust.works 2 points 49 minutes ago

Oof. My Yale has a hub and the AAs last 9-12months.

[–] YiddishMcSquidish@lemmy.today 11 points 2 hours ago (2 children)

KmAhs

Mfer do you mean Ahs?

[–] atzanteol@sh.itjust.works 6 points 57 minutes ago

Should be Wh anyway.

[–] Therefore@lemmy.world 10 points 2 hours ago* (last edited 2 hours ago)

No kilomilliamp silly

[–] Provolone@lemmy.zip 4 points 1 hour ago

Which lock are you using?

Been looking at Schlage for a nice local only Zwave / ZigBee lock but I've seen a few recent reviews saying how their quality went down the drain. How the PCB is corroding from just moisture in the air... So I'm open to recommendations.

[–] discocactus@lemmy.world 2 points 2 hours ago

Ok this is sick. Gives me hope for my garbage $400 "smart" dog door...

[–] violentfart@lemmy.world 23 points 5 hours ago (2 children)

Well done, and I’m surprised at all the technophobes in a 3d printing community.

[–] BevsDad@lemmy.ca 2 points 2 hours ago

So long as it has a physical backup and can stay on my network I'm happy. I also need low power draw to stay bellow my 20w idle power budget but that's a me problem.

If anyone has a vertically mounted stainless steel option with a keypad to recommend I'm all ears!

[–] ThePantser@sh.itjust.works 10 points 4 hours ago

Yea its weird. I think its the AI and Data center hate. I am as local as I can be for my stuff and AI free. 99% of my stuff is Home Assistant, ESPhome, and Zigwave.

[–] breadsmasher@lemmy.world 24 points 5 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago) (9 children)

imagine having a door/lock that requires power..

[–] Joelk111@lemmy.world 1 points 48 minutes ago

I was super anti smart locks until I left my garage open and doors unlocked for an entire weekend because I'm forgetful. With smart doors and locks that doesn't happen and, possibly a controversial take, doors being closed and locked by reputable smart devices is more secure than them standing open. Most crimes are those of opportunity, and a thief is just gonna try the door and break a window when it doesn't open if they're willing to go that far.

[–] bizarroland@lemmy.world 17 points 4 hours ago* (last edited 4 hours ago) (4 children)

Imagine being locked out of your house because you forgot to bring keys with you.

Like, I'm sorry if you disagree with this, but holy shit, having electric locks on your doors where you can get into your house based off a fingerprint or a code is a fucking game changer.

I have two on my doors, one on the front, one on the back, and I installed them at a week or two apart, so if one of them starts complaining that the battery is low, the other one's still good. If one of them goes dead while I'm on vacation, the other one's good.

Not to mention that you can unlock the door from your phone in case somebody comes over unexpectedly, or if you have a friend coming in from out of town and you're going to be at work when they arrive, you can create a code for them to unlock your front door and come in while you're not even there.

Plus they still have key locks that I can use if the batteries are completely dead and they can be powered by a 9 volt battery in case I don't have the key with me.

They're freaking awesome and I am glad they exist.

[–] mrmisses@lemmy.world 16 points 4 hours ago* (last edited 4 hours ago) (2 children)

You can't lock yourself out of the house with a deadbolt, they require the key to lock

[–] SchmidtGenetics@lemmy.world 5 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

But you can lock the handle and leave without keys.

You can leave the handle unlocked, and just use the deadbolt this way.

[–] Ludicrous0251@piefed.zip 2 points 1 hour ago

You can leave the handle unlocked, and just use the deadbolt this way.

This is how I have locked my house for the last like 100 years without a smart deadbolt.

[–] sem@piefed.blahaj.zone 1 points 2 hours ago

You can also leave without a key and then your roommate also leaves and locks the door.

[–] DeathsEmbrace@lemmy.world 2 points 2 hours ago (2 children)

Yeah and it makes it pathetically easy to break into your house. Just search online for some of these “security locks using fingerprints”. Its even easier to break into sometimes than a regular shitty lock.

[–] _stranger_@lemmy.world 3 points 1 hour ago

Unless you've got a steel reinforced frame bolted into the foundation backing your steel reinforced door, a strong leg and a sturdy boot will get through practically anything you can buy at a hardware store, and a crowbar will take care of the rest.

[–] Joelk111@lemmy.world 0 points 55 minutes ago* (last edited 53 minutes ago)

So does me forgetting to lock the door.

I once left my garage doors open all weekend with thousands of dollars of tools in it, along with my motorcycle with the key in it. My garage at the time was quite visible from a very busy street. I got lucky and nothing was stolen. My garage doors are smart now, so that doesn't happen any more. Sure, someone could hack my home assistant server and open the garage, but that's way less likely than my continued pattern of forgetfulness.

Based on that logic, my house also has smart locks now that automatically lock when I leave. I will say that they aren't cheapo who-knows fingerprint locks, they're made by a real company and just have a keypad with a lengthy entry code. The only added vulnerabilities should be my home assistant server and the entry code.

[–] WalrusDragonOnABike@reddthat.com 9 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

Imagine not having a lockpick kit on you to just let yourself in

[–] AwesomeLowlander@sh.itjust.works 5 points 3 hours ago

Imagine having keys so you can let yourself in when you forget your lockpick kit.

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[–] Brkdncr@lemmy.world 13 points 4 hours ago

I have a similar one and can still use a key…

[–] NOT_RICK@lemmy.world 20 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

It’s pretty convenient actually

[–] mrmisses@lemmy.world 2 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

Yeah, seems like it /s

[–] NOT_RICK@lemmy.world 3 points 3 hours ago

I dunno what’s wrong with their lock, but I use eneloops on my lock and I swap the batteries probably 2-3 times a year

[–] TragicNotCute@lemmy.world 7 points 4 hours ago

It’s the best. We have auto locking deadbolts that lock themselves after a period of time. Each family member has their own code to get in and it has a normal key hole if you want.

[–] SchmidtGenetics@lemmy.world 11 points 5 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago)

I can head out for a walk without bringing my keys with me. Kids can open the door while I’m grabbing the groceries or other stuff. Can provide a temporary code for someone to check on it while I’m out. Family can have a code for emergencies, or if they need to watch the kids.

It’s hella convenient actually.

[–] ThePantser@sh.itjust.works 15 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

Yea, it is nice being able to check if you locked the door from bed. Definition of luxury, but I didn't buy this one it was a gift.

[–] DonutsRMeh@lemmy.world 6 points 3 hours ago

Ok, you get a pass from my “or just use a damn normal lock” dad’s finger wagging 😂

[–] artyom@piefed.social 1 points 3 hours ago

I use one because I often forget to lock it and someone walked into my home while I was in bed one night.

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[–] NekoKoneko@lemmy.world 6 points 4 hours ago (3 children)

Rechargeable li-ion batteries are the game changer for me.

All the fancy expensive rechargeable including Eneloop would have a 30+% failure rate every recharge cycle and I wasted so much money. I have 16 li-ion AAs that I rotate including in my door locks and they have gone through multiple recharge cycles with no failures.

[–] cmnybo@discuss.tchncs.de 7 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

If your Eneloops are failing that much, they are either being over discharged or something is wrong with your charger.

All of my Eneloops have been much more reliable than lithium ion batteries.

[–] NekoKoneko@lemmy.world 1 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

I may be the unluckiest person in the world, but I've bought expensive official Eneloops multiple times and used multiple chargers and just gave up. Sure, it may be because I'm doing something wrong, but I certainly couldn't figure out what that may be.

[–] scrion@lemmy.world 2 points 39 minutes ago

Where did you buy them though? First thing I thought of was fakes, which are sold pretty much everywhere online.

I know you said official, but did you actually check that?

[–] everett@lemmy.ml 4 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

30+% failure rate every recharge cycle

What is considered a "failure" in this context?

[–] NekoKoneko@lemmy.world 1 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

The battery no longer recharges and is effectively trash.

[–] everett@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 hour ago

That's just terrible to hear. My oldest Eneloops are going on a decade with no failures, but I also had fairly good luck when I used to buy cheaper rechargeables. The common thing might be only using slow chargers.

Nobody else has brought this up, but I've read that counterfeit Eneloops are a thing.

[–] Gerudo@lemmy.zip 2 points 3 hours ago

Just anecdotal here, but I haven't had a single eneloop fail me. Heck, I haven't even had rebadged eneloops fail either.

[–] GregorGizeh@lemmy.zip 9 points 5 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago) (3 children)

I am confused, is this not possible to wire properly to a power supply? even though this has increased capacity it would still always be in the back of my head that my door might run out of power 🤔

[–] LifeInMultipleChoice@lemmy.world 11 points 5 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago) (2 children)

This did make me realize I've never seen a deadbolt reversed. As in the door having just a metal framed hole, and the bolt come out of the frame. Seems like the easiest way you would be able to run power to it. (Maybe not the most structurally sound, probably depends on the door material)

[–] nezrock@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 2 hours ago

This is how electronic locks work in prisons and jails. Motor in the doorframe with a bolt, power on to unlock, fails secure in the event of a power outage.

[–] ImgurRefugee114@reddthat.com 6 points 5 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago) (2 children)

I don't know. I think that if you built the receptacle right, It could probably work pretty well... Most deadbolts are pretty shit in general (rare to see people reinforce the jamb), so, even an naive attempt probably wouldn't be that much worse. For a metal door with a chunky insert, I think it would work fine. For any other kind of door, I think you'd probably need at least a frame or large plate to distribute the loads, but it's still probably wouldn't be much worse than a conventional configuration. Huh...

I guess the main complexity (or just oddity) would be the keyhole wouldn't be on the door.

[–] LifeInMultipleChoice@lemmy.world 5 points 4 hours ago* (last edited 4 hours ago)

Why did you mount two hydraulic pistons with holes drilled through the door frame to have double deadbolts going into a solid wood door with metal framed slots? Because I was bored and wanted to make hole in the wall and overcomplicate something that can be bypassed by opening the windows I leave open 5 feet away. Lol

Yeah, I guess I'll add that to the reasons I could never be rich.. id do way to many stupid things for my own amusement.

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[–] ThePantser@sh.itjust.works 5 points 4 hours ago

I could, I actually have a outlet near that I could just run the wire to the battery pack to keep it charged and so the battery would just be a UPS. Actually a good idea and I could have just used 2 18650s for the UPS.

Although this model has a external port to jump start from a USB battery pack.

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[–] ThePantser@sh.itjust.works 10 points 5 hours ago

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