electromagnetic lock wiring question

[icough2getoff]

I ordered 4 electromagnetic locks for my new cabinet, two for the top, and two for the bottom, to hold all the corners tightly shut. It says the input voltage is 12 to 24 VDC, and the Current Draw is 12VDC - 200mA, 24VDC - 100mA.

What I'd like to do is use only two power adapters total, so I want to wire two locks together into one power line.

I have some 12V 1.2Amp power adapters lying around that I could use, would these work? If not, what kind of power adapters should I buy?

 

[screwdriver]

That looks like it should work to me.

 

[Stay Puft]

I have some 12V 1.2Amp power adapters lying around that I could use, would these work?

If the output of your Power supply is 12V DC you should be able to use it. (you did not say if the output was AC or DC)

You should wire the locks in parallel. (tie the positive leads of both locks together and attach these to the power supply positive terminal , then tie the negative leads together and attach to the power supply negative terminal). I suggest testing the wiring/system prior to physical installation. (easier to troubleshoot before it is installed)
Salutes!
Stay-Puft

 

[Stay Puft]

BTW- Being the paranoid type: I also suggest installing an inline fuse on the power supply positive output. (In case locks ever fail and short for some reason).

Question: Do these locks remain locked if power is removed? (my guess is no)

 

[Guest]

yes it will work

 

[cocktail frank]

each lock should be able to be changed from "fail safe" to "fail secure"
fail safe means you will be able to open em w/ no power.
fail secure means that there is no way your opening it w/ no juice

 

[icough2getoff]

^^^ that would be nice, any idea how to go about doing that?

 

[cocktail frank]

you would have to open em up.
check the instructions that came with em.
might tell you how to do it in there.
or, they might not have that option.

 

[Buzzsmirk!]

each lock should be able to be changed from "fail safe" to "fail secure"
fail safe means you will be able to open em w/ no power.
fail secure means that there is no way your opening it w/ no juice

i must add toand clarify this "advice"
mag locks NEED power to secure/lock

door strikes that go into the door jambs can be failsafe/fail secure

but mag locks all open up/unlock upon loss of power!

peace!!
BUZZ!

 

[ambr0sia]

I ordered 4 electromagnetic locks for my new cabinet, two for the top, and two for the bottom, to hold all the corners tightly shut.

Mind sharing where you picked them up at?

 

[icough2getoff]

Mind sharing where you picked them up at?

Ebay was the cheapest place I found

 

[boroboro]

Hey icough, thanks for the pics. Are those strong enough to really be a lock? It looks like you would just have to pull hard to separate the magnets. Maybe I'm underestimating 'pull hard'.

I've never tried them, but looks like a good idea. The magnets might pull in the doors for the last millimeter or so, giving a good seal, if they're carefully mounted. Your cabinet looks very stealthy. Depending on the situation, though, I might worry about power outages and the door opening / falling off. A power outage might be accompanied by a weird 'X-factor' event like a fire/flood/tornado, where you end up with emergency workers in your residence...

 

[icough2getoff]

Hey boroboro, I think the locks on the dresser are around 80lbs each, and the ones on the larger cab somewhere around 150lbs. I've never been able to rip my doors open, and I seriously doubt it would be easy. They feel like the wood would break first, which is why I haven't tried to test them that far.

They do hold the doors shut tight. I mounted them on my larger cab so the doors would shut a bit too tight and then I used washers as spacers to make the magnets the perfect distance. You can't see any light if you tried to pry a peek on my larger cabinet. My smaller dresser isn't quite as stealth, but nobody has looked twice when they've been in that room.

As for power outages I have my locks plugged into a remote power switch which is then plugged into an APC battery backup. I had to rip out the sound alarm in the battery backup to make it stealthy, but it seems to work great so far.