Pet safe cat flap battery life?

[ericmark]

I installed the Pet Safe cat flap last month, and last night the led was flashing to show low battery. This seems rather fast for the 4 batteries (AA) to need changing, we have two cats, and we have been locking the flap at night so in only, so we hear cats trying to get out, and it may be it has been activated too often due to us stopping them going out at night.

So would like to hear from other users on normal battery life please.

 

[Wayners]

Use alkaline batteries. What batteries were you using? Zink won't last long.

You can now buy lithium ion AA batteries that last 6 times longer than alkaline

 

[thomp1983]

We have one cat and I'd guess I change the batteries once a year with decent quality batteries.

Ours is open all the time so he can come and go as he wishes

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

We have a Sureflap one, change the batteries about every two years, always used Duracells.

 

[JBR]

We have two cats, who can come and go as they wish. Our cat flap uses four C-cells which, of course, are a good bit bigger than AA. The last ones we used lasted for at least six months.

 

[ericmark]

The removed batteries were used in other things, and were clearly not fully depleted, we changed them more to be on the safe side, but where fitted if we get the three red flashes to show depleted batteries, we are unlikely to see it.

The second set seems to be lasting OK, but they will sit just outside the flap, looking in, so the latches are activated even when they are not coming in. I think the problem was down to us turning it to in only at night, now the cats are older, we allow them to go in and out when ever they want.

I did consider a mains battery eliminator, as we don't use the door, and there is a handy socket, if they will last a year, then will change each time we renew batteries in the TRV heads, the cats have found the flap into the flat under the main house, which is not microchip controlled, so they have somewhere to go should the flap not allow them into the main house.

I now wonder if the flap did stop working, or if the cats were simply sitting outside the flap.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Where ours is located I have sight of it when sitting in the office (WFH) and so see the red dots in the corner of my eye, seems to flash red for a good month or so whilst still working OK before I can be bothered to change the batteries.

On a side note our Sureflap microchip one started not reading her microchip, preventing her from getting in, after some googling and toing and throwing it turns out there are two clear sensors in the outside tunnel located at the top (I had no idea) which detect their microchip, I stumbled upon a youtube video who said to give them a clean (as per the manufacturers instructions and it actually says it on the battery cover too) so I gave them a clean and hey presto reading her microchip OK again.

 

[ericmark]

The second set of batteries seem to be lasting. I am putting it down to stopping the cats going out at night, and them waiting at the flap, so holding it activated.