No Strings!

Now setting the standard are the new Cronapress Disabled Toilet Alarms. Using low level and vertical call points to cover all possible emergencies.  No pull strings to cut or tie up. All areas covered 24/7. 



Illuminated call points give assurance the system is working..
Flashing call points means the alarm is activated and help is on its way.
No illumination ? The fault monitoring has detected a fault and sent warning to the control panel. 

Our vandal resistant BS8300 compliant Folknoll manufactured disabled toilet alarm systems provides cost-effective solutions supplied as standard or built as bespoke units. We offer stand-alone toilet alarms, multiple toilet alarms with remote monitoring and combined systems with disabled refuge EVC, fire telephone, building alarms, etc. Interfaces for BMS and transmission over IP are also available. Ideal for shops, offices, hotels, factories and similar locations.
All of our systems are assembled from high quality units tailored for your site.
Our range can be used to construct stand-alone system for single toilets or site-wide systems with multiple monitoring stations, central control stations, BMS interfaces etc. Individual alarms can be grouped and monitored locally and/or from a central monitoring stations. All systems are battery backed for peace of mind during power outages.


Additional options include, remote monitoring over copper / fibre / IP, customised indicator panels, integration with disabled refuge and other alarms, 3rd party interfaces.

Have you covered all risks? Our risk assessment form below will help you not only review your current alarm situation but help chose the correct system to suit your needs.
Click this download link for your own risk assessment PDF copy 
or ring Cronapress 01943 876600 for more details

Check-	Reason-	Pass?
Full Fault Monitored System	Many affray and assurance alarms fail new risk assessment criteria as they are not constantly monitored. Ensure the circuit is linked in series with end of line monitoring. Click here to find out about combatting interference
Fast Press	Most affray systems that have end of line monitoring are Fire systems derivatives and have a slow reaction time of over 250ms to 1000ms to overcome nuisance contacts. This is not fit for purpose. Our contact capture time is approximately 10ms and captures the activation. Note 1
Press not Release to activate	Occasionally alarms systems require a press and release to activate. Again this is not acceptable as the strip is unusable if an object is used to keep the strip contact closed.
Visual Communication	If the section to be used can be avoided as visual aids (Not Lit) confirm the area is without affray facilities then risks can be avoided. See how Cronapress Illumination works here.
Robustness	In general the weakest link to an affray strip will be the end cap where often the wall mountings are compromised. If the cap is loose or weak issues can arise. Click here to see how robust Cronapress end caps are.
IP65	Specify IP65 where needed - - - - -
Very Low temperature	Information required

Happy to help.

It's been a while since I blogged an entry so here's a good one to make up for the quiet period.
A couple of weeks ago we had an email from a guy called Tom. He was calling from a company called SEi Security Equipment in Des Moines over 'the pond' in Iowa U.S.A. He told us he had found Cronapress on an internet search and hoped we could help. Up against an extremely tight deadline Tom was really struggling to successfully iron out all the faults with the product he currently had. (it wasn't ours I hasten to add) The building specification had stated that our competitors affray strip be fitted but all concerned agreed enough was enough, they'd had enough time and second chances and an alternative could be found.

We like a challenge.....and this was just the type of challenge we like best!

Within an hour we had determined the equipment Tom needed despite both of us working in different time zones. The items were all stock and our 3 day courier service played a part in a speedy delivery.
In no time a 4 metre Safe-zone affray strip complete with LED illumination was winging it's way to The City of Johnson Public Building.

Tom had engineers on site waiting. Time was of the escense. Despite never having seen our Safe-zone product before the guys at SEi Security Equipment had no problems with the installation. It was up and running in no time.

Feedback from Tom was extremely positive - 

Chris & Ian,

Here first of 15 pictures. Customer is very happy and hopes the others die soon so he can have these to replace existing. (they have a maintenance contract) My installers said it was very easy to install and they could cut the time in half on next install. Quality is obvious down to the connecting pins to line the strips up. I sent you a picture of the old **** switch they removed they have spent countless hours working on this and it has taken months to get this resolved. It is sad to think of the time and dollars spent to get this last **** switch operating, let alone the frustration of everybody involved, and you took care of it in a little over a week.

Tom, it was a please to work with you. Looking forward to doing it again soon...

Here's a few more pictures of the SEi Security Equipement install-

Lastly - removed and now history- 

Fitting a Sunken 20mm Conduit junction box & Safezone End Cap Plate

Greetings Cronapress blog readers. Cronapressman here with more 'live' Safezone fitting tips. 

Our project today will be to sink a 20mm galavanised conduit into the wall terminating with a BASA junction box. This will be used to secure the Safezone End Cap Plate so a firm and accurate mounting MUST be achieved.. Once again I will be using basic/easily accessible tools to illustrate how this can be done.

The galvanised BASA junction boxes usually have an external diameter of 65mm. Using a Hollow Hammer Drill Bit of 80mm I bored into the masonary to a depth of just over 30mm. Neatly chiseling out the internal waste. The Hollow Hammer Drill Bit has a central pilot drill for guidance during drilling and the hole left by that should be kept in good condition for use later to fix the galvanised BASA junction box.

Cutting the channel for the tube is next, This also needs to be cut to a depth of just over 30mm. I used an angle grinder fitted with masonry cutting disc to achieve two straight and neat edges. Once again the central waste was cleared with a chisel. 

It is obvious that in most cases dust during the cutting process will be an issue so the use of a wall chaser (rather than angle grinder) with suitable dust extraction would be advisable for this task.

Using the Cronapress back box alignment tool I accurately bored a 4mm hole through the center of the BASA box. This central hole matches the central hole in the wall recess. 

Using suitable sized Rawlplug and screw the alignment tool was used again to seat the BASA box level with the wall surface. The BASA box was seated on a bed of 'Anti-pick' building filler/adhesive, screwed firmly in position, finally checked again for flush mount and allowed to cure for 24 hours as recommended by the adhesive manufacturer.(paper packing's compensating for wall irregularities)

Anti-pick was again used in this instance as a filler. As always working to manufacturer's instructions to insure compliance to Home Office requirements and maximum strength.

Painted, alarm cabled and ready for mounting the Safezone End Cap Plate and Safezone alarm strip.

Cronapress Demonstration Board

Greetings. Cronapressman here.
I've uploaded a short video of our demonstration board. It illustrated the patented illumination in action. The illumination is controlled by our unique PCB that also monitors for End Of Line faults. Providing a clean contact to an alarm system on activation. Of vital importance is the activation speed of the PCB, it will latch on a 10ms contact.
Also visible is the optional conduit adapter that helps not only with ease of installation but also cable management.

Contact us on sales@cronapress.co.uk.
View our products on www.cronapress.co.uk.

Bespoke Switches and Buttons

 Greetings once again to the Cronapress blog.
Today my blog will cover our range of switches and buttons......These are all of 'switchtastic' quality.
That means branded switch gear from recognised sources !!! We use only ITW, Apem and Acal. These are backed up with appropriate specification literature and RoSH compliance.
It makes sense, so don't undermine your own quality standards and values by fitting anything but the best.
Bespoke - We can arrange laser cutting of the backing plate to your own DXF drawings, or we can produce CAD/DXF  drawings and laser too from your sample or sketch.
Usually produced in Brush Finished Stainless DP1, deburred and with countersunk fixing holes as appropriate.
Deep filled engraving available in a variety of colours.
Company logos can be laser etched on plate subject to minimum order.

We generally have in stock PRESS TO EXIT green mushroom button switch plates.

Below are examples of switches produced for customers, but the list is endless, try us.

Cronapressman signing off until next time.

Remember - If it looks right it will be right ! If it doesn't - you guessed it - it won't !

and that applies to switches and buttons too !!!!!!!!!!

Weatherproof Trial in a Harsh Environment

Greetings blog readers, Cronapressman here.
Today's blog page will cover my long term weatherproofing trial. Easy enough for me to claim that the sealing techniques I used previously will give an IP65 rating, here's the real life proof that they work if done correctly. I also wanted to test further than the IP65 standard thus illustrating how robust the method of sealing is.
Note-Cronapress Safezone has been independently tested by a Home Office tester and has been passed to IP65. The testing below is for interest only.

A short length of Safezone has been prepared for this test by securely fixing to a metal base. Wiring plugs were sealed into the Safezone insert as covered on my previous blog. Then finally the strip was illuminated with weatherproof LED, to all intent and purposes this is a complete working alarm strip.
Connection to a Cronapress PCB Single Zone Controller will enable me to check for water ingress via the E.O.L monitoring function.

Below is a chart illustrating IP standards.

Digit 1

The first digit deals with both the level of protection afforded to people from moving parts and the degree of protection for the equipment inside from foreign bodies.

1st Digit	Protection against solid objects
O	Not protected
1	Protected against solid objects greater than 50mm (e.g. hands)
2	Protected against solid objects greater than 12mm (e.g. fingers)
3	Protected against solid objects greater than 2.5mm (e.g. tools)
4	Protected against solid objects greater than 1mm (e.g. wires)
5	Protected against dust (where there is sufficient amount to interfere with teh satisfactory operation of the equipment)
6	Total protection against dust
X	Indicates that protection against solid objects is not defined

Digit 2

The second digit refers to the level of protection provided against various degrees of moisture such as drips, submersion in water, sprays and so on.

2nd Digit	Protection against liquids
0	Not protected
1	Protected against dripping water greater than 50mm (drip proof)
2	Protected against dripping water when titled up to 15°
3	Protected against spraying water (rain proof)
4	Protected against splashing water (splash proof)
5	Protected against water jets from any direction (jet proof)
6	Protected against heavy seas
7	Protected against the effects of immersion between 15cm and 1m
8	Protected against long periods of immersion under pressure

So, in most cases external weatherproofing of alarm strips would be aimed at achieving IP65.

Luckily for me I happen to have the perfect watery environment close at hand for my trials!!!! Tranmere Beck runs at the back of the Cronapress Factory, just right for my Safezone submersible to undergo extensive tests..

04/03/2014. - Official launch date

05/03/2014  - Easily surpassed IP65 and now achieving IP67. 

The journey into the unknown has begun. I shall keep you posted on progress.

Cronapressman signing off until next time.

Remember - If it looks right it will be right ! If it doesn't - you guessed it - it won't !

Fitting Safezone Externally.

Greetings - Cronapress man here - As promised in my previous blog post I said I'd be dealing with the fitment of the Patented Safezone alarm strip externally. Once again instead of doing carefully composed 'mock-up' shots I shall be doing a live fit. The external fit has many similarities with the internal fitting so I'll only cover the differences in detail.           So here goes - Let's do it !                                    

Step 1 The aluminium extrusion should be cut to size, drilled with additional fixing holes if required (pre-drilled holes are provided which you may find useful) and securely attached to the wall or external construction. As I recommend in all cases inspection of the mounting area needs to be undertaken and fixings executed accordingly. Note -Allow for an additional 60mm each end for end caps.

Step 2

Fully insert end cap plate tangs into underside of extrusion, mark drilling holes, remove, drill and insert rawlplugs or similar..

Note the additional fixing screw near the edge in the base extrusion due to the uneven brickwork and also the channel that has been cut in the mortor. This will allow the wiring to sit behind the end cap plate and into a galvanised junction box.

Step 3

Fit the waterproof  L.E.D. into either the upper or lower channel in the aluminium extrusion. At this point it may be wise to test the L.E.D. strip with a temporary 12v battery/power pack as it will be time consuming to replace once the insert is installed and sealed.

Step 4

The insert can now be cut to length (if not supplied to size) The multi-purpose shears available from Cronapress are ideal. Information on them can be found on this blog.

NOTE - Cut the insert 10mm oversize each end.

This is very important as the oversize will be used to achieve the weatherproof seal. Sit the insert in the bottom channel and feed the top into place. Take care that the insert does not move when fitting as it will be difficult to re-position once fully home.

Step 5

Once the insert is fully seated into the upper and lower channels of the base extrusion then the wiring plugs are next. On this installation we will be using a Wired End plug and a 1k2 E.O.L. (End of Line) resistor plug.

These have been modified for external fitment and must be specified if needed at time of order. (The shoulder has been removed to allow them to push inside the insert strip.)

With the aid of a small screwdriver gently push the plug inside the insert so that the outer edge is level with the edge of the base extrusion. As mentioned above a 10mm overlap was allowed on the insert size at each end and this is the measurement we push the plug inside. This is of utmost importance so that the electrical contact point is positioned under the pressure point of the end cap cover.

Step 6

 Check for electrical continuity and if test ok then seal with silicone. Use a neutral sealer not a cheap Acetoxic type. We recommend Dow Corning 798. which also has Bacteriostatic qualities which would be of benefit if fitting in wet rooms or showers.

Re-check continuity.

Silicone Tech Talk-

Acetoxi cure.
This is the most commonly used, it is more rigid and the full cure is quick.  On the downside it generally has poor adhesion and leaves much to be desired for in how well it 'sticks' to PVC-U, most other plastics, glass, aluminium and Polycarbonate.  Shrinkage can be acceptable if it does not contain added solvent. Since the acetic acid is released during curing, it can attack the underlying substrate material. This can cause corrosion of certain metals and prevent the proper adhesion of the silicone. However, on other materials, the acid can etch the surface slightly and increase the adhesion. Aluminum is one such material. Copper and zinc, however, are corroded by the acid. Thus brass and galvanized steel should not be used with silicones which release acid. Dissimilar metals can form electrolytic couples and corrode severely underneath a covering of acetic acid releasing silicone.

Note the effect that the acid cure may have on the internal copper contact strip within the Safezone insert.

Neutral cure.
Much better adhesive properties for a greater number of materials including PVC-U, most other plastics, glass, aluminium, lead, stone and masonry, and Polycarbonate.  It cures with atmospheric moisture and skins over in about 30 minutes, and leaves a shinier finish.  On the downside it is more expensive and is slower to cure at one to five days depending on thickness, temperature and humidity conditions.Conclusion:
The benefit of using a good Low Modulus Neutral Cure Silicone can be summed up thus:
It offers high movement accommodation and excellent adhesion to almost all building and glazing materials, without any of the unwanted 'side effects' Acetoxi could possibly cause.

Step 7

Cap off the strip. 

Step 8

The galvanised 22mm conduit junction box has been drilled with a small hole to allow water drainage. Several times I have seen water collect in external trunking and ultimately lead to component failure. Failure will not occur in this instance due to the robust Cronapress sealing techniques but none the less water trapped in electrical conduits is definitely not a good thing and getting in the habit of reducing risk should be encouraged.

Step 9

Connection to the alarm cabling will be made with the same closed end connector crimps that were used in our internal fitting blog page. These will need additional weather protection as follows-

1)Cut the large opening part of the insulator from the crimp. 

2)Crimp the appropriate wires together 

3)Cover with Glue lined Heat shrink End Caps and apply hot air. Job done when tight and glue begins leaching from ends.

Step 10

Cover plate fitted and power on. (Just in time, it's raining again !)

Done ! Hopefully you have found the external 'live' fit informative and a fair representation of what can be achieved on site. If you need any more information on the fitment of our products then contact me at Cronapress.

Tools used.
Electric Hammer Drill, rawlplugs and screws.
Builders level.
Engineers hacksaw for cutting conduit.
Appropriate size screwdrivers.
Cronapress approved - Silverline General Purpose Shears.
Cronapress approved - Silverline Crimping Pliers.
Cronapress approved - Stanley Pin Torx Screwdriver.

Dow Corning 798 Silicone Sealer.

Cat 5 Alarm Cable.

Below - Special components used on this installation.
1) Waterproof LED
2) External fitment wiring plugs.
3) Modified Crimp Connectors - To allow heat shrink coverage.
4) Glue Lined Heat Shrink End Caps.

Cronapress man signing off until next time.

Remember - If it looks right it will be right ! If it doesn't - you guessed it - it won't !

and below is an poor example of external fitting....Now which do you think your customer would prefer?