Vanderbilt ACT10 Code Lock Keypad, 2 Doors, 10 User Codes, Zinc V54521-C112-A100

What this code lock is for

A code lock opens a door when someone enters the right number on a keypad. This Vanderbilt unit goes further than a one-door keypad, because it can also watch the door and control a second one.

It suits small sites that want more than a simple keypad but do not plan a networked access control system. Its zinc body makes it a sensible choice where a plastic unit might get damaged.

How it works

• User groups: with 2 groups, one set of people can be given different access from another. Think of it as staff who use both doors and staff who use one.
• Door monitoring: this usually needs a door contact, so the keypad can tell whether the door is shut. That is what makes door forced and door ajar events possible.
• Interlock: an interlock stops one door opening while the other is open. It is common on lobbies and clean areas.
• Tamper: the front and back tamper reacts if the unit is interfered with, and the tamper output lets you pass that on.

Where to use it

Typical positions are shared entrances, plant rooms and pairs of doors where the second must wait for the first. It is for indoor and outdoor installation, which covers inside doors and sheltered outside positions.

Give an outside unit some shelter from driving rain until you have checked the maker's installation guide.

What the figures mean in practice

• 120mA (max): add this to the draw of both locks when you size the power supply.
• 5A / 50 Vac: this is the limit on what the relay contacts may switch. Check each lock's current and voltage against it.
• 0 - 255 seconds: this is the door open time. Set it long enough for someone to get through, but no longer.
• 700g: this is a much heavier unit than a plastic keypad, so use fixings to suit the wall.

Installing it

• Flush or surface: both are options. Decide this before first fix, and measure the cut-out against the unit.
• Lock coils: a lock coil can give a voltage spike when it switches off, so fit any suppression device your lock's instructions call for.
• Testing: try each code on each door, then press the exit button. Open the door without a code to check that door monitoring reacts.

Planning your system

Each door needs its own magnetic lock or strike, and the job also needs a power supply and an exit button on the inside. Door monitoring usually adds a door contact on each door.

A fail safe lock releases when power stops, and stays held through a mains cut only on battery back-up. On an escape route the door must still release, usually through a release device, so agree this with whoever holds the fire strategy.

Standards and ratings explained

• Die cast zinc: the body is vandal resistant cast metal.