Poolguard DAPT-2 Door Alarm

The DAPT-2 is Poolguard's alarm for a door that leads from the house to the pool. A magnetic sensor on the door and frame tells a wall-mounted unit when the door opens. Unless an adult presses the pass-through switch within 7 seconds, the horn sounds, and it keeps sounding even if the door is closed again. The manual says it meets UL 2017, the standard for water hazard entrance alarms. Poolguard lists it at $63.95, and the wireless DAPT-WT, which sounds immediately, at $99.95.

Where the house forms part of a pool barrier, the doors to the pool need an alarm, self-closing and self-latching hardware, or a power safety cover. For the alarm, the model code wants it sounding within 7 seconds of the door opening, with its deactivation switch at least 54 inches above the threshold, as our pool fence guide explains. The DAPT-2's delay and mounting height sit exactly on those numbers.

Like Poolguard's other alarms, its manual calls it a safety alarm system and not a life saving device, to be used alongside the safety equipment you already have.

DAPT-2 or DAPT-WT

DAPT-2, the pick in our alarm roundup:

• Sounds 7 seconds after the door opens, unless the pass-through switch is pressed
• Coming back in from outside, you open the door and reach the switch inside within those 7 seconds
• Battery life about 1 year
• $63.95 list

DAPT-WT:

• Sounds immediately when the door opens, unless a pass-through switch was pressed first
• An Outdoor Wireless Transmitter, Model OWT, mounts outside the door, so an adult can switch the alarm off before opening the door from outside
• Battery life about 6 months by its manual, or about a year by Poolguard's product page
• $99.95 list

Both have a 14-second walk-through window after the switch is pressed, both pulse after about 5 minutes if the door is left open, and both carry a one-year warranty.

How the DAPT-2 works

The manual describes two delay modes:

1. The door opens. The alarm starts a 7-second countdown. Press the pass-through switch within 7 seconds and nothing sounds. Miss it and the horn sounds, whether the door is open or closed.
2. The switch is pressed. You now have 14 seconds to go through the door and close it. Close it in time and the alarm resets itself. Leave it open past 14 seconds and the horn sounds.

To silence it, close the door, then press the pass-through switch.

If it's been sounding for about 5 minutes and the door is still open, the horn changes to pulses, 5 seconds on and 5 seconds off, until an adult closes the door and presses the switch. If the door has been closed, it resets after about 5 minutes on its own.

A light shows it's working: it flashes once every 10 seconds normally, and once a second while the alarm sounds.

How the DAPT-WT is different

The DAPT-WT drops the 7-second delay. From its manual:

• Opening the door without pressing a pass-through switch sounds the alarm immediately.
• Going out: press the switch on the indoor alarm. You have 14 seconds to open the door, go through and close it.
• Coming in: press and hold the switch on the outdoor wireless transmitter for 2 to 4 seconds. The indoor alarm gives one beep when it gets the signal, and you have 14 seconds.
• To silence it, close the door and press the indoor switch, or hold the outdoor switch for 2 to 4 seconds.

The transmitter mounts outside, directly across the wall from the indoor alarm and no more than 2 feet from it, and at least 54 inches above the threshold. Neither the alarm nor the transmitter should be mounted on metal. The transmitter's battery is already installed, lasts several years, and can't be replaced. When it runs low, the indoor alarm gives 3 or 4 quick beeps instead of one as you come in, and the manual says to buy a new transmitter, Model OWT, from Poolguard.

If you're fitting more than one DAPT-WT at the same house, the manual says to install the batteries and alarms one at a time, pairing each with its transmitter by holding the transmitter's switch until the alarm beeps once.

Installing it

The alarm unit:

1. Pick the spot. It has to be at least 54 inches above the threshold of the door, and within 12 inches of where the sensor switch will go, for the sensor wires to reach. It's for indoor use only.
2. Mark two points 2½ inches apart vertically.
3. Drive the two larger screws into the marks, leaving about 5/32 inch of each screw standing out from the wall.
4. Hang the alarm on the screws and pull it down until they sit in the narrow end of the hanger holes.

The sensors:

• Take the snap-on covers off the sensor switch and the magnet with a fingernail or small tool.
• The switch goes on the frame and the magnet goes on the door. Don't mount them on the hinged side of the door.
• Mount them vertically or horizontally, with a maximum gap of 1¼ inches between them. At the top of a sliding door, mounted horizontally, the gap has to be between 1 and 1¼ inches.
• A metal-framed door may need a spacer between the sensors and the door, such as a small block of wood or double-sided foam tape.
• Loosen the two terminals on the sensor switch and put one of the alarm's sensor wires under each. It doesn't matter which wire goes to which terminal. If the cover won't lock back on over the wires, snap out the knockout on its side.

The battery: remove the assembly screw on the back of the alarm and lift off the top cover. Pull down the battery spring and fit the 9 V battery. If the spring isn't sitting under the battery correctly, the cover won't go back on. The light starts flashing once every 10 seconds. The alarm may sound until the sensors are connected, so it's easier to wire them first.

The screen door kit

A screen door kit lets you leave the main door open for air while the screen door stays alarmed. It's a second sensor switch and magnet, jumper wires and four screws. The main door's switch connects to the alarm as usual, and the jumper wires connect the screen door's switch to it in parallel. Poolguard's product page offers a screen door kit for both the DAPT-2 and the DAPT-WT.

Batteries and testing

When the 9 V battery is low, the horn chirps once every 10 seconds. The DAPT-2 manual gives the battery life as about a year.

On the DAPT-WT, the manual says to take the old battery out and wait at least 30 seconds before connecting the new one.

Both manuals say to test the alarm weekly by opening the door and letting it sound.

Where Poolguard's documents disagree

• DAPT-WT battery life. Its manual says the door alarm's 9 V battery lasts about 6 months. Poolguard's product page says about a year.
• What's in the box. Poolguard's product page says the DAPT-2 comes with two magnetic switches. The manual says the alarm comes with one sensor switch and one sensor magnet, and lists a second set, with jumper wires, as the screen door kit.
• UL 2017. The manuals say the alarms meet UL 2017. The product page goes further and says Poolguard has the only door alarm UL listed under UL 2017. Neither claim is checked here against UL's own listings.
• Battery brands. The DAPT-2 manual names Energizer No. 522 or Duracell MN1604. The DAPT-WT manual names Duracell MX1604.

Buying it

Poolguard gives both door alarms a one-year warranty and sells them through dealers, which its website lists. The Amazon listing linked here is the DAPT-2. If you want the alarm to sound the moment the door opens, that's the DAPT-WT, at a higher price and with a transmitter to mount outside.