Smoke Alarms???

[HAWKEYE10]

I have 7 smoke alarms or carbon dioxide detectors in my house. I don't don't know which is which as they look alike. They are all hard wired with battery backup that I change every year. A few months back one started chirping and I replaced the battery but that didn't fix it. I had to take the hard wires off. Today the same thing happened again. My house is about 10 years old so I am thinking about replacing them. Does anyone have any advice as to brands? Also should I get ones that are hard wired with battery backup or ones that use the battery alone. I am very good at replacing the batteries. Thanks Don

 

[feralmerril]

We had the same problem a few months ago. We tried changing batterys and still heard it. Finaly theresa called the fire dept out. It also perplexed them for awhile. Belive it or not the chirps were so deceptive that it was comeing from another alarm down the hall that was a carbon dioxide detector near the floor, and we all thought it was comeing from one on the ceiling! All of us thought it was another alarm! The fire chief said to replace the detectors every 5 years. He also said dust or spyders will make them go off. The fire dept here comes out for free to look at them.

 

[David1958]

If the smoke detectors are more than 8 years old and having issues, replace them. If the exisiting "smokes" are hard-wired with battery back-up, I would replace them with same. Whether you use the hard-wired with batteries or just battery operated units, replace the batteries at least once per year, preferably twice when you reset your clocks for the seaonal time changes. Kidde makes a decent product.

Try to "reset" the detectors by pushing the test button and setting them off. Sometimes that alleviates the chirping if it is not battery related. If neither the battery change-out or reset stops the chirp, it is usually time to change out at least the one in question, if not all. Try to keep them all the same brand/type if they are interconnected. Mixing can also sometimes create an issue, but not always.

 

[venomballistics]

hardwired systems ...
convenient but comes with a trade off
it the fire takes power out .. and just happens to fry the backup leads .. your toast.

 

[zercool]

hardwired systems ...
convenient but comes with a trade off
it the fire takes power out .. and just happens to fry the backup leads .. your toast.

Hardwire systems have a battery backup; by the time a fire has gotten hot enough to melt a detector to the point of non-function, it should have been in alarm for quite a while.

I've seen detectors that were nearly unrecognizable, melted into a blob, charred and soaked, and still trying to chirp.

 

[Gun Smoke]

I had one start chirping at 3am and I couldn't tell which one it was and had to stand on a ladder under each one before I was able to find it and it wasn't even close to the one I thought it was... Another sad but kinda funny story...In 2006 our house burned to the ground...Everyone got out except the stupid dog who hid under a bed and died...We had ADT alarms that didn't work and the fire dept didn't get a call from the "johnny on the spot" alarm call center like on TV...Well a few days later we get a call from guess who, ADT...The guy said they were receiving a code from one of the smoke alarms that it was damaged and they needed to send someone out to check it...I told him sure no problem just bring a shovel and don't pay any attention to the yellow do not enter tape around the yard....

 

[m1gunner]

As mentioned above, these things are life limited. Replace them as per the manufacturer's directions. Most have to go no later than 10 years, some shorter.

If you don't know how old your detectors are, replace them now and record install date under the detector on the mounting plate. A sharpie works for this.

There is a "fake smoke" test that should be done on all detectors every year. This does a full operational test of the system (either stand alone, daisy chained, or monitored). The push button test is useless.