Smoke detectors

[foxfirev5]

Last summer we bought a dozen from Home Depot in bulk to replace our 11 and 18 year old models. I have all of them changed out in both houses with about 1 1/2 hours labor. Cheap insurance.

[ArkTinkerer]

We actually have a very old one we left up in our personal home--Its not really a smoke detector, its a fire alarm. Has a wound up spring that releases a hammer mechanism when a bit of metal with a low melting point lets go.

[GalaxyBoy]

As a fire protection engineer I'm quite embarrassed I was unaware of the recommendation to replace smoke alarms after ten years. Oh well, I don't do residential work anyway and rarely, if ever, encounter smoke alarms (vs. smoke "detectors," which are by definition connected to a fire alarm control panel as part of a fire detection/alarm system).

And ionization-type smoke alarms containing a very small amount of radioactive material are very much still in production. Most of the smoke alarms installed over the years are of this type simply because they are cheaper than photoelectric.

I'm off to the big box home improvement store AFTER Black Friday to buy replacements. When you design fire protection systems for a living, it would be damn embarrassing to have your house burn down around you while you sleep because twenty bucks worth of equipment had outlived its useful life.

[samclem]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ArkTinkerer We actually have a very old one we left up in our personal home--Its not really a smoke detector, its a fire alarm. Has a wound up spring that releases a hammer mechanism when a bit of metal with a low melting point lets go.

Pretty neat, I've never seen one of those. Probably not very sensitive, but nothing to go out of date (unless the spring takes a "set" and loses it's "umph").

The modern smoke detectors are really a marvel of technology/low cost. In the "life-years saved per dollar" department, they've got to be near the top.

[BrianB]

Our HOA did repairs to several units due to ice dam damage. Part of the work required removing / reinstalling water heaters. This required pulling permits and an inspection when the work was done to get a final sign-off.

Even though the permit had nothing to do with smoke / CO detectors, the inspector verified they were present in the required locations (near bedrooms, every level of home, etc.), and even pushed the test button to confirm they worked.

I feel better knowing that everyone has working detectors - a surprising number of our neighbors had just pulled them down when the low battery "beep" started!

[Walt34]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrianB I feel better knowing that everyone has working detectors - a surprising number of our neighbors had just pulled them down when the low battery "beep" started!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CosD7h2703o

[45th Birthday]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrianB Our HOA did repairs to several units due to ice dam damage. Part of the work required removing / reinstalling water heaters. This required pulling permits and an inspection when the work was done to get a final sign-off. Even though the permit had nothing to do with smoke / CO detectors, the inspector verified they were present in the required locations (near bedrooms, every level of home, etc.), and even pushed the test button to confirm they worked. I feel better knowing that everyone has working detectors - a surprising number of our neighbors had just pulled them down when the low battery "beep" started!

This post made me remember something that happened in our condo. Seems a number of years ago there was a storm that damaged the ceiling drywall because the roof leaked. The centralized smoke/fire alarm system was acting up recently, so they did testing. During this process, they discovered that the smoke detector for the master bedroom had been placed on top of ductwork and then the drywall put up over the ductwork. They made it right, but one wonders why the inspectors we hired for the purchase did not notice a missing smoke detector. The building is completely sprinklered, and we also discovered that a head was missing in a somewhat obscure (but important) spot. Apparently since the place was built.

Reminds me that instead of just changing the batteries once a year, one should sit down from time to time and review all safety systems. Another one-how long has it been since you checked the fire extinguisher in your kitchen? You do have one, don't you?

[cooch96]

I haven't lived in a place with working smoke detectors since I was stationed in Missouri, I think. That would've been fourteen years ago. I've been dismantling them everywhere I moved. I remember them being so darn sensitive that they'd go off from the shower steam after opening the bathroom door. I figured it was safer to not have a smoke alarm than clambering around on a stool with my fingers in my ears and a wet towel around my waist.

[samclem]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cooch96 I remember them being so darn sensitive that they'd go off from the shower steam after opening the bathroom door.

Maybe move it to a place where that won't happen? I guarantee there are some in your abode if it's larger than 1 room.
Obviously, if there's anyone else living with you, or if you live in a multi-unit structure, there are other people affected by this decision you are making.

[ArkTinkerer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 45th Birthday Reminds me that instead of just changing the batteries once a year, one should sit down from time to time and review all safety systems. Another one-how long has it been since you checked the fire extinguisher in your kitchen? You do have one, don't you?

From keeping rental property we have commercial extinguishers in those houses as well as our own. They get tested/charged every year. We check the detectors at the same time. Amazing how many batteries are missing every year.

[Corporateburnout]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cooch96 I haven't lived in a place with working smoke detectors since I was stationed in Missouri, I think. That would've been fourteen years ago. I've been dismantling them everywhere I moved. I remember them being so darn sensitive that they'd go off from the shower steam after opening the bathroom door. I figured it was safer to not have a smoke alarm than clambering around on a stool with my fingers in my ears and a wet towel around my waist.

Hopefully you don't live in an apartment building or an attached condo. I wouldn't want you as my neighbor.....

[GalaxyBoy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cooch96 I haven't lived in a place with working smoke detectors since I was stationed in Missouri, I think. That would've been fourteen years ago. I've been dismantling them everywhere I moved. I remember them being so darn sensitive that they'd go off from the shower steam after opening the bathroom door. I figured it was safer to not have a smoke alarm than clambering around on a stool with my fingers in my ears and a wet towel around my waist.

Try replacing the ionization detector with a photoelectric type. Also note that code requires detectors to be at least 36" from doors to bathrooms containing showers, although I don't think 36" will necessarily prevent the problem.

Just don't wake up dead from smoke inhalation!

[Idnar7]

I stayed at a hotel once where the fan in the bathroom was not functioning. So when I took my shower the steam caused the room alarm to go off. I had a 6:00 am flight so was showering at 4:00 am. I'm sure everyone appreciated that.


I hate that new detectors never seem to fit on the plates of the old ones. So you either have multiple plates or holes in your walls. CO2 detectors plug into outlets. I wish the had smoke detectors that did too but have not seen them. Our house has one over the upstairs stairwell. There is no way you can reach it to change the batteries. The low battery alert will continue for a long time.....

[ArkTinkerer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Idnar7 CO2 detectors plug into outlets. I wish the had smoke detectors that did too but have not seen them. Our house has one over the upstairs stairwell. There is no way you can reach it to change the batteries. The low battery alert will continue for a long time.....

Smoke detectors need to be at the ceiling. They could plug in but how many people have outlets on their ceilings? Plugging them in 18" above the floor would not give you much advanced notice. We do have hard wired (AC) powered units in parts of our home now. We had AC with battery back up but this latest round we went straight AC.

[GalaxyBoy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Idnar7 CO2 detectors plug into outlets. I wish the had smoke detectors that did too but have not seen them.

Wouldn't work and would violate code. Smoke from a hot fire rises and banks down from the ceiling, so the detector has to be at ceiling level to respond. CO (not CO2, by the way) would typically be from a fuel-burning appliance and would mix with air, fairly quickly reaching ambient temperature, so the detector can go at any level.

[Corporateburnout]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ArkTinkerer Smoke detectors need to be at the ceiling. They could plug in but how many people have outlets on their ceilings? Plugging them in 18" above the floor would not give you much advanced notice. We do have hard wired (AC) powered units in parts of our home now. We had AC with battery back up but this latest round we went straight AC.

I wasn't aware that hardwired smoke and CO detectors are available without battery backup.

So what happens in case of a fire or carbon monoxide leak with a power outage? Do you have a power generator?

[samclem]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GalaxyBoy Wouldn't work and would violate code. Smoke from a hot fire rises and banks down from the ceiling, so the detector has to be at ceiling level to respond.

It >might< work. I've got an odd receptacle in my LR that is on the wall about 5" below the ceiling. The house was built in 1959, so it surely wasn't for a smoke detector, but I don't know what its purpose is/was. Maybe a plug from a swag lamp?

But I agree, this is an oddity.

[travelover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by samclem It >might< work. I've got an odd receptacle in my LR that is on the wall about 5" below the ceiling. The house was built in 1959, so it surely wasn't for a smoke detector, but I don't know what its purpose is/was. Maybe a plug from a swag lamp? But I agree, this is an oddity.

It used to be common to put clock outlets high on the wall. Usually they are a single outlet with a hook formed into the cover, at the top.

[Walt34]

Quote:

Originally Posted by travelover It used to be common to put clock outlets high on the wall. Usually they are a single outlet with a hook formed into the cover, at the top.

I had forgotten about that but my parent's house had one like that in the kitchen over one of the cabinets. And the clock plugged into it.

[samclem]

Quote:

Originally Posted by travelover It used to be common to put clock outlets high on the wall. Usually they are a single outlet with a hook formed into the cover, at the top.

Good guess. We've got some of those, too, but all have a single recpt and are inset into the wall (so the clock can be flush with the wall). The mystery receptacle is a duplex and oriented horizontally.