Smoke/Fire Alarm recommendations

16 years ago

Hi. I'm not sure which forum to ask this in so this seems like a decent place (I did a site wide search and didn't find much). Does anyone have recommendations on locations/types of fire protection to use? I'm sure there are codes which we will, of course, obey, but I'm asking because the current smoke alarm closest to our kitchen has false alarms all the time even when not cooking smoky things. Are there brand/types of alarm that would better replace these false positives? For example, I've seen heat detectors but there are several types of these. What do people recommend for the best safety without a ton of false alarms? (Related question: do most people have their smoke alarms tied into their alarm system t oautomatically call the fire department. My alarm system can do this with wireless sensors but given all the false positives right now I have chosen not to activate that feature.)

Thanks,

Tom

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Comments (6)

PRO
Firehouse Painting
16 years ago
Yes, you are right there are codes which are goverend by state and town laws which state where detectors are to be located.. (i.e check with you loal fire prevention office) Typically (for a single family home) they are to be located on each floor, at the top and bottom of stairs, outside of each bedroom, and in the basement... As for types, there are three differnt types of detectors, photoelectric (detects smoke), inoization (detects fire) and combinations... (again check with you local fire dept to see which is applicable... perhasps that pesky one near the kitchen may be able to be moved or changed to a ionization type
hest88
16 years ago
When our alarm company installed the alarm for our kitchen he said it was one that detected heat instead of smoke. You might want to see if that's any option with your company.
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It is if you want them to call a monitoring service - if you're referring to an alarm system like an Ademco or DSC, that can integrate fire/water/low temp/security, the NORM is to have a phone line so it can contact a monitoring service (or you can set them up in 'pager mode' so they contact your cell, you respond with a tone, then it tells you in beeps what zone it is (typically, zone 1 would be fire) You can also get a cellular product such as Digicell which connects to the panel and uses a cellular network to contact you but there are of course monthly fees. Unless I'm misreading what you're saying. You'd need a run from the outbuilding back to the alarm panel or whatever, if you chose to have phone monitoring, then it'd connect to a phone line, if not, then it would be set up as a stand-alone system. If there was no phone monitoring service then I'd recommend (I would anyway) an external siren and strobe so passers-by could see what's going on.
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most bombs continue to beep even if you remove the power, did you cut the blue wire instead of the red one? I am so sorry to hear of your fate... Ok here is the scoop.. most hardwired smoke alarms have a battery backup that is not replaceable without replacing the unit. I had one that the contacts to the battery which was a disk style battery like a large watch battery had dust contamination and I took the detector apart and cleaned the contacts with alcohol and put it back together, no more beeping and it worked after reinstalling it, simply amazing! I do NOT recommend this and would not do it again thinking back about what if I had a fire and was asleep and it did not work. I just gave the low down that some have batteries and how I know. buy a new unit and replace it. THEN take it apart and see whats in there!
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I have hardwired alarms and when the house was built in 1983 it required one on each floor in the hallway opening to the bedrooms. Each floor is only about 1000 sq ft, and the kitchen stove is probably 25 feet from the smoke alarm on the first floor. It went off often when I cooked anything in the oven and opened the oven door. Made me crazy. So when I did a remodel a couple of years ago on an upstairs bathroom, new code required that each bedroom have their own alarm, plus the ones in the hallway. So I bought battery alarms and stuck them in the bedrooms and one in the utility room where a fire is much more likely than in my seldom used guest rooms. I had the hardwired ones replaced with newer ones; hated to do it because they are all made in China now and I expect to start reading about fires STARTED by these inferior alarms. But anyway, the new alarm is so sensitive it went off continually. I finally bought a new really expensive hood fan in the kitchen figuring that would fix it. Nope, I couldn't cook anything other than water without it going off. Then I read about putting a hotel shower cap over it while cooking. That's what I've done. I put it on when I am cooking something that will set it off and I am SO happy. Since I have 3 other alarms in the same 1000 square foot area, I don't even worry too much that I might forget to take of the cap. But so far, I haven't. It's a good temporary solution for when you have guests for dinner or baby is sleeping and you want to cook something.
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SJ, I'm sorry you're sick. It showed up middle of last week as a minor cold but then morphed into a horrible wracking cough. The Kaiser doc on-call told me it lasts about a week, except for some and it lasts for 2-3 weeks. Sounds like they're talking about you, my friend. Friday and Saturday were horrible, but I feel so much better today. I need to lay off the codeine because it was making me feel icky. They also gave me a QVAR inhaler. Anyway, my cough has improved considerably. I hope you're on the mend soon. Either hardwired or good batteries should suffice, right? If you have power and the alarm beeps, is it telling you it's time to replace your batteries? Even if it's hardwired and receiving power? It should be easier, and less scary, to be able to service these things. As it so happens, the alarm that went off is on a 9-ft. ceiling and accessible by ladder. The other two are on walls near the apex of a 13-ft. vaulted ceiling. It's out of my reach, at least on a ladder I'm willing to trust. Of course people shouldn't be disabling them and then forget about them, but they should be easier to maintain.
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mando_p
16 years ago
For each of our rooms, I use a carbon monoxide/smoker detector. See link below. They work great. The newer ones now have wireless "link" integration...$$$, but nice!

Here is a link that might be useful: Wireless linked CM/Smoke Detector.
beatrix_in_canada
16 years ago
mando,

I wish I had seen these 6 months ago!! Code here says that smoke detectors have to be interconnected. If you're wiring all smoke detectors during a reno the cost for the electrician goes up considerably! From that perspective those wirless ones would have been a cheaper option for us.
friedajune
16 years ago
I have the Kidde model PI 2000 which I believe is the best smoke detector. The reason for that is that smoke alarms come in two types of detectors--those that detect slow, smoldering fires (photoelectric sensors), and those that detect fast flaming fires (ionization sensors). Most smoke alarms just detect one or the other, so if you have the other kind of fire, your smoke detector will not go off, or go off too late. The Kidde PI 2000 combines both detectors in one alarm. I wish everyone had these, and I don't know why other manufacturers don't make them this way.

Kidde is a top-quality manufacturer which provides a 5-year warranty on the PI 2000. So the OP's issue of the detector going on a false alarm means a faulty alarm, and Kidde would replace if that happened in the first 5 years.

And yes, the alarms should be interconnected. That way, if the alarm goes off in e.g. your basement, and you are asleep upstairs, the upstairs alarm will go off too so you'll be awakened. I understand the interconnectivity is strictly required by Code countrywide.

While you're buying smoke detectors, buy the "Ultralife" batteries. They claim to last 10 years, but more realistically, 5 or 6. Still, that's better than having to climb up and change batteries every 6 months, and you'll have peace of mind that the batteries are working.

Kidde PI 2000
(if you are buying multiple alarms, some websites offer a discount on a multiple order, so call various websites to find out)

Smoke Alarm Ultralife Batteries

To the OP - you can also post your question on the Gardenweb's Electric Wiring Forum . They could advise you on any wiring issues, and on smoke alarms in general.
heimert
16 years ago
Keep in mind that code applies only to new construction--that is, if you're building new or renovating (substantially), then you have to interconnect. If you're installing in an old house, you don't have to (although if you can, obviously it's desirable). So you can use "code" in the sense of recommended locations and be comfortable you're doing as well as you can.

Smoke/Fire Alarm recommendations

Comments (6)

Firehouse Painting

hest88

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