They’re the law here, for battery powered units. Assuming they work, they make sense. I’d assume they’re required by law because they work.

What FOAS said.

When they die they let you know. Pretty simple.

We were required to have hardwired unites when we built but they didnt necessarily come with batteries as well. People dont think through the reality of you power can be out when you have a fire. I like these new ones and got some years ago. If you have one that goes off frequently as the first one did for the kitchen because it was so sensitive, they die sooner than 10 years, but they beep at you when that happens. I bought more and replaced the lot just in case but I bought the same kind.

I've heard of the 10 year life feature and wouldn't doubt their effectiveness. These things are tested and retested, I trust them..

I too was required to put in a hard wired unit when doing an addition and I've long since disconnected it because of false alarms. The commonly sold battery operated ones seem very capable, as anyone who's had a cooking accident produce smoke that set one off can attest.

They're cheap protection and are required in most jurisdictions. They're not something worth giving a second thought, especially not in a landlord-tenant situation. .

The 10 year one that we bought lasted about 4 years...maybe even less. It alarmed and wouldn't stop...that's what they do when they go out...joy joy...

Sometimes dust or a spider web can interrupt normal functioning. In such cases, a good toot from a compressed air can will fix it.

If you got a defective one, AG, at least the financial cost wasn't much to worry about.

I purchased a few @ Ace Hardware and they were already 4 years old. But....they're still the best option on the market.

Check the package for any instruction sheet. The 10 yr statement may apply only to the detector and not the battery (cell). Unless these come equipped with special cells like those made by Tadiran, regular cells require replacing once or twice per year. 10 yr is a long life for a smoke detector; The usual life is 5 yr. Smoke detectors contain a very small amount of radioactive material, often Americium. This source is used to ionize smoke particles. The effectiveness of the detector decays as the radioactive source decays.

Ten years is the stated life for the detector including battery; it’s a sealed unit. This appears to be a requirement in more than a dozen states, for battery operated alarms.

Just replaced my 10-year smoke detector that died after 3 years. :(

My neighbors ended up in the ER due to CO in the house. Thank goodness one of them was alert enough to call for help. I immediately bought a ten year smoke and CO detector. After that incident I’d never be without one. The smoke detector went off once when contractors were working in the basement and created a small amount of smoke. I will check it today to make sure it’s working order. With tenants, I think anything that does not require them to proactively take care of it.

Well, with a tenant situation, landlords generally use the 6 month battery replacement as the timing to do a walk through the house checking for issues. The tenants do not maintain them, we do.

I will still do the review every 6 months, but many times I would find the tenants had removed the battery. They find it easier to disable the smoke alarm than deal with it when they burn dinner.

The ten year alarms are sealed units, no battery replacement. I just wondered (after we had already installed them) if they were as easy and effective as they would appear.

HamiltonGardener.....You & I have the same renters. Ha! We find the smoke detectors laying around with NO battery too. They could save a life!

Nicole,

Thats why I figured we should try the sealed, ten year ones. They can’t remove the battery. They might pull it right off the ceiling if they can’t pop the battery out...who knows.