smoke detectors

Don M.

Don M.

SF VIP
Location
central Missouri
There are often reminders on TV, etc., about checking household smoke detectors and replacing the batteries at, or around the transitions to/from daylight savings time.
This is good advice. I checked all of ours this morning...we have 8 scattered throughout the house, basement and garage. Most of the batteries were still good....I consider 9.4 volts as the lower limit for replacing the batteries...and 2 of them were barely reading 9V....so I replaced those. If you don't have a meter, it is probably a good idea to just replace the battery, to be safe. I did find one of the detectors that the "test" function no longer worked, so I will buy a new one next time we are at the store.
 

There are some fire departments in my area that hand out free smoke detectors. I live just outside the city limits, but once inside the city, they have a law that does not allow kerosene heaters. Even with an automatic shutoff that will shutoff the burner if tipped over, they may still present a hazard.

I was called to the scene of a fire that when I arrived on scene, the house was engulfed in flames. The home’s occupants were protected by a few smoke detectors, so everyone did escape without injury. Cause of the fire was determined to be a faulty ceramic heater.
 
I don't throw away good batteries. I have a voltmeter and I test them.

I will bet if you went to a battery recycle bin where everyone disposes their batteries you wouldn't have to buy another battery for a long time.
 

I have to say smoke detectors are not that sensitive. I've burnt some things, like over cooking popcorn in the microwave. The packet caught fire inside the oven. The smoke was thick, blue, and made me cough, I couldn't see the end of my hall, because of the smoke. But none of my 5 detectors went off. ( 1 wired in, 4 battery-Yes, they all tested as working, and they are less than 2 years old ). It took me a good week of airing out my place and air fresheners to get rid of the burnt smell.
 
fuzzybuddy said:
I have to say smoke detectors are not that sensitive. I've burnt some things, like over cooking popcorn in the microwave. The packet caught fire inside the oven. The smoke was thick, blue, and made me cough, I couldn't see the end of my hall, because of the smoke. But none of my 5 detectors went off. ( 1 wired in, 4 battery-Yes, they all tested as working, and they are less than 2 years old ). It took me a good week of airing out my place and air fresheners to get rid of the burnt smell.
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How far away from the oven are the detectors? I had the same thing happen to me. The detector is down the hall. So I installed one close to the kitchen. It works .
 
Mine are mostly around my furnace in the hall. About 30 feet room my microwave. Duh, I never thought to put a detector in my kitchen. But even so, the smoke was thick. There was this dense blue layer of smoke all through the house. And the popcorn bag was on fire. I don't know why the microwave still works. I thought the electronics would be burnt to a crisp.
 
fuzzybuddy said:
Mine are mostly around my furnace in the hall. About 30 feet room my microwave. Duh, I never thought to put a detector in my kitchen.

The "Range" of most smoke detectors is somewhat limited. It's a good idea to have detectors located near any potential source of fire....furnace, laundry room, kitchen, etc, AND near the bedrooms. We even go so far as to keep fire extinguishers in the kitchen, basement/garage, AND near the bed. Several years ago, our house in the city took a lightning strike, in the middle of the night, and sustained substantial damage. We all got out safely and quickly, but the resulting fire impressed upon us to become as "fire prepared" as possible.
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Camper6 said:
I don't throw away good batteries. I have a voltmeter and I test them.

I will bet if you went to a battery recycle bin where everyone disposes their batteries you wouldn't have to buy another battery for a long time.
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Only lithium batteries need recycling. Standard batteries for smoke alarms and flashlights. etc. can be discarded with the rest of the household trash.
 
fmdog44 said:
Curious, how long do the rechargeables last?
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Of course it depends on the usage. The good ones last almost as long as an alkaline AA. In one of those LED flashlights they are just as bright. But the nice thing is recharge overnight. Fresh batteries in the morning.They are great in a remote.
9 volt batteries in the smoke detectors are alkaline. I found out you don't have to install the smoke detectors on the ceiling. You can mount them on the wall so you can reach them without a ladder and test them or turn them off if you burned the toast
 
fuzzybuddy said:
I have to say smoke detectors are not that sensitive. I've burnt some things, like over cooking popcorn in the microwave. The packet caught fire inside the oven. The smoke was thick, blue, and made me cough, I couldn't see the end of my hall, because of the smoke. But none of my 5 detectors went off. ( 1 wired in, 4 battery-Yes, they all tested as working, and they are less than 2 years old ). It took me a good week of airing out my place and air fresheners to get rid of the burnt smell.
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Which type of smoke detectors do you have, Fuzzy? Ionization or photoelectric? I'm guessing your have the ionization type.

Ionization type detectors react more quickly to a fast moving, flaming fire but don't do nearly as well with smoky fires. Photoelectric detectors are far better with smoky fires but are not quite as quick to respond the significant flames.

Ionization detectors are generally a bit less expensive, but they are also much more prone to nuisance (false) alarms. Conventional wisdom says that any smoke detector in or near the kitchen should be of the photoelectric type. HTH
 
I think I'm ionization. I really don't "cook". All my meals are microwaved. I do have a propane range. I don't ever use it, and there were three pilots going 24/7. so the gas is shut off. Like I said DUH never thought of putting a detector in the kitchen. Thanks.
 
My husband also changes the 5 smoke detectors batteries on the day that we change the clocks. We also have 2 detectors that are hard wired on each floor of our home.
 
I replaced the batteries in ours this morning because one of the damn things started beeping at 4 in the morning. We have lived in this house for 25 years and only once in that entire time have our smoke detectors started beeping at a civilized time. Normally, ours decide that they need new batteries between 2 and 4 in the morning. I suspect some kind of evil is embedded in these things.
 
I had a CO detector that plugged right into a wall socket. A few years later it started beeping. I knew it wasn't a low battery because it was AC operated. I was surprised to learn that CO detectors are only good for a few years, then automatically begin to beep so you have to by another unit.
 

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