Smoke Detector Help

[TB Roye]

The OEM Smoke Detector that is in our Hallway by the Laundry Room is acting up. It is hardwired and is buzzing intermitently. This started in the middle of the night last night. So I got up and checked and everything was fine and disconneted it. According to our city laws when were got a permit to remodel we were required to put detectors in each bed room which we have done. and we also have monitored one in the kitchen. It does not stay on steady and I can not see any battery backup. Any Ideas. I like to reconnect it as it is the closest to the Garage. I did hook it back up this morning and when we came back from grocery shopping we could hear it buzzing when we opened the Garage door. I have looked up in the attic and see nothing and no smell of
smoke.

Tom

[cabinetman]

It sure sounds like it's a battery problem, even though you said there are no batteries. It's hard to believe that there are no battery back ups. Have you checked for a remote battery situation? Could it be that the batteries aren't the standard 9V or AA or AAA size, but rather a small button cell type. Our wireless doorbell has a wafer thin type battery that doesn't even look like a battery.

You might try following the wires, if you can to see if there is something somewhere. If they are hardwired, are they 110V or is there a transformer somewhere to run them at low voltage. If that's the case, there could be something wrong there.



A THING OF BEAUTY IS A JOY FOREVER - John Keats

[ragswl4]

My 2 cents. In the event of an electrical fire, one may lose power and hence the smoke detector is useless as a warning device. I think the battery operated ones are better, change battery on your birthday. They also give a low battery alarm, just in case. Hardwired warning devices without battery back-up is, IMO, bad news.

ragswl4

[Dan Tipton]

A link to the First Alert FAQ page -- try checking the first question.

http://www.firstalert.com/SmokeAlarmFAQs.aspx

[rg32]

If it was a recent install my bet is it has a battery backup to make code!
I’d find the brand and model and then locate the manufacturers web site I’m sure they will have a downloadable manual and FA questions
My HW smokes have a small hinged door covering the 9v battery.

[WoodTherapist]

I agree. Odds are there is a backup battery in there somewhere, probably a nine-volt. Sometimes the little doors to the battery compartments are hard to find and/or open. Another possibility - if it is more than a few years old the sensor might be fouled by dust, insects, etc. If you can’t get it to quit chirping, I would remove it, place it in the freezer and head immediately to the local supply store for a new one. They are relatively inexpensive and are too important to cut corners. Get the kind with battery backup. And if they are more than five years old, it would be a good opportunity to replace all the smoke heads in the house at the same time.

[TB Roye]

This was installed in the early 80's when the house was built and I have never had any problems. I am going to blow it out with my canned air and remove it from the ceiling to see what behind it.

Thanks for the help, I do have the others which all have new batteries.

Tom

[WoodTherapist]

If it is that old you might want to think about replacing it anyway. The sensors have a limited lifespan. It is cheap insurance. Just my two cents.

[parnelli]

If it is that old you might want to think about replacing it anyway. The sensors have a limited lifespan. It is cheap insurance. Just my two cents.

Agreed. A new wired one is ~15 bucks. My understanding is the recommended replacement is about 10 years.

Would it make a huge difference? I don't know. But I'm also certain that I'd not be up for finding out either...

[TB Roye]

I took it down. It is hardwire to 120/110 v. No battery backup. Little scary when I found out it was 110. Could not figure out what circuit it was on so I made sure the wires were separated when I carefully put it back. Blew it out with my canned air. but after reading all the latest replies have decided to replace it. Once again BT3 Central comes through. I am also going to put a battery powered on the the laundry room above the door to the garage, it's overkill but better safe than dead.

Tom

[JSCOOK]

I took it down. It is hardwire to 120/110 v. No battery backup. Little scary when I found out it was 110. Could not figure out what circuit it was on so I made sure the wires were separated when I carefully put it back. Blew it out with my canned air. but after reading all the latest replies have decided to replace it. Once again BT3 Central comes through. I am also going to put a battery powered on the the laundry room above the door to the garage, it's overkill but better safe than dead.

Tom

I'd check with a local store and see if you can get a deal on battery back-up ones for sure ... it's simply not worth the risk otherwise ... I'd also see if you could get a deal and replace ALL of the dectors to be safe ... if they are that old, and one's failing now, what shape are the rest gonna be in???

Also look into the dual sensor ones if you can find them ... remember your only gonna get what you pay for, so I won't settle for the cheapest ones!

[TB Roye]

The other ones are fairly new (4yrs) and the batteries were changed when the time changed and will be changed again when the time changes again. The monitored one they come and check every year as changing the batteries myself sets it off. I am going to check into the dual sensor ones tomorrow.

Tom

[maxparot]

Wow I question that I am probably the site expert on.
Hard wired smoke detectors do go bad. It probably dosen't have a battery since it gets backup power from the alarm system. That said if it isn't 10 years old it probably just needs cleaning. A few good shots with compressed air may do the job. As a tech we open the casing on some more stubborn detectors and then blow them out but that may not be a good idea if you aren't comfortable with the it. If that doesn't do the trick don't worry they are either 2 or 4 wires to replace. Taking the old one to a supplier will generally get you a smaller better replacement. Since this is part of your alarm system you should know that the system is in a fault condition and having the detector remove or disconnected may cause other parts of the system not to function properly. So get er fixed!

[emsmedic]

Something else to consider:

A number of manufacturers make hardwired heat detectors that can connected to your existing system just like you were adding a smoke detector. The SDs in my home are made by BRK, and were installed about 18mos ago. When I started finishing the basement, I added a smoke detector in the rec room and a heat detector in the shop to avoid any accidental alarms triggered by sawdust. The heat detector cost about $20 and interconects the the other detectors via 14/3 romex (hot, neutral, ground, and interconnect). If the heat detector (or any SD) activates, all the units alarm. It's something to think about if you're upgrading the other units anyway.

I'd also recommend the battery backup units - change the batteries when you reset your clocks for DST. I've responded to a number of house fires where the smoke detectors didn't activate because the power failed and/or the batteries were dead.

If you opt for the dual purpose units (ie smoke & carbon monoxide, smoke & flammable gas, or all three), be aware that many of the sensors have cross-sensitivities. For example, many flammable gas detectors can be falsely activated by Lysol or other cleaning sprays. It can also be difficult to determine exactly what kind of alarm has sounded, which makes troubleshooting and investigation more difficult. I'd stick to hardwired smokes with battery backup and separate, plug-in detectors (w/battery backup) for CO.