Smoke Alarm ?

[Retlaw]

Originally Posted by katex

Just a quick question.

Last night, the smoke alarm at the top of my stairs went off twice within 10 minutes. It is a 10 year one (had it about 3 years), but battery still ok, etc., test regularly.

No smoke about (stopped smoking in bed ages ago after one or two 'events' .. no comments, please ).

Just wondered if it would have been affected by the unusual heat upstairs ???

They are smoke alarms, not heat detectors, inside is a tiny chamber which reacts when any smoke or vapour is detected, some of those on sale a few years back had faulty lithium batterys in them.
Ring Accy Fire station & they will fit you a new one free of charge.
Retlaw.

[Retlaw]

Originally Posted by david1

It wants new batterys Kate . Mine does that , Just replace them and it will be ok again .

You can't replace the batteries in the ten year life smoke detectors. Ordinary pp 9 volt bateries won't fit.
Accy Fire Stn will fit new detectors for free.
Retlaw.

[Mick]

Kate did the fire service fit them ?
we had 2 10 year ones fitted by the fire service but where far to sensitive ours are on the stairs one at the top one at the bottom the bottom one would go off at the slightest thing even a pan of boiling water set it off.
after 4 years the one at the top of the stairs gave up and started chirping these where 10 year batteries but they cant be changed.
i phoned the fire service who arranged to call and have a look when they got here they said about 4 years ago they had a faulty batch of smoke alarms and these where 2 of them .
they then fitted 2 more smoke alarms that detect smoke in a different way so don't go off unless it is an emergency
the only thing is they left the old ones in place as well so i now have 3 working smoke alarms the faulty one i had to cut the wire to stop it chirping if i took them down there would be holes in the plaster.
give the fire service a call its free and they will fit the new ones for you.

Advantages
1) you get new smoke alarms free
2) you get a free dvd about fire saftey
3) you get to see firemen in uniform

[jaysay]

Originally Posted by katex

Don't understand, David, when the battery is running low, they just give out a tiny bleep at intervals, not full blown alarm call ? When I do a battery test now .. it tells me is OK.

They tell lies Kate, mine did that last year, it was only installed (a new 10 year one) 5 years ago when the fire brigade did a mandatory inspection of my home because I use oxygen. I rang HH and a workman came out within an hour and just replaced it, he said this happens a lot and that I should always report it immediately because although no fault is shown on test, there is one.

[Neil]

Originally Posted by mick

i phoned the fire service who arranged to call and have a look when they got here they said about 4 years ago they had a faulty batch of smoke alarms and these where 2 of them

I find it quite worrying that the fire service were aware they had fitted some faulty smoke detectors and did not check their records and go out and replace them.

[Benipete]

Mine doubles as a dinner gong.

[Retlaw]

Originally Posted by Neil

I find it quite worrying that the fire service were aware they had fitted some faulty smoke detectors and did not check their records and go out and replace them.

That would be difficult, the smoke detectors aren't numbered, so even knowing there were faulty ones in the batch, which was not discovered until years later, how could they identify where the faulty ones were. Yes they do keep record of who has been fitted with alarms, but to revisit all those would be impossible. They respond very quickly to reports of smoke alarm faults.
Retlaw.

[Neil]

Originally Posted by Retlaw

That would be difficult, the smoke detectors aren't numbered, so even knowing there were faulty ones in the batch, which was not discovered until years later, how could they identify where the faulty ones were. Yes they do keep record of who has been fitted with alarms, but to revisit all those would be impossible. They respond very quickly to reports of smoke alarm faults.
Retlaw.

Difficult is dragging people from burning buildings, sending letters out to everyone fitted with a smoke detector from that batch is easy.

[Retlaw]

Originally Posted by Neil

Difficult is dragging people from burning buildings, sending letters out to everyone fitted with a smoke detector from that batch is easy.

I know it is, I've done it.
the trouble with the smoke detectors, is identifying which was the faulty batch, they were produced for the government in China. Lancs County was issued with those detectors which were then distributed to fire stations.
Not all the batches delivered contained faulty detectors. Think of thousands at a time in warehouses, being parcelled up and sent out to all the County Fire Services in the country. It didn't all happen at once but over a period of time.
Sending letters out to every one who had an alarm fitted is one hell of a task, could cause unnecessary panic, the detectors still work, its just the anoyance of the constant beeping, which is the only way of identifying them, then they will be replaced.
If smoke detectors were left up to individuals to buy and fit their own, how many would have them, compared to the present number whose homes are fitted with them.

Retlaw.

[shillelagh]

Originally Posted by Benipete

Mine doubles as a dinner gong.

so does mine ....

[Neil]

Originally Posted by Retlaw

Sending letters out to every one who had an alarm fitted is one hell of a task, could cause unnecessary panic, the detectors still work, its just the anoyance of the constant beeping, which is the only way of identifying them, then they will be replaced.[/COLOR][/FONT][/B]

Its the way the letter is worded thats important. Some people may not realise that the beeping means they are faulty and will be replaced and they may just bin them which would be very bad.

[Mick]

The only reason they classed them as faulty is that they would go off at the slightest whiff of smoke they where very over sensitive that's why they said they where faulty not that they did not work

[MargaretR]

I have one that fits in a light fitting (see pic).
I recall that when fire alarms were discussed here in the past, firemen members didn't like this type.
Maybe it is because they are not ceiling mounted, so will not activate as soon as others do.
I have very low ceilings and short flexes on my light fittings so mine is only a few inches below what a ceiling mounted one would be, and is in a chandelier type shade which allows free flow of air/smoke.
I had a 10yr one which lasted 5, so wanted to avoid batteries altogether.

PS it does have a battery, but it charges itself from the mains - the light needs to be on for 1hr a week to ensure charging - it bleeps when its battery needs charge.

[katex]

Thanks for all the feedback. No, wasn't fitted by the fire service ... but may do that next time ...

Realised battery could not be changed after trying to open it to stop it ... won't opern ... 1.30 a.m. and not funny.

Anyhow, seems OK just now, not happened since. Just that it was an unusually hot night .. 28 degrees downstairs and was hotter upstairs.

[Retlaw]

Originally Posted by Neil

Its the way the letter is worded thats important. Some people may not realise that the beeping means they are faulty and will be replaced and they may just bin them which would be very bad.

So get the number of alarms ordered by the government, then get the numbers that were distributed, and to where, you'l need all the other addresses of housing associations, etc, who also fit them for free, then get writing. Only a small % were faulty, most of the appear to be down South.
As for people who would bin them, they are the very people who wouldn't have fit their own in the first place.
Make a name for your self, get a placard and march round the town center, "Your Smoke Alarm Could be Faulty"

Retlaw.