Smoke detectors

[WickerBill]

My house has several, and last night, they all went off, but only for three "beeps". This isn't the chirp of a low battery in one unit -- it was full song, all of then them throughout the house, but stopped. Then, maybe 10 minutes ago, it did it again. I can't figure out what it is trying to tell me.

(the house is not on fire)

Ideas?

[KLang]

Are they hooked into a central alarm system? If so maybe that battery needs replacement.

[WickerBill]

We have a central alarm system but it was deactivated last year (battery removed) and last night was the first smoke detector incident...

[Insomniac]

Mine are all hooked together, so if one goes off, they all do. Maybe one of them is going bad? Elmo may be able to shed more light on this, but I saw an article that said you should replace your smoke detectors every 10 years.

[G.]

My system, if one unit's battery goes bad, it will chirp at me once every 5 mins. or so. This only happens at 2:00-ish AM, BTW.

If you don't find that particular battery within , say 5 hours, they all go off, more than just a chirp.

I have not studied the causes-and-effects extensively to figure out the full pattern, since I have been taught by my smoke alarm system to be highly motivated to find the first chirping unit ASAP, and to actively change out the ******* batteries every year, even though they are unused.



Cool Story Bro (TM) Time: Not sure why this is allowed, but wiring for detectors runs through same conduit as house wiring (I thought you were supposed to separate high V and low V? I think the det. is lowV...). Basement unit (single detector, unfinished basement) is right under a bathroom.

Turn the bathroom light on, get house chirp, about 3-4 units.

To make a long story less sucky, it involved kids, fluids, seepage, and a redone floor.

[dando]

I went through this with Elmo a couple of years ago when our CO detectors started acting up. He suggested vacuuming them since dust will cause fire or CO detectors to act up. It is also advisable to replace them around 10 years. I ended up replacing ours, which solved the issue I was having.

-Kevin

[Elmo T]

I went through this with Elmo a couple of years ago when our CO detectors started acting up. He suggested vacuuming them since dust will cause fire or CO detectors to act up. It is also advisable to replace them around 10 years. I ended up replacing ours, which solved the issue I was having.

-Kevin

Out teaching the fine firefighters from Pennsyltuckey this weekend. :thumbup:

Good memory Kevin.

>10 years old and they should be replaced.

Otherwise, pull them down and vacuum them out. Replace batteries as necessary. If they are still acting up, try blowing them out with compressed air. Last resort - replace.

[dando]

Out teaching the fine firefighters from Pennsyltuckey this weekend. :thumbup:

Good memory Kevin.

>10 years old and they should be replaced.

Otherwise, pull them down and vacuum them out. Replace batteries as necessary. If they are still acting up, try blowing them out with compressed air. Last resort - replace.

I learn from the best. :) Sorry, forgot about the compressed air fix. :D Now I just wish my units would stay mounted to the brackets instead of hanging from the ceiling by the wires. :saywhat:

-Kevin