Smoke detectors do age out

[nvs4602]

As the title states, and they can do it at the most inopportune time. We had left on vacation and driven about 250 miles for the day. Stopped at a KOA for the night. When we woke up the next morning our security cameras at home notified us of noise detected inside our house . A couple minutes later another notification from our downstairs camera. When we watched the video we could hear our smoke detectors going off. This is a scary feeling when your far from home. Luckily I keep the local sheriff's number on my phone. Because calling 911 where your at only gets you that areas 911 not your home town. They dispatched the fire Department. Who have the means to enter your locked home without a key.

Lucky for us, no fire. But all of our smoke detectors, which are tied together so if one goes off they all do, were blasting away.. what to do about that? We made the decision to head back home to find out what had caused the issue. What I found is that the detectors must have aged out and when one went off they all did. So now we have all new smoke detectors one of which is now a carbon monoxide and smoke detector.

So I guess what I've learned is.
1. replace your detectors every 10years ours where 25 years old.

2. Keep your local police and fire Department numbers handy, even when away from home.

Hope this helps keep someone else from the same scare and trouble.

[Reverse_snowbird]

Originally Posted by nvs4602

So I guess what I've learned is.
1. replace your detectors every 10years ours where 25 years old.

2. Keep your local police and fire Department numbers handy, even when away from home.

Hope this helps keep someone else from the same scare and trouble.

Thanks for sharing. Thankfully it wasn't something worse.
Most smoke and co detectors the we've purchased are rated for 10 years.

We usually give a key to one neighbor and tell a couple more who has the key in case of emergency. One year, a freeze caused pipes to burst in homes where people were out of town for the holidays. Good neighbors turned off water because the fire and water departments were backed up for days with reports of water running out front doors.

[Flybob]

Some states/ jurisdictions have laws that require Smoke Detectors to be replaced every 10 yrs. One of those " I never knew that laws".

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by Flybob

Some states/ jurisdictions have laws that require Smoke Detectors to be replaced every 10 yrs. One of those " I never knew that laws".

Probably another of those laws that is impossible to enforce without mandatory inspections.

You'd think that common sense would trump the need for a law like this.

Then again, we all know what's no longer common today.

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[Bob K4TAX]

I seem to recall that homeowners insurance gives a discount for installed smoke detectors. Now should one have a loss and the insurance company discovers the smoke detectors were not maintained, they may deny coverage. The fire department will always check for operational smoke detectors.

Bob

[Flybob]

Originally Posted by TitanMike

Probably another of those laws that is impossible to enforce without mandatory inspections.

Or inspections done as part of a home sale.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by Bob K4TAX

I seem to recall that homeowners insurance gives a discount for installed smoke detectors. Now should one have a loss and the insurance company discovers the smoke detectors were not maintained, they may deny coverage. The fire department will always check for operational smoke detectors.



Bob

Not sure about smoke detector discounts but my insurance company gives a decent discount for a monitored fire alarm. I do have to provide a certificate from alarm company annually but I can do that all electronically.

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[HangDiver]

Originally Posted by nvs4602

As the title states, and they can do it at the most inopportune time. We had left on vacation and driven about 250 miles for the day. Stopped at a KOA for the night. When we woke up the next morning our security cameras at home notified us of noise detected inside our house . A couple minutes later another notification from our downstairs camera. When we watched the video we could hear our smoke detectors going off. This is a scary feeling when your far from home. Luckily I keep the local sheriff's number on my phone. Because calling 911 where your at only gets you that areas 911 not your home town. They dispatched the fire Department. Who have the means to enter your locked home without a key.

Lucky for us, no fire. But all of our smoke detectors, which are tied together so if one goes off they all do, were blasting away.. what to do about that? We made the decision to head back home to find out what had caused the issue. What I found is that the detectors must have aged out and when one went off they all did. So now we have all new smoke detectors one of which is now a carbon monoxide and smoke detector.

So I guess what I've learned is.
1. replace your detectors every 10years ours where 25 years old.

2. Keep your local police and fire Department numbers handy, even when away from home.

Hope this helps keep someone else from the same scare and trouble.

Had something similar happen recently. Our home is only 2-years old but the batteries in one of our four detectors were low. So at 5:00am in the morning all four detectors decided it was time for us to get up.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by HangDiver

Had something similar happen recently. Our home is only 2-years old but the batteries in one of our four detectors were low. So at 5:00am in the morning all four detectors decided it was time for us to get up.

For years I always wondered why low battery alarms always went off during the wee hours of the morning. Then it dawned on me what the likely reason was. If one uses a temp set-back feature on their thermostat, or just turns down the heat manually, 3-5AM is about when the house is the coolest (especially in winter) and most batteries have a drop in voltage as they cool. Especially one that's at or close to end of life.

The one that really ticks me off is the one high up in my living room's cathedral ceiling. When it goes off it triggers the other six which are all interconnected.


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[HangDiver]

Originally Posted by TitanMike

For years I always wondered why low battery alarms always went off during the wee hours of the morning. Then it dawned on me what the likely reason was. If one uses a temp set-back feature on their thermostat, or just turns down the heat manually, 3-5AM is about when the house is the coolest (especially in winter) and most batteries have a drop in voltage as they cool. Especially one that's at or close to end of life.

Never thought of that but you may be right re: time of day/evening cooling.