Time flies faster than you think, especially with Smoke Alarms

[TitanMike]

Over the years I thought I was pretty good about properly maintaining the smoke alarms in my house. One in every bedroom, the upper hall, the living room, and even a combination Smoke/CO detector in the family room which is closest to garage where Gas Water Heater and Furnace are located.

Even religiously changed the batteries regularly and used the vacuum to make sure that there was no dust buildup in them.


Lately I've had a couple of mysterious "Chirps" in the middle of the night (why couldn't they happen during the day) and decided to see just how old the smoke detectors were. I THOUGHT I'd replaced them at least once since we bought the house in 2004.

What a surprise. First one I pulled down was 22 years old and was installed when house was built.

Quick research revealed that NFPA recommends battery replacement every year and replacing the entire unit every 10 years. Looks like mine have served 2 lifetimes.

Anyway, ordered a "6-Pack from Amazon and today replaced all but the combination Smoke/CO detector which I know I replaced just over a year ago.

I know this isn't totally RV related although the same applies to detectors in the RV you either use for travel or live in. This might be a reminder to those who haven't given them much thought for a couple decades Heating season is just around the corner for the Northern parts of the country so a good time to check.

Might be a good idea to pull one down and look at the date.

For me the $55 it cost me for the 6-pack of First Alert hardwired detectors is a good investment in safety.

[Chief T]

Oh so true about chirping in the middle of the night. Had same issue last year. Even after replacing batteries, still chirping. Wound up replacing all original when built in 99.

[Jfkmk]

Ours started going off at 3:30 am. Randomly going off and stopping. Trying to find the first one that goes off when 6 of them are tied together sure was fun! Finally found the culprit and replaced them all with ones that I don’t have to replace the battery. They’re good for 10 years.

Good warning, a lot of folks don’t realize the detector itself has a life span.

[CurtPutnam]

Last year, our units started chirping so we bought another 6 9v batteries. Replaced batteries in all units. Still chirping, Redid the batteries (this is a pain, we have 9' ceilings). Still chirping. My better half agreed that the peace that comes from each identifying itself as needing batteries was worth the money.

Found a sale at Target (18 miles down the road) and used that ad to beat the local Bed, Bath & Beyond into honoring the price. There is now peace in the house. Oh yeah, we bought the NEST units.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by CurtPutnam

Last year, our units started chirping so we bought another 6 9v batteries. Replaced batteries in all units. Still chirping, Redid the batteries (this is a pain, we have 9' ceilings). Still chirping. My better half agreed that the peace that comes from each identifying itself as needing batteries was worth the money.

Found a sale at Target (18 miles down the road) and used that ad to beat the local Bed, Bath & Beyond into honoring the price. There is now peace in the house. Oh yeah, we bought the NEST units.

Lucky you, only 9' ceilings. My living room has a Cathedral Ceiling and the somoke detector there is 13 feet above the floor. I have to bring my extension ladder in for that bugger. Luckily it's not far from the wall so I don't have to rig scaffolding

The units I replaced old ones with have a "latching alarm" which turns on a light to indicate which one woke me up. Nice feature.

As for the early AM "warnings", I think some devious illegitimate son of a gun in the factory programmed them that way. Is probably laughing his butt off when he reads comments like ours about the unwanted wake-up calls

[Chief T]

Originally Posted by TitanMike

Lucky you, only 9' ceilings. My living room has a Cathedral Ceiling and the somoke detector there is 13 feet above the floor. I have to bring my extension ladder in for that bugger. Luckily it's not far from the wall so I don't have to rig scaffolding

The units I replaced old ones with have a "latching alarm" which turns on a light to indicate which one woke me up. Nice feature.

As for the early AM "warnings", I think some devious illegitimate son of a gun in the factory programmed them that way. Is probably laughing his butt off when he reads comments like ours about the unwanted wake-up calls

I got one that has been blinking for a few weeks, but I'm being lazy to drag out my little giant ladder. My high point of ceiling is 18 feet, but I got three that are 13-14 feet high.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by Chief T

I got one that has been blinking for a few weeks, but I'm being lazy to drag out my little giant ladder. My high point of ceiling is 18 feet, but I got three that are 13-14 feet high.

Nothing really wrong with "lazy". Do you realize how many inventions that have changed the World were inspired by "lazy"?