Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[moscooter]

 

Why is it that when a smoke detector battery gets low enough to trigger that "beep" sound..........it's always in the middle of the night.   I've got six of 'em in my house,  and damned if they don't always run low on back-up battery power between midnight and five in the morning.

I pulled batteries out of two adjacent to each other (one in bedroom and other just outside in the hall),  then also unplugged the damn things and beep was still going.   Went to other end of house and listened to those....still heard the beep, and it was not coming from them either..........checked the bonus room,  not that one (good thing, cause need a ladder to reach it).

Finally realized I (also) was the proud owner of a carbon monoxide detector that I bought years ago and plugged in under the front hall table.  It seems it has a similar (low battery "beep") that was the culprit.   But I spent 20 minutes or so before I found it.

[CVOStreetglide]

Why is it that when a smoke detector battery gets low enough to trigger that "beep" sound..........it's always in the middle of the night.   I've got six of 'em in my house,  and damned if they don't always run low on back-up battery power between midnight and five in the morning.

I pulled batteries out of two adjacent to each other (one in bedroom and other just outside in the hall),  then also unplugged the damn things and beep was still going.   Went to other end of house and listened to those....still heard the beep, and it was not coming from them either..........checked the bonus room,  not that one (good thing, cause need a ladder to reach it).

Finally realized I (also) was the proud owner of a carbon monoxide detector that I bought years ago and plugged in under the front hall table.  It seems it has a similar (low battery "beep") that was the culprit.   But I spent 20 minutes or so before I found it.

FWIW: After experiencing the same thing I asked A Fire Dept Lt. who said that the newer ones are designed so that all of them go of if one does whether its low battery or an actual event.

Now, I replace all of the batteries at the same time out of the same multipack.

(I was in Daytona at Bike Week in the hotel room when I received a 2:00am call from my wife asking how to turn them off. 😀😀)

[Fired00d]

At least you figured it out on your own... Can't count the many times (nights) at work we would get the call of "my smoke detector is chirping" and have to get out of the bed and go to the residence to assist/instruct the owner to replace the battery(ies).  And yes, the code currently requires all smoke detectors to be connected so they all alarm together.

 
Ride Safe,
Fired00d
 

[dayne66]

Yes, all 120 v detectors need to be tied together....and be on a general lighting circuit...not their own circuit.
Our dog really hates the chirp....and really, really does not like the alarm!

[JCZ]

It's suggested that the batteries be changed in all detectors twice a year....when the clocks go back (daylight savings time) and when the clocks go forward.  Then you'll not have to be bothered in the middle of the night.

In property management it's a given that all detector batteries are changed at the same time.

[Joel]

We had 1 going off in the back  office at my shop. Did the same thing, removed batteries from all of them. Than 1 chirps, about every 30.seconda or so, ended up finding another alarm in a file cabinet.

[moscooter]

Yes, all 120 v detectors need to be tied together....and be on a general lighting circuit...not their own circuit.
Our dog really hates the chirp....and really, really does not like the alarm!

Yup,  On another occassion,  I found out real quick that when one starts off,  it can and will trigger all the others.  I learned that in the Fall time frame,  when we switch from A/C to heat,  I need to open some windows first.  Guess it is dust on the heating coils or something running the heat the first time or two for the season,  creates a "smell" from the system which can activate my smoke alarm which in turn activates every damn other one................which becomes a real nightmare situation.

[OBB]

We had that happen with one in the basement a few months back that was driving us nuts. Finally found it on the shelf with all the kids board games (we've been empty nesters for four years now) that was the culprit.

[BostonboyDH]

 
     Dood, In Boston we don't touch them "Liability" (Everyone is looking for some one to sue these days) if upon our arrival if the are just chirping we instruct the homeowner / resident to hire an electrician to inspect and replace if necessary, the minuet we leave we know the caller will take it down and put it on top of the refrigerator never to be seen again!  We do offer a program through our Fire Prevention Div to the elderly that own their own single family home that we will replace and install smokes and Co's.
   
      Smoke and Carbon monoxide detectors  have a 7 year life span that when they reach the end of their usable life they will also chirp as if the battery is low, there is a date code on the back of the detector 7 years from that date you can expect to buy new ones, the reason is the sensors in side get polluted with air borne dirt and grease and can't be cleaned Some newer battery powered smoke and co's have a 10 year non replaceable battery inside so you must install new ones.
                   BostonBoy

[Fired00d]

 
     Dood, In Boston we don't touch them "Liability" (Everyone is looking for some one to sue these days) if upon our arrival if the are just chirping we instruct the homeowner / resident to hire an electrician to inspect and replace if necessary, the minuet we leave we know the caller will take it down and put it on top of the refrigerator never to be seen again!  We do offer a program through our Fire Prevention Div to the elderly that own their own single family home that we will replace and install smokes and Co's.
   
      Smoke and Carbon monoxide detectors  have a 7 year life span that when they reach the end of their usable life they will also chirp as if the battery is low, there is a date code on the back of the detector 7 years from that date you can expect to buy new ones, the reason is the sensors in side get polluted with air borne dirt and grease and can't be cleaned Some newer battery powered smoke and co's have a 10 year non replaceable battery inside so you must install new ones.
                   BostonBoy

Understand what you are saying and in most cases (we have a majority of the homes in my jurisdiction built prior to '75 when smoke detectors weren't mandated) and they are battery powered only (not hard-wired)... Zero dark-thirty in the morning if we (can provide them a battery)/they (by our instructions) can replace the battery it's a win, win for both of us. We also through our Fire Prevention Division offer free smoke detectors (no CO detectors) to owner occupied residences. These are battery operated (10 year lithium battery) detectors... those detectors/installation require a "liability release" form signed by the owner. So, due diligence is taken to remove liability on us/department, but at the wee hours of the morning if we can appease the occupant and prevent further/future calls of service all efforts will be exhausted to prevent them calling again/us returning to the occupancy.

 
Ride Safe,
Fired00d
 

[BostonboyDH]

   
      I applaud your Departments efforts.....  David

[Fired00d]

   
      I applaud your Departments efforts.....  David

Some (a lot of) times it is an effort in futility... as you mentioned "the caller will take it down and put it on top of the refrigerator never to be seen again". I have lost count of the times during an investigation I/we have found smoke detectors in places other than where they should be. However when it comes to liability pictures and documentation of where those detectors were found will remove any liability from those other than occupants/owners. You know the saying... "you can't fix stupid".

 
Ride Safe,
Fired00d
 

[DaBigNuttedMan]

 hey DooD and everyone else, ever heard of smoke detectors [sorta accidentily] burning houses down? what happens is the ones with 9 volt box batteries chirp low battery, the occupant changes the battery and throws the old battery away, well the old battery may not be "hot" enough too make the grade for a smoke detector standing by ready to scream for a 1/2 hour or more, but it's plenty hot enough to light a fire in your trash can when it shorts steel wool or a beer can or foil combined with paper, it's because the 9 volt box batterys + & - terminals are side by side and 9 volts are plenty when shorted by real light conductor. On the survival shows they use a 9 volt box batt and steel wool or small wire all the time to light fires, and the smoke detectors ironically got a lot of people throwing hot batts away. I bet by now they probably moved away from the 9 volt batt, I heard this about 5 years ago, if ya pitch one wrap in electric tape, short it dead or destroy it somehow. Just sayin    yall be cool now yahear 

[muddypaws]

I had one go bad and it was not the battery. It keep chirping even with a new battery.

[BostonboyDH]

   
     The detector was probably past it's 7 year useable service life, the date of manufacture is stamped on the back of the detector and the owners manual states replace at seven years , or it could have just been a faulty detector!

  David