Smoke alarm

We have a couple of battery powered smoke alarms in our multi-story house. One is on the second floor, where the bedrooms are, in the hallway near the stairs. When my wife is cooking some things or baking, the fumes go up the stairway and set off the alarm. These fumes are barely noticeable, but the alarm is so sensitive that it reacts to them. We have to get a stool and remove the battery, then remember to put it back in when the cooking is done (I leave the battery on the stool right in the center of the hall, so if we forget, we trip over the stool and remember).

I like the location of the alarm, since it protects all the bedrooms. But I'm not happy having to remove the battery so often, and when you start getting old, it is harder to even get up on the stool.

I am looking for a solution.

I don't think getting a less sensitive alarm (if there is such a thing) is the solution, because I want a sensitive alarm if we ever have a fire.

I thought of putting in a wired alarm with a switch, but it would be too easy to forget to turn it back on.

I thought an alarm that had a timer so it could be turned off for an hour or two when cooking, and would then come back on, would work, but I haven't seen something like that anywhere.

Any recommendations.

Reply to
Notat Home
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What kind of cooking is it that's setting this off? A smoke detector in an upstairs hallway should not be going off from routine cooking. I have a smoke detector located 15 ft from my ovens. It's down a hall, but there is no door and it's a straight, direct path from ovens to detector. It only goes off on rare occasions. Those would be when something is forgotten, burns and starts to smoke. Or when perhaps I'm roasting some vegetables on a sheet pan with olive oil and some smoke comes out when I open the door. In that case, I just use a dish towel to swirl some air around the detector and it shuts off. I can't imagine smoke getting to the point that it sets off a detector upstairs, without something being wrong.....

I guess it's possible that detector is especially sensitive. There is variation among them in how they work, exactly what they react to, etc.

Reply to
trader4

Hi, Alarms are doing their job. No venting fan on your cook top?

Reply to
Tony Hwang

Pretty much what I was thinking. Exhaust fan.

Christopher A. Young Learn more about Jesus

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No venting fan on your cook top?

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

Does she use the kitchen exhaust fan? Any fumes should be going that way.

Reply to
Dan Espen

I suspect that you are discussing an ionization detector (the most common type) because you say that the fumes are hardly noticeable. I had the same problem with a smoke detector in my kitchen nook.

I solved the problem by replacing that particular detector with a battery operated photocell detector. They are not sensitive to invisible fumes; they react to particulates in the air, which are prominent in visible smoke. They're a little more expensive but readily available in big box stores. I predict that this will solve your problem.

Reply to
Peter

Not,

Many smoke detectors come with a "silence" button to stop nuisance alarms. You push the button and the detector stops for a preset time. This time is much shorter than an hour or two

Dave M.

Reply to
David L. Martel

I agree. Changing the type of detector will probably work.

The OP can also get one with a "Hush" button on it to temporarily silence the alarm if needed. That would be better and easier than taking out the battery. He/she could also either leave a small dowel/stick near the detector to easily reach the "Hush" button to silence it.

Or, instead of mounting the detector on the ceiling, mount it on a wall near the ceiling -- more than 4 inches below the ceiling, and not more than 12 inches below the ceiling. This is an acceptable mounting location according to the detector instructions. If doing that places the detector within reach, that will make it easier to press the "Hush" button without having to use a stick.

Reply to
TomR

Thanks for the information. It goes off with normal cooking that lasts a while, like baking or roasting a turkey. I think part of it might be the configuration of our kitchen, as the range is very near the stairway.

I'll encourage her to use the exhaust fan more often. And I think I will look for a new alarm and a new place to mount it.

Reply to
Notat Home

You might consider that, without the smoke alarm to use as a timer........ how will she know when the food is ready ?????

......... I'm jus' sayin'........

Reply to
Robert

[snip]

+1 Like beauty, smoke is in the eye of the detector

You don't mention it, but have you tried swapping the smoke detectors out?

If not, try that first.

I'm not familiar with a timer switch that gives you a selectable "Off" time, but it would be rather simple to make one using the clock spring type wall timers and a NC relay. You could keep the whole thing low voltage and use the timer output to open the NC relay and after XX minutes it closes.

Reply to
Unquestionably Confused

Kidde makes a smoke detector with a remote hush feature, but it looks like it's only available in Canada. I can't find a US source for it.

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It seems that First Alert made (or still makes?) a unit that can hushed with any remote (TV, DVD, etc.) but if you search for this unit on the First Alert site, it doesn't say anything about it working with a remote. Might be worth a call to see if they still make one.

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Reply to
DerbyDad03

When mine goes off, I grab and shake it at mid level, clearing the smoke. My single level is easy to get to, but I intend to alter the position, since it's in the kitchen. It's a dirt cheap detector. My turbo oven will set it off if I see the least bit of smoke, taking out the basket. Not near main cooking area.

Greg

Reply to
gregz

re: "When mine goes off, I grab and shake it at mid level..."

I'm glad I kept reading. For a minute there I wasn't sure that you were still talking about a smoke detector.

Reply to
DerbyDad03

Hi, Hmmm. Too proud to reveal your real email address?

Reply to
Tony Hwang

Is it necessary to answer his question here?

Reply to
Doug

A "silence" or "hush" feature should be a good fix for the OP. I think Kidde will silence for about 10 minutes. And the one I installed doesn't just silence, it reduces the sensitivity temporarily. Heavy smoke will still set it off (and can't be silenced).

Reply to
bud--
[snip]

I have used one with a remote TEST feature. It could get really annoying, when I need to change the TV volume and get interrupted with "BEEP-BEEP-BEEP (a few seconds) BEEP-BEEP-BEEP".

Reply to
Mark Lloyd

I did read some reviews that complained of the same issue. You had to be careful where you mounted it for the very reason you mentioned. I assume your's did not mute via the remote?

I'm pretty good at internet searches, but since I can't find the Kidde "Smoke Alarm with Remote Control Hush" model on the kidde.com site - only at kiddecanada.com - I wonder if they are not available in the US.

Maybe I'll give them a call...

Reply to
DerbyDad03
[snip]

Right.

[snip]

BTW, I never found the cause of my sig getting damaged (no EOL after my name). It comes from a file and the line ending is definitely there. If the sig has more lines than that, the others are OK.

Reply to
Mark Lloyd

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