Smoke alarms - bugger the building regs!

If electrician fitted a smoke not a Heat alarm in kitchen, that could explain that problem. (Shouldn't be over the cooker though or sink).

Smoke alarms are dumb and can't differentiate between smoke/steam; however if he fitted cheaper Ionisation alarms, they are far more prone to be effected by steam. Replace with optical models.

Optical detectors are more likely to be triggered by steam than ionisation detectors.

In message , Michael Kilpatrick writes

Consult out local Fire & rescue service. They will fit the correct alarms for free.

I think you'll find they only fit very basic battery jobbies, no interlinking. They might choose the best sensor type, but the OP could probably just swap the kitchen one for a heat type (fixed level or rate of rise) or an ionisation type.

If they are wired interlinked, it's possible they might be a clip-to-base type so changing the head unit would not even require undoing wires.

In any case, swaps should be of a compatible type - certainly same maker and double check the series is compatible. 4th wire signalling is not globally standard as far as I know.

They make a huge difference to survival in fire, so its worth sorting the system out.

The kitchen alarm should be a heat alarm, not ionisation or optical. The latter are often trouble in a kitchen. If pancake making is setting an ionisation alarm off, it means youre heating the oil close to flashpoint, too hot. Re batteries, you get what you pay for. Batteries are used in mains alarms as backup power, as a fire can take out the mains feed to them. A =A31 alkaline battery per 2 years is a tiny price for the many lives they save, and millions of pounds of property damage they prevent by early detection. I think you just need to sort your sensor types out. If you disconect the interconnection you'll soon see which one is causing false alarms. You might also bill the installer for the new sensor, since what he installed clearly didnt work ok.

From most to least false alarms: ionisation, optical, dual sensor, rate of (temperature) rise, fixed temp heat detector.

NT

Well... Annoying though it is, IMO the lard in the pan ought to be "smoking hot" before you pour in the pancake mix...

Gordon

Be careful do they not contain some kind of radioactive isotope?

I just have the one, and even that goes of if I'm doing toast and the bathroom window is open upstairs. next we will be having to have an air current survey to see where to put them all. Brian

Ooh, I can never eat just the *one* pancake. I need three, at least.

How bloody ridiculous.

Michael

In article , Michael Kilpatrick scribeth thus

No need if its going off its intended to alert the whole house then..

Wrong type of detector installed there by the sound of it;!...

As above.. rate of rise ones needed there, not smoke ionisation ones..

Yes when the power fails as it can do in a house fire..

Change them once a year..

Why not put them all on a bonfire;?..

Don't break up the radioactive source.

Robert

Americium 241, around 1uCurie's worth or 0.3ug which is similar to around

AICO do decent units with good tech support. I bought 6 units in 2007 and they advised location etc from house plans sent to them. They also check out "faulty" units FOC (for first 5 years IIRC) even if the problem turns out to be dust ingress or spiders' webs. Their units have rechargable batteries but are certainly not the cheapest option!

Phil

If pancake making is setting an ionisation alarm off, it means youre heating the oil close to flashpoint, too hot.

There are many styles of cooking which require smoking oil in the pan - including stir frying. I assume flambéing which is often featured on cooking programmes would also set off the less discriminating smoke alarms. Small amounts of smoking oil are not generally a fire risk. Deep frying however is another thing entirely.

In our kitchen if we turn the oven up to self clean (which it does by burning off the splashes on the sides) this also generates enough smoke to set off the fire alarm in the hall if we have forgotten to close the hall door.

However we do have a friend who admits to not being the greatest chef in the world and claims that her kids always new when dinner was ready because the fire alarm went off ;-)

Cheers

Dave R

It is. The other two in the hall are ionisation.

Unfortunately nobody asked me what I wanted to pay for - which I resent even more. I don't buy cheap s*it when I buy something myself (assuming I know how to differentiate for the particular type of product, of course). The electricians just shoved in three alarms before I knew what it was all about.

Yes, maybe, but it's still s*it. I'm not interested in anything that beeps every two years. Ten years, maybe, for the failure of an integral rechargeable battery.

Michael

Presumably its an ionisation alarm going off then. I'd replace them with opticals, or if you've got 2 in a corridor it might be fine to simply disconnect the one nearer the kitchen.

You could replace it with a lithium 9v battery. Not cheap, but you should get your 10 years.

NT

I would start by swapping the one in the hall that is nearest to kitchen to an optical one.

But maybe not in the correct place.

The battery ones they fitted at a house the other day contradicted all the advice in BS5839-6 2008 and the building regs guidelines. I have made an appointment to see the fire officer as I want to know why the smoke are placed where they are.