OT: Smoke Dectector puzzle...

You have birds nesting in the attic?

-P.

Is the smoke blocking the view? ;~)

I have had that problem, it fixed itself. This started one time in the middle of the night with no reason. By morning the chirping had stopped.

You might want to reconsider that change interval if you drive daily in the city. I worked in the automotive business and retired from it 10 years ago. Manufactures recommended oil change intervals are almost always under optimal driving conditions and any driving in the city is not considered optimal. Additionally I have always gone for the every 3,000 mile interval. A few years ago I made the mistake of buying 2 two new VW's 2 years apart. The service advisors would kinda laugh when I came in for the oil change at

Many of these battery+hard wired smoke detectors seem to chirp, with or without a battery, if there is suddenly a loose power connection in that unit, or in the circuit.

So, in addition to the obvious things, I would also check for a loose connection, maybe to that unit, or somewhere in the hardwired circuit, especially if you just powered that circuit off and on.

Amazing how often a "bad connection" shows up in new construction that has just been powered on and off a few times in the electrical trim out/testing stage. A circuit that worked an hour ago, may not an hour from now due to a connection somewhere in the run that was somehow "loosened" during one of these power cycles.

AAMOF, I've got one in chirping in a new house as we speak ... noticed it yesterday, and, since it is unoccupied, I will deal with it tomorrow. ;)

I agree with you. I'm an ex mechanic. I have seen the crud in oil from letting it go to long. No crud is good crud. It wears on your engine. Oil is cheap, engines aren't.

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My Toyota has 274,000 miles on it. I change the oil when I think about it. Sometimes 5,000 miles sometimes 15,000 miles. The 15,000 or greater intervals were mistakes. Kind of forget when the oil level does not drop much between changes. Actually I think I did 25,000 miles one oil change intentionally to see what an oil anaysis looked like. I had the head off that truck not that long ago. No nasty junk on the head. Still crosshatch marks in the cylinders. I have had VWs with negligble wear in the cylinders with same erratic oil changes. Heads are pretty clean. I do not drive severe duty driving. Well at least now that I do not have to tow a horse trailer as my wife is not showing horses. I really don't believe that changing the oil every month is going to benefit me. My 4 year old VW has 148,000 miles on it but I think I have used about 5,000 gallons of fuel. Yes fuel consumed has notthing to do with the discussion. I will probably keep that car for more like 500,000 miles if I keep with the same crazy amount of driving.

When I was a kid I recall sludge on heads all the time on cars I might touch in Cleveland Ohio. I was a kid so they were not my cars. Subzero weather and less than 10 mile trips are harder on cars and oil than my almost always above zero Atlanta weather and my 40+ mile one way drives. I have used synthetic oil since about 1985 without any signs of oil problems. Extended oil changes with regular oil in severe duty is crazy. I also do not drive 100 mph everywhere which would get it back to severe duty. On the other hand I do not keep cars long. I seem to get rid of them when they have 300,000 miles on them. Toyota should be around another 5 years as I do not drive it that much now. I have had it just 20 years now.

My 67 Beetle went through a few engines and I changed the oil as per the manual. Every 3,000 miles. But that was before I used synthetic engine oil. But most aircooled engines were due for a rebuild every

Where I live and the way I drive you could never convince me that

Depending on brand, there is an internal capacitor to keep the circuit memory. 9 times out of 10 when the units chirp, the battery needs replaced. However that one time is usually:

A) The unit has gone bad and the radiation has degraded the electronics enough to cause it to chirp. Found in really old units mostly (+10 years old).

B) There is cold air getting in to the unit. For some reason I found out about this after going to a customers home to find out why no matter what was put in the same location, it would chirp. As soon as I called the factory, the CSR asked that after I explained what was going on. Some investigating found an open window (in the middle of winter) near the box.

C) There is a loose connection in the battery.

D) Dirt or dust has gotten into the sensing area. Found in new construction mostly.

Put them back up with new batteries and wait. If there is still a chirp, clean the units with some canned air (not compressor air). Reinstall and wait again. If it becomes the Energizer bunny, replace the unit that is still going with the same manufacturer. The recommended interval for changing the battery is every six months. The manufacturers recomend this due to the fact a battery becomes weak after sitting idle for more than that. I change mine on New Years Day and Father's Day. I want to make sure that the battery doesn't fail when we might need it most.

Also how many people have picked up a can of smoke at a local supply to test their smoke detectors.

Allen

I am an electrician by trade, and the guys in the supply house tell me that some detectors can chirp for days after being removed from power. Sorry, I don't have a technical answer, but I have witnessed this myself.

A true story... A large box of "defectivce" detectors were returned by a contractor. Apparently he installed the wrong model in a multi-family building, and had to replace the entire lot. These were removed a few weeks after installation and all the batteries "recycled" (put to other uses) and this box of detectors was still chirping days after being delivered to the supplier.

GWK

It sounds like you do mostly highway driving and don't live very far South where hot days, 98 degrees and up, are normal. The synthetic oil is the key for your good luck and probably because you don't go extended periods of time between changes. Contamination build up is what wears the engines whether the oil is worn out or not. If you are changing the oil often, time wise, regardless of miles, that is also key in keeping the engine in good shape.

I concur. And it is quite possible the chirping you're hearing now is just a warning that the alarms are currently without power (either a/c or battery). I'm betting everything is back to normal if you replace your batteries and turn the power back on.

IOW the test button does not fully discharge the circuit and it chirps to warn you that the power is off, right?

No need to. I make blackened catfish once in a while.

When the voltage on the internal capacitor drops below a preset threshold, the Test alarm circuit won't fire, indicating a failure, ie. low battery. As a result, the Test circuit doesn't discharge the capacitor completely and leaves enough charge to power the low battery chirps which keep working for a while below the Test alarm threshold.

Hello again,

The device was connected to a circuit with the breaker tripped. There was no battery installed.

The reset button had been pressed.

How did it get the energy to chirp?

Thanks,

Your comment makes sense, but I have a question...

When I hold in the test button the unit emits several tones of decreasing volume until there is no sound at all.

Are you suggesting that at that point, there is still enough energy to produce the periodic "chirp?"

Thanks,

"With the breaker tripped" is basically the same as if there was a loose/no connection ... IOW, no power to the unit from either the battery, or the house electrical service.

Stored in an onboard capacitor, from when it was previously powered, for just the eventuality that you describe.

You're welcome.

This is a woodworking forum ... direct your question to the maker of the particular unit to get something besides a SWAG.

"Swingman" wrote

After careful consideration, I have decided that the manufacturer includes this feature to annoy us. This is the basis for many designs in consumer products.