PLEASE be careful w/ your ashes (5 die from Yule log)

raybonz said:

Hmm I disagree on that.. Many fires occur when there is a power outage due to people improvising on cooking, lighting and heating methods.. You have old smokes as battery backup has been required for a long time.. Smokes should be replaced periodically (5 or 10 years?).. The battery backup gives local smoke detection only but better than nothing..

Ray

Click to expand...

Canadian (or Ontario) regulations may have been different when I installed them about a decade ago, but I think I will update them soon with battery backup units. I'm going to install one in a new three season room I am building so might as well do all four at the same time.

fossil said:

I know a family who, while sound asleep in the wee hours, experienced a fire in a basically inaccessible spot in the structure of their brand new home that effectively severed both their power and their landline phone. Battery backups in their hard-wired smoke alarms were the only things that alerted them to what was going on. They got the young kids out of the house and used a cell phone to call it in. Family's fine, house was fixed. Scary stuff...saved by a little 9v. battery. I'm glad all my wired alarms have battery backup. Rick

Click to expand...

Needed to hear that, thanks

Realstone said:

raybonz said:

Hmm I disagree on that.. Many fires occur when there is a power outage due to people improvising on cooking, lighting and heating methods.. You have old smokes as battery backup has been required for a long time.. Smokes should be replaced periodically (5 or 10 years?).. The battery backup gives local smoke detection only but better than nothing..

Ray

Click to expand...

Canadian (or Ontario) regulations may have been different when I installed them about a decade ago, but I think I will update them soon with battery backup units. I'm going to install one in a new three season room I am building so might as well do all four at the same time.

fossil said:

I know a family who, while sound asleep in the wee hours, experienced a fire in a basically inaccessible spot in the structure of their brand new home that effectively severed both their power and their landline phone. Battery backups in their hard-wired smoke alarms were the only things that alerted them to what was going on. They got the young kids out of the house and used a cell phone to call it in. Family's fine, house was fixed. Scary stuff...saved by a little 9v. battery. I'm glad all my wired alarms have battery backup. Rick

Click to expand...

Needed to hear that, thanks

Click to expand...

I had one smoke fail and I couldn't find the same one and many smokes are not compatible with each other even from the same company.. My house is around 25 yrs. old now so an upgrade made sense.. Now smokes are required in all bedrooms back when I built only one per level was req'd.. Smoke detectors are one of the best lifesavers ever invented in modern times along with GFCI protection.. You may want to consider using all photoelectrics as they seem to be the best way to go.. Ionization types can be slow to react from some info a firefighter posted a while back.. If you don't have CO detectors you may as well get the combo units and get it over with.. CO detectors are required in ALL fossil burning homes (wood,coal,gas, oil, pellets.. everything but all electric homes basically) in Mass. with NO exceptions..

Ray

I can never find a clear answer on placement of CO's. On the ceiling, near the floor, in the basement, upper level? Not that I have done too much research on the subject but what I have read (local FD handouts, manufacturers recommendations) seem to contradict.

Realstone said:

I can never find a clear answer on placement of CO's. On the ceiling, near the floor, in the basement, upper level? Not that I have done too much research on the subject but what I have read (local FD handouts, manufacturers recommendations) seem to contradict.

Click to expand...

Wall or ceiling works, read the manufacturers literature and follow and you'll be fine.. If you get combo smoke/CO detectors you can just replace your current units and be done and it looks better too..

Ray

All my hardwired smokes are hardwired, and I bought them a little while ago. I don't feel like replacing all those batteries, since I have a photo and ion in each detector location and that makes 12 smokes in all. The COs have battery backup as do the wireless photo smokes that interconnect with the hardwire and relay wirelessly out to the garage. If I wanted more battery operated ones in the house during a outage I could just bring them in from the breezeway and garage.

So, you can wirelessly have interconnected smoke and co alarms if you want. Our BRKs (First Alert) smokes have proven to be false alarm resistant (they are in garage too) and the AA batteries are having long life.

velvetfoot said:

All my hardwired smokes are hardwired, and I bought them a little while ago. I don't feel like replacing all those batteries, since I have a photo and ion in each detector location and that makes 12 smokes in all. The COs have battery backup as do the wireless photo smokes that interconnect with the hardwire and relay wirelessly out to the garage. If I wanted more battery operated ones in the house during a outage I could just bring them in from the breezeway and garage.

So, you can wirelessly have interconnected smoke and co alarms if you want. Our BRKs (First Alert) smokes have proven to be false alarm resistant (they are in garage too) and the AA batteries are having long life.

Click to expand...

I like the wireless feature! What sort of range do the wireless devices have? I would like to add some of those if you have details I will look into them..Thanx for the heads up!

Ray

velvetfoot said:

All my hardwired smokes are hardwired, and I bought them a little while ago. I don't feel like replacing all those batteries, since I have a photo and ion in each detector location and that makes 12 smokes in all. The COs have battery backup as do the wireless photo smokes that interconnect with the hardwire and relay wirelessly out to the garage. If I wanted more battery operated ones in the house during a outage I could just bring them in from the breezeway and garage.

So, you can wirelessly have interconnected smoke and co alarms if you want. Our BRKs (First Alert) smokes have proven to be false alarm resistant (they are in garage too) and the AA batteries are having long life.

Click to expand...

That's gold, thanks. Hope they're available up here.

Realstone said:

I'd like to ask the resident firefighters here (and anyone else that has an opinion) about smoke alarm preference: hard wired or battery? My preference is the hard wired, but only for convenience.

Click to expand...

My own feeling . . . either one . . . as long as the battery ones have batteries that are changed out each year (unless they have the lithium powered batteries in them) and as long as the electric have battery back up in case of power. To me the source of power isn't so important as the fact that folks have them and know what to do when they go off.

raybonz said:

Realstone said:

I'd like to ask the resident firefighters here (and anyone else that has an opinion) about smoke alarm preference: hard wired or battery? My preference is the hard wired, but only for convenience.

Click to expand...

Hardwired are superior and they also have a battery backup. The big advantage of hardwired is they all go off if smoke is detected where battery only is local..

Ray

Click to expand...

Actually I would respectfully disagree on hard-wired being superior . . . and I would mention that some hard wired smoke detectors still come through without battery back up . . . and at least one company actually makes battery operated smoke detectors that are inter-connected. Sorry Ray . . . gotta disagree with you all the way here.

raybonz said:

Realstone said:

raybonz said:

Hardwired are superior and they also have a battery backup. The big advantage of hardwired is they all go off if smoke is detected where battery only is local..

Ray

Click to expand...

I've got three, one on each level. you're right, that is an excellent feature. Mine don't have battery back up, but I'd imagine that a fire during a power outage is a rare occurrence.

Click to expand...

Hmm I disagree on that.. Many fires occur when there is a power outage due to people improvising on cooking, lighting and heating methods.. You have old smokes as battery backup has been required for a long time.. Smokes should be replaced periodically (5 or 10 years?).. The battery backup gives local smoke detection only but better than nothing..

Ray

Click to expand...

Here I will agree with you disagreeing. Simply because electrical malfunctions are in the top three causes of fire . . . third leading cause if I remember right . . . maybe second leading cause . . . I can never remember the exact order. Now this doesn't mean that a whole home will lose all its power if there is a fire . . . but I always figure it's good to have battery back up of some sort -- whether it be a battery operated smoke detector or electrics with battery back up.

raybonz said:

Realstone said:

raybonz said:

Hmm I disagree on that.. Many fires occur when there is a power outage due to people improvising on cooking, lighting and heating methods.. You have old smokes as battery backup has been required for a long time.. Smokes should be replaced periodically (5 or 10 years?).. The battery backup gives local smoke detection only but better than nothing..

Ray

Click to expand...

Canadian (or Ontario) regulations may have been different when I installed them about a decade ago, but I think I will update them soon with battery backup units. I'm going to install one in a new three season room I am building so might as well do all four at the same time.

fossil said:

I know a family who, while sound asleep in the wee hours, experienced a fire in a basically inaccessible spot in the structure of their brand new home that effectively severed both their power and their landline phone. Battery backups in their hard-wired smoke alarms were the only things that alerted them to what was going on. They got the young kids out of the house and used a cell phone to call it in. Family's fine, house was fixed. Scary stuff...saved by a little 9v. battery. I'm glad all my wired alarms have battery backup. Rick

Click to expand...

Needed to hear that, thanks

Click to expand...

I had one smoke fail and I couldn't find the same one and many smokes are not compatible with each other even from the same company.. My house is around 25 yrs. old now so an upgrade made sense.. Now smokes are required in all bedrooms back when I built only one per level was req'd.. Smoke detectors are one of the best lifesavers ever invented in modern times along with GFCI protection.. You may want to consider using all photoelectrics as they seem to be the best way to go.. Ionization types can be slow to react from some info a firefighter posted a while back.. If you don't have CO detectors you may as well get the combo units and get it over with.. CO detectors are required in ALL fossil burning homes (wood,coal,gas, oil, pellets.. everything but all electric homes basically) in Mass. with NO exceptions..

Ray

Click to expand...

And here I agree with some of what you say -- smoke detectors being a great life saver . . . I think the stats show this off since we've gone from an average of 12,000 Americans dying in fires annually in the 1960s in the days before the smoke detectors were commonplace. They were around then incidentally, but they were only AC-powered and were pretty expensive. In the 1970s the DC powered smoke detectors came out and they were finally affordable. A massive PR campaign was launched and today, due in no small part to smoke detectors, the number of fire fatalities is somewhere around 3,000 fire deaths.

Gotta disagree with the idea of just going with photovoltaic smokes though . . . ionization and PEs detect different types of smoke from different types of fire (think a fast flaming fire like a grease fire going from smoking one minute to flaring up in flames vs. bedding smoldering for a long time from a cigarette) . . . my own recommendation (and one that I follow in my own home) is to have several of both types in a home.

If it helps . . . I also agree with you on the importance of carbon monoxide detectors . . .

Realstone said:

I can never find a clear answer on placement of CO's. On the ceiling, near the floor, in the basement, upper level? Not that I have done too much research on the subject but what I have read (local FD handouts, manufacturers recommendations) seem to contradict.

Click to expand...

Doesn't matter . . . when warm or heated CO tends to rise and be found at the ceiling level . . . but it quickly cools and will soon be distributed in more or less equal parts throughout a whole room. There are a lot of plug in models with battery back ups . . . and you don't tend to see too many electrical outlets mounted on ceilings in most homes.

firefighterjake said:

raybonz said:

Realstone said:

I'd like to ask the resident firefighters here (and anyone else that has an opinion) about smoke alarm preference: hard wired or battery? My preference is the hard wired, but only for convenience.

Click to expand...

Hardwired are superior and they also have a battery backup. The big advantage of hardwired is they all go off if smoke is detected where battery only is local..

Ray

Click to expand...

Actually I would respectfully disagree on hard-wired being superior . . . and I would mention that some hard wired smoke detectors still come through without battery back up . . . and at least one company actually makes battery operated smoke detectors that are inter-connected. Sorry Ray . . . gotta disagree with you all the way here.

Click to expand...

The battery ones that are interconnected must be wireless then Jake.. No way you can tell me seperate smokes are superior to interconnected smokes with battery backup.. I am a licensed electrician but don't do residential work so I am not trying to drum up work.. Just looking for the safest system.. I do have more faith in hard wired VS wireless to tell the truth but the wireless smokes are a good solution when wiring is cost prohibitive or impractical.. Jake can you elaborate on the interconnected battery smokes (because I am lazy and don't feel like researching this lol) and are they wireless?

Ray

I've been looking at these for my house. http://www.lowes.com/pd_84145-65213...RL;=/pl__0__s?Ntt=smoke+detectors&facetInfo;=

These are the ones I was talking about:
http://www.brkelectronics.com/products/battery/onelink-alarms

Here is the bridge unit for connecting the OneLink battery units to the hardwired system:
http://www.brkelectronics.com/products/hardwired/onelink-alarms

raybonz said:

firefighterjake said:

raybonz said:

Realstone said:

I'd like to ask the resident firefighters here (and anyone else that has an opinion) about smoke alarm preference: hard wired or battery? My preference is the hard wired, but only for convenience.

Click to expand...

Hardwired are superior and they also have a battery backup. The big advantage of hardwired is they all go off if smoke is detected where battery only is local..

Ray

Click to expand...

Actually I would respectfully disagree on hard-wired being superior . . . and I would mention that some hard wired smoke detectors still come through without battery back up . . . and at least one company actually makes battery operated smoke detectors that are inter-connected. Sorry Ray . . . gotta disagree with you all the way here.

Click to expand...

The battery ones that are interconnected must be wireless then Jake.. No way you can tell me seperate smokes are superior to interconnected smokes with battery backup.. I am a licensed electrician but don't do residential work so I am not trying to drum up work.. Just looking for the safest system.. I do have more faith in hard wired VS wireless to tell the truth but the wireless smokes are a good solution when wiring is cost prohibitive or impractical.. Jake can you elaborate on the interconnected battery smokes (because I am lazy and don't feel like researching this lol) and are they wireless?

Ray

Click to expand...

See Velvetfoot's post on the battery wireless interconnected smokes . . . I too am lazy and figure he did all the work to post the link so I'll just reference his post. Thanks VF.

I would most definitely agree that separate smoke detectors are not the best protection . . . interconnected smokes are the best protection . . . but to me it matters not what powers them whether it be batteries or AC . . . the key being that whoever has them needs to maintain them which means in some cases cleaning them and in both cases replacing the battery on an annual basis. I have gone into some occupancies where they have been diligent in maintaining their battery powered smoke detectors . . . and I have gone into some places where all or most of the electric detectors were disconnected -- again the key really is to making sure the detectors are present, less than 10 years old and have power running to them.

firefighterjake said:

raybonz said:

firefighterjake said:

raybonz said:

Realstone said:

I'd like to ask the resident firefighters here (and anyone else that has an opinion) about smoke alarm preference: hard wired or battery? My preference is the hard wired, but only for convenience.

Click to expand...

Hardwired are superior and they also have a battery backup. The big advantage of hardwired is they all go off if smoke is detected where battery only is local..

Ray

Click to expand...

Actually I would respectfully disagree on hard-wired being superior . . . and I would mention that some hard wired smoke detectors still come through without battery back up . . . and at least one company actually makes battery operated smoke detectors that are inter-connected. Sorry Ray . . . gotta disagree with you all the way here.

Click to expand...

The battery ones that are interconnected must be wireless then Jake.. No way you can tell me seperate smokes are superior to interconnected smokes with battery backup.. I am a licensed electrician but don't do residential work so I am not trying to drum up work.. Just looking for the safest system.. I do have more faith in hard wired VS wireless to tell the truth but the wireless smokes are a good solution when wiring is cost prohibitive or impractical.. Jake can you elaborate on the interconnected battery smokes (because I am lazy and don't feel like researching this lol) and are they wireless?

Ray

Click to expand...

See Velvetfoot's post on the battery wireless interconnected smokes . . . I too am lazy and figure he did all the work to post the link so I'll just reference his post. Thanks VF.

I would most definitely agree that separate smoke detectors are not the best protection . . . interconnected smokes are the best protection . . . but to me it matters not what powers them whether it be batteries or AC . . . the key being that whoever has them needs to maintain them which means in some cases cleaning them and in both cases replacing the battery on an annual basis. I have gone into some occupancies where they have been diligent in maintaining their battery powered smoke detectors . . . and I have gone into some places where all or most of the electric detectors were disconnected -- again the key really is to making sure the detectors are present, less than 10 years old and have power running to them.

Click to expand...

Jake I think we're on the same page just different books

Ray

raybonz said:

firefighterjake said:

raybonz said:

firefighterjake said:

raybonz said:

Realstone" date="1327198498 said:

I'd like to ask the resident firefighters here (and anyone else that has an opinion) about smoke alarm preference: hard wired or battery? My preference is the hard wired, but only for convenience.

Click to expand...

Hardwired are superior and they also have a battery backup. The big advantage of hardwired is they all go off if smoke is detected where battery only is local..

Ray

Click to expand...

Actually I would respectfully disagree on hard-wired being superior . . . and I would mention that some hard wired smoke detectors still come through without battery back up . . . and at least one company actually makes battery operated smoke detectors that are inter-connected. Sorry Ray . . . gotta disagree with you all the way here.

Click to expand...

The battery ones that are interconnected must be wireless then Jake.. No way you can tell me seperate smokes are superior to interconnected smokes with battery backup.. I am a licensed electrician but don't do residential work so I am not trying to drum up work.. Just looking for the safest system.. I do have more faith in hard wired VS wireless to tell the truth but the wireless smokes are a good solution when wiring is cost prohibitive or impractical.. Jake can you elaborate on the interconnected battery smokes (because I am lazy and don't feel like researching this lol) and are they wireless?

Ray

Click to expand...

See Velvetfoot's post on the battery wireless interconnected smokes . . . I too am lazy and figure he did all the work to post the link so I'll just reference his post. Thanks VF.

I would most definitely agree that separate smoke detectors are not the best protection . . . interconnected smokes are the best protection . . . but to me it matters not what powers them whether it be batteries or AC . . . the key being that whoever has them needs to maintain them which means in some cases cleaning them and in both cases replacing the battery on an annual basis. I have gone into some occupancies where they have been diligent in maintaining their battery powered smoke detectors . . . and I have gone into some places where all or most of the electric detectors were disconnected -- again the key really is to making sure the detectors are present, less than 10 years old and have power running to them.

Click to expand...

Jake I think we're on the same page just different books

Ray

Click to expand...

Yeah . . . that would be me . . . some say they march to the beat of a different drummer . . . I march to the beat of a whole different band.