Good smoke detector?

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got wood?

New Member
Jan 4, 2006
164
Acton, MA
I've got 5 smoke detectors in my house...and I'm pretty sure each is a different make! What separates a decent detecor (can $14 really do the job) from a top notch detector?
 
Mostly you just pay for bells and whistles, which may be good in this case LOL. Some of the more expensive ones have rate-of-rise detectors in them which also detects temps above a certain level (most are 135deg).

If its at all possible in your house, 110vAC detectors with interconnect are the best to go with - as if one goes off, they all go off. If you have a ranch style home and some electrical skills the hardwired ones are best IMHO.
 
Simple cheap ion ones are decent to detecting open flames, poor at detecting smoldering fires
Photo electric are not as effecient at detecting opem flames, but superior to early detection of smoldering fires

Best smoke detectors are dual or combo photo electric and ion.

When smoke detectors were first made ion were the cheapest made and most commonly ones installed,
Another requirement as part of fire preventions was instituted, the requirement of fire redardent manufacturing of cloth materials
your rugs, curtians, furnature and beding. They are not a prone to flash fires but smoldering types. It is more common to have smoldering types now than open flames. Yet codes only require smoke detectors of either type.

There is also 3 way combo detectors including carbon monoxide detection
 
i change alot of smoke detectors in my line of work and the one brand i see most often is BRK.
i've gone into houses that have brk smokes that are 15 to 20 years old and still working. and they also have a c/o detectors that wire into the smoke alarms so if the c/o in the basement sounds a alarm you'll know it all around your house. firex makes the same setup but imo the brk's last longer


got wood
if all your detectors are different brands and they are hardwire type and interconnected there is a chance that if one go's into alarm the rest or some of the rest might not sound that alarm.
you should change them out to all the same name. if they are all battery types it doesn't matter.

what most of the fire dept are telling me is to smoke detector top and bottom of any staircase.
smoke all bedrooms. if there is a long hallway where the bedrooms and bathroom are or the bathroom is right next a smoke detector at the top or bottom of staircase then make that detector photo electric and the rest ion. they also want a heat detector above the cook stove and some want heat detector in the attics. (which i think is crazy because they only make 135 degree heat detectors. the commercial ones have 195 degree heat detectors) i don't know about your attic but mine gets up there in temp and some people have had false alarms in the summer.
and if you have a attached garage they want a heat detector in there too. one for each bay.

hope that helped somebody
frank
 
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