Wood Stove and Smoke Alarm

[Donk4kyv]

We've been burning wood for about 4 years. From the outset, the stove would nearly always set off the smoke alarm in the stairwell next to the room where the stove is, every time the stove door was opened to re-load. I always open the by-pass damper first and then wait a few seconds to make sure the chimney is pulling smoke out of the fire box, before opening the door. It got to the point that I disconnected the battery in the smoke alarm during burning season, when it was needed the most.

Just replaced it with a set of new Kidde wireless alarms, which are interconnected so that when one is triggered, it sends out a signal that in turn triggers the others. One is placed exactly where the old one was. So far, the stove has not set off the alarm, even one time when I opened the door too soon and could see a puff of smoke escape. The alarms test OK, so I assume they are working normally, and that my old one, which was about 15 years old, must have been overly sensitive.

So far I have not had the stove to back-puff with the new alarms installed, but it wouldn't surprise me if that did set it off.

Don

 

[Hubby with a C]

A small puff of smoke should not normally set the alarm off. Another difference may be that your old smoke detector was an ionizing type and the new ones are Photoelectric sensors. They responded differently.

 

[Donk4kyv]

A small puff of smoke should not normally set the alarm off. Another difference may be that your old smoke detector was an ionizing type and the new ones are Photoelectric sensors. They responded differently.

According to the manual, it is the ionizing type.

 

[firefighterjake]

We've been burning wood for about 4 years. From the outset, the stove would nearly always set off the smoke alarm in the stairwell next to the room where the stove is, every time the stove door was opened to re-load. I always open the by-pass damper first and then wait a few seconds to make sure the chimney is pulling smoke out of the fire box, before opening the door. It got to the point that I disconnected the battery in the smoke alarm during burning season, when it was needed the most.

Just replaced it with a set of new Kidde wireless alarms, which are interconnected so that when one is triggered, it sends out a signal that in turn triggers the others. One is placed exactly where the old one was. So far, the stove has not set off the alarm, even one time when I opened the door too soon and could see a puff of smoke escape. The alarms test OK, so I assume they are working normally, and that my old one, which was about 15 years old, must have been overly sensitive.

So far I have not had the stove to back-puff with the new alarms installed, but it wouldn't surprise me if that did set it off.

Don

Here's your most likely problem . . . smoke detectors should be replaced every 10 years. Tests have shown that while a very few have sensors that crap out before that date, after this time the likelihood of the detector sensor either giving false alarms or not alarming at all increase quite a bit. Experts -- and if I may be so bold to call myself one after 21 years of experience as a public safety officer and 26 years as a firefighter -- recommend replacing smoke detectors every 10 years as a rule. Simply pressing the test button only tests that there is a power source and the audible alarm sounds, it does not test the sensing unit.

Incidentally, I personally recommend folks have both ionization and photo-electric (or models that incorporate both types of sensors into one unit) for the best fire protection as one type of detector tends to alarm quicker with the smoke from a slow, smoldering fire and the other type alarms quicker with smoke from a fast, flaming fire. There is a possibility you may have had a detector that detecting any lingering smoke from the stove quicker than the model you currently have if you had one type of sensing unit and replaced it with a different sensing unit . . .

It may also be worth noting that carbon monoxide detectors should be changed out every 3-7 years . . . it depends on the manufacturer.