Sensitive Smoke Alarm

[Michael 61]

Looking for some advice for what appears to be a sensitive smoke alarm.

In the last few months, anytime I fry bacon, or stir fry any type of meat on the stove, my smoke alarms are triggered, even though I am running the vent that is mounted above my gas stove and under my micro wave. After a few minutes of the alarm sounding, I’m usually able to get it to go off by running my ceiling fans, opening windows and waving a towel under the alarm itself.

Although there is some smoke rising from the pan, I don’t think it’s an excessive amount. It’s happened now several times in the past month or so.

So do you think it’s the vent, or the smoke alarm (or both).?

Thanks for any advice.

[retiredguy123]

It doesn't sound like a smoke detector issue. The smoke alarm will go off with either smoke or ionization electric particles that are invisible. One solution would be to relocate the smoke detector, but that would be expensive. You could remove the smoke detector and install a stand alone battery operated (not hard wired) detector close by. To comply with the code, it would need to be a sealed, 10-year detector.

[photo1902]

Looking for some advice for what appears to be a sensitive smoke alarm.

In the last few months, anytime I fry bacon, or stir fry any type of meat on the stove, my smoke alarms are triggered, even though I am running the vent that is mounted above my gas stove and under my micro wave. After a few minutes of the alarm sounding, I’m usually able to get it to go off by running my ceiling fans, opening windows and waving a towel under the alarm itself.

Although there is some smoke rising from the pan, I don’t think it’s an excessive amount. It’s happened now several times in the past month or so.

So do you think it’s the vent, or the smoke alarm (or both).?

Thanks for any advice.

I don't think it's the vent, as most microwaves here are not vented to the outside of the home. I'd start by replacing the closest smoke detector and see if that resolves the issue. To make the swap easier, stick with the same brand. TV installs First Alert/BRK, so if that's your brand, get the same. That way the wiring harness doesn't need to be replaced.

By the way, how old is your home?

Hope this helps

[villagetinker]

Micheal, you do not mention the type of vent, if you have a microwave vent to the roof, check to see that it is actually working. We have one of these, and I have noticed on a cold morning when I open the microwave, there is cold air in the microwave, hence the vent is working. I have seen at least 2 instances where the microwave had a roof vent BUT the microwave was setup for in house venting, either the fans were installed wrong, or the panel was not removed for external venting or both. You may need to remove the microwave to make a determination of how it is vented. I was lucky and was able to get a set of our house plans from the local building department, and these show a vent through the roof.
I would not go the separate detector route as this will NOT cause the other smoke alarms to sound off.

[Altavia]

Agree with VillageTinker. You identify as being in Richmond so it's a recent build.

If your microwave is on an outside wall, it probably intended to vent outside and there will be an exterior vent on the outside wall.

You can rule out the smoke detector by swapping it with another in the house.

Fyi - Detectors in newer homes have smoke/carbon monoxide detectors in some locations.

[retiredguy123]

Micheal, you do not mention the type of vent, if you have a microwave vent to the roof, check to see that it is actually working. We have one of these, and I have noticed on a cold morning when I open the microwave, there is cold air in the microwave, hence the vent is working. I have seen at least 2 instances where the microwave had a roof vent BUT the microwave was setup for in house venting, either the fans were installed wrong, or the panel was not removed for external venting or both. You may need to remove the microwave to make a determination of how it is vented. I was lucky and was able to get a set of our house plans from the local building department, and these show a vent through the roof.
I would not go the separate detector route as this will NOT cause the other smoke alarms to sound off.
True about the separate detector, but in most Villages houses, if one detector goes off, you will probably hear it.

[photo1902]

True about the separate detector, but in most Villages houses, if one detector goes off, you will probably hear it.

Very true. Short of significant hearing loss, it’s hard to imagine someone not hearing the signal from one detector

[AZ SLIM]

Looking for some advice for what appears to be a sensitive smoke alarm.

In the last few months, anytime I fry bacon, or stir fry any type of meat on the stove, my smoke alarms are triggered, even though I am running the vent that is mounted above my gas stove and under my micro wave. After a few minutes of the alarm sounding, I’m usually able to get it to go off by running my ceiling fans, opening windows and waving a towel under the alarm itself.

Although there is some smoke rising from the pan, I don’t think it’s an excessive amount. It’s happened now several times in the past month or so.

So do you think it’s the vent, or the smoke alarm (or both).?

Thanks for any advice.

The next time you are cooking a lot of BACON call me and I will come check it out! I like my eggs over easy. :)

[bowlingal]

you can call the warranty department. Maybe they could replace the smoke alarm. You are covered if your house is new.

[frayedends]

You could try taking it down and blowing it out. I've had dust and once a dead fly setting off the smoke alarm. I doubt that is your problem if it happens when cooking, but it's worth a shot.

[thevillagernie]

Micheal, you do not mention the type of vent, if you have a microwave vent to the roof, check to see that it is actually working. We have one of these, and I have noticed on a cold morning when I open the microwave, there is cold air in the microwave, hence the vent is working. I have seen at least 2 instances where the microwave had a roof vent BUT the microwave was setup for in house venting, either the fans were installed wrong, or the panel was not removed for external venting or both. You may need to remove the microwave to make a determination of how it is vented. I was lucky and was able to get a set of our house plans from the local building department, and these show a vent through the roof.
I would not go the separate detector route as this will NOT cause the other smoke alarms to sound off.make sure the dector is for fumes and not smoke...I unpluged mine and took to a electrical supply...you can change it around smoke or fumes ?

[Rzepecki]

Looking for some advice for what appears to be a sensitive smoke alarm.

In the last few months, anytime I fry bacon, or stir fry any type of meat on the stove, my smoke alarms are triggered, even though I am running the vent that is mounted above my gas stove and under my micro wave. After a few minutes of the alarm sounding, I’m usually able to get it to go off by running my ceiling fans, opening windows and waving a towel under the alarm itself.

Although there is some smoke rising from the pan, I don’t think it’s an excessive amount. It’s happened now several times in the past month or so.


So do you think it’s the vent, or the smoke alarm (or both).?

Thanks for any advice.

It’s the vent. Plus all that air that is blowing from the vent onto your cabinets is coating your cabinets with grime.

[guppyvii]

Same here, and I cook my bacon in the oven! Even if I cooked it on the stove the alarm would go off. And I opened doors and fanned under the alarm. My “exhaust” fan blows back into the kitchen so it’s useless and the HVAC register in the kitchen either blows toward my gas stove or the smoke detector. I have replace them with Nest Protect, smoke, fire and Carbon Monoxide detectors. They work with my Nest thermostat so if there’s a fire it shuts down the HVAC but it’s not required. Self tests with a single chirp monthly and works with Nest App. You get an alert when battery is low, not a loud beep in the middle of the night. Installs easy on the ceiling and has a dim light that turns on as you walk under it at night. No more bacon issues!!!

[crash]

Looking for some advice for what appears to be a sensitive smoke alarm.

In the last few months, anytime I fry bacon, or stir fry any type of meat on the stove, my smoke alarms are triggered, even though I am running the vent that is mounted above my gas stove and under my micro wave. After a few minutes of the alarm sounding, I’m usually able to get it to go off by running my ceiling fans, opening windows and waving a towel under the alarm itself.

Although there is some smoke rising from the pan, I don’t think it’s an excessive amount. It’s happened now several times in the past month or so.

So do you think it’s the vent, or the smoke alarm (or both).?

Thanks for any advice.

Just push the reset button and it will go off no need to wait for the smoke to clear.

Check if your fan is vented outside instead of just recirculated through the filter and put back into the room. If not vented outside this is the culprit not a to sensitive alarm.

[Mazjaz]

You can try swapping out the detector with one in another room to see if there is a difference in the detectors sensitivity. And check your microwaves exhaust on the outside wall. Using a cordless leaf blower on the detector will clear it much faster after it activates with windows and doors open.

[Dmrocano]

We purchased CV near Sumter landing last year with raised ceilings and have same issue with bacon, burgers, etc. Switched smoke detector and still an issue. Wondering if it is placement and need to move it (currently high on wall in living room area). It may be the floor plan that allows the steam coming off of the food to trigger the alarm. Please post if you resolve.

[rochellepfaff]

Looking for some advice for what appears to be a sensitive smoke alarm.

In the last few months, anytime I fry bacon, or stir fry any type of meat on the stove, my smoke alarms are triggered, even though I am running the vent that is mounted above my gas stove and under my micro wave. After a few minutes of the alarm sounding, I’m usually able to get it to go off by running my ceiling fans, opening windows and waving a towel under the alarm itself.

Although there is some smoke rising from the pan, I don’t think it’s an excessive amount. It’s happened now several times in the past month or so.

So do you think it’s the vent, or the smoke alarm (or both).?

Thanks for any advice.

I'm betting your vent fan is not connected to the outside. None of them are. So using the fan can actually make it worse. I've had the same problem in my house. There is nothing wrong with your smoke alarm. It's just the design of the house that allows the fumes from the stove to accumulate near the detector. I spoke to other people with my same model house, and they had the exact same problem. I bought a portable fan and put it next to the stove, directing the fumes down, away from the smoke detector. It's the only thing that worked for me.

[TeresaE]

Looking for some advice for what appears to be a sensitive smoke alarm.

In the last few months, anytime I fry bacon, or stir fry any type of meat on the stove, my smoke alarms are triggered, even though I am running the vent that is mounted above my gas stove and under my micro wave. After a few minutes of the alarm sounding, I’m usually able to get it to go off by running my ceiling fans, opening windows and waving a towel under the alarm itself.

Although there is some smoke rising from the pan, I don’t think it’s an excessive amount. It’s happened now several times in the past month or so.

So do you think it’s the vent, or the smoke alarm (or both).?

Thanks for any advice.

I turn on the vent, close all the doors to other rooms, turn the ceiling fans on, and pray. Or, you can cook your bacon in the oven. 375 convection for 18-20 minutes. Much easier.

[CosmicTrucker]

We recently had the same issue. The smoke detector is mounted very high on the wall, so I brought in the battery powered leaf blower to flush air onto the darn thing to get it to stop.

[retiredguy123]

make sure the dector is for fumes and not smoke...I unpluged mine and took to a electrical supply...you can change it around smoke or fumes ?
I am not familiar with a fume detector. Typically, the builder installs about 5 to 7 ionization detectors, of which 1 or 2 of them is a combination carbon monoxide/ionization detector. None of them are an actual smoke detector, which uses a photoelectric device. If you want to spend more money, you can buy combination ionization and photoelectric detectors to replace the ionization only detectors.

[retiredguy123]

Just push the reset button and it will go off no need to wait for the smoke to clear.

Check if your fan is vented outside instead of just recirculated through the filter and put back into the room. If not vented outside this is the culprit not a to sensitive alarm.
The reset button is labelled "test/silence" and it needs to be pressed and held for a few seconds. It will then silence all alarms in the house for about 10 to 15 minutes.

[mikeycereal]

Looking for some advice for what appears to be a sensitive smoke alarm.

In the last few months, anytime I fry bacon, or stir fry any type of meat on the stove, my smoke alarms are triggered, even though I am running the vent that is mounted above my gas stove and under my micro wave. After a few minutes of the alarm sounding, I’m usually able to get it to go off by running my ceiling fans, opening windows and waving a towel under the alarm itself.

Although there is some smoke rising from the pan, I don’t think it’s an excessive amount. It’s happened now several times in the past month or so.

So do you think it’s the vent, or the smoke alarm (or both).?

Thanks for any advice.

The alarms are sensitive. I posted about this last year after mine went off while blackening fish. What kept it from going off for me was the micro fan at high plus the living room fan which swirls the air around under the alarm. I would also open the sliding glass door or garage door.

Currently I've stopped blackening fish and now steam it. It's healthier plus I don't need to turn on the fan because the alarm doesn't go off. Bacon, eh, I love the taste, but it's just bad nutritionally. I go healthier for breakfast these days and don't even miss it.

[bdw08]

My microwave was also set up for house venting even though it should have been vented to the outside.

[retiredguy123]

My microwave was also set up for house venting even though it should have been vented to the outside.
Most of them are not vented to the outside. It can be installed either way.

[lawgolfer]

Looking for some advice for what appears to be a sensitive smoke alarm.

In the last few months, anytime I fry bacon, or stir fry any type of meat on the stove, my smoke alarms are triggered, even though I am running the vent that is mounted above my gas stove and under my micro wave. After a few minutes of the alarm sounding, I’m usually able to get it to go off by running my ceiling fans, opening windows and waving a towel under the alarm itself.

Although there is some smoke rising from the pan, I don’t think it’s an excessive amount. It’s happened now several times in the past month or so.

So do you think it’s the vent, or the smoke alarm (or both).?

Thanks for any advice.

I don't know the model of your house or the placement of the smoke detectors.

That said, smoke detectors should not be placed in a kitchen as, invariably, they will go off when cooking.

Detectors should be both outside and inside the doorways to the bedrooms as a fire when the occupants are sleeping poses the greatest danger. When you are in the kitchen and cooking, there is little risk.

I'm assuming that you have a detector in or near the kitchen that's the problem. If so, I'd just disconnect it. If that somehow disrupts the circuit of connected detectors, I'd try covering the vent holes in the cover of the detector with tape, shutting off the flow of air to the internal chambers of the detector.

[Marathon Man]

I don't know the model of your house or the placement of the smoke detectors.

That said, smoke detectors should not be placed in a kitchen as, invariably, they will go off when cooking.

Detectors should be both outside and inside the doorways to the bedrooms as a fire when the occupants are sleeping poses the greatest danger. When you are in the kitchen and cooking, there is little risk.

I'm assuming that you have a detector in or near the kitchen that's the problem. If so, I'd just disconnect it. If that somehow disrupts the circuit of connected detectors, I'd try covering the vent holes in the cover of the detector with tape, shutting off the flow of air to the internal chambers of the detector.

Um, "just disconnect it" does not seem like good advice to me.

[dadoiron]

Looking for some advice for what appears to be a sensitive smoke alarm.

In the last few months, anytime I fry bacon, or stir fry any type of meat on the stove, my smoke alarms are triggered, even though I am running the vent that is mounted above my gas stove and under my micro wave. After a few minutes of the alarm sounding, I’m usually able to get it to go off by running my ceiling fans, opening windows and waving a towel under the alarm itself.

Although there is some smoke rising from the pan, I don’t think it’s an excessive amount. It’s happened now several times in the past month or so.

So do you think it’s the vent, or the smoke alarm (or both).?

Thanks for any advice.

Just move one from another room (they are very similar if not exactly the same ...in the villages homes) and replace it with that one and see if it fixes the issue. FYI If you're coming up on tens years of use it's is time to replace them all the expire and will start beeping to alert you to replace them.

[retiredguy123]

Just move one from another room (they are very similar if not exactly the same ...in the villages homes) and replace it with that one and see if it fixes the issue. FYI If you're coming up on tens years of use it's is time to replace them all the expire and will start beeping to alert you to replace them.
If you do that, make sure that you don't exchange a carbon monoxide detector with a non-carbon monoxide detector.

[2newyorkers]

Ours also would go off all the time. Someone on this site suggested replacing the smoke detector with a photo electric smoke detector. We did this and now it only goes off about a quarter of the time it use to.

[Lea N]

Looking for some advice for what appears to be a sensitive smoke alarm.

In the last few months, anytime I fry bacon, or stir fry any type of meat on the stove, my smoke alarms are triggered, even though I am running the vent that is mounted above my gas stove and under my micro wave. After a few minutes of the alarm sounding, I’m usually able to get it to go off by running my ceiling fans, opening windows and waving a towel under the alarm itself.

Although there is some smoke rising from the pan, I don’t think it’s an excessive amount. It’s happened now several times in the past month or so.

So do you think it’s the vent, or the smoke alarm (or both).?

Thanks for any advice.

I didn't read what others have written but why don't you give the fire department a call. They will probably be able to give you some insight into what is causing this and how to correct it.

[Fenster]

For what it’s worth, our new home had the same issue. Since it was soon after we moved in, we called the Villages. They fixed it (probably the builder. I don’t recall the cause, but I do know that no smoke detectors were moved.

[Bwanajim]

Looking for some advice for what appears to be a sensitive smoke alarm.

In the last few months, anytime I fry bacon, or stir fry any type of meat on the stove, my smoke alarms are triggered, even though I am running the vent that is mounted above my gas stove and under my micro wave. After a few minutes of the alarm sounding, I’m usually able to get it to go off by running my ceiling fans, opening windows and waving a towel under the alarm itself.

Although there is some smoke rising from the pan, I don’t think it’s an excessive amount. It’s happened now several times in the past month or so.

So do you think it’s the vent, or the smoke alarm (or both).?

Thanks for any advice.

I have the same problem. It happens once in a while. Soon as I open the door and put the fan on it stops.

[Michael 61]

Thanks for all the responses.

Today I cooked a pizza in the oven at 450 degrees for 10 minutes, and the alarm went off - I didn’t see any visible smoke.

[asianthree]

Thanks for all the responses.

Today I cooked a pizza in the oven at 450 degrees for 10 minutes, and the alarm went off - I didn’t see any visible smoke.

Many years back there was an issue with smoke detectors. Honestly don’t remember what was the problem, but we contacted the company. Gave them the model and serial number, and sent out free replacements for all 7 detectors. No problems after the new ones were changed. Wouldn’t hurt to give the a call

[Maker]

Random thoughts...
Do not just disconnect it. Do not tape over it. That's stupid. They are placed to quickly and properly detect fires and save your life.
My microwave is vented out the roof. BS to the "no microwaves are vented outside" opinions. Go outside and look for the vent pipes on the roof, and in soffits. I have 4 - dryer and microwave out roof, 2 bathrooms via soffit. Plumbing vents are a straight up pipe; air vents are the folded over shielded flat square things; attic vents are typ much larger flat round things near the peaks.
Microwaves can be configured to vent externally, or right back into the room. If they are not removing the smoke, they are not helping. Yours might be installed incorrectly. They are heavy and awkward if you decide to fix it yourself.
Smoke detectors have a lifetime. They do weird things as they get old. There are ionization and particulate styles. Each has its purpose.
Maybe you simply got a defective detector?

I think your house is new. Call warranty. Likely 100% covered repair. But if they refuse...
Swap detectors. See if problem follows the location or device. If that detector is bad, and it means climbing a ladder a second time to replace it, and that's not your desire, buy a replacement now and climb once. If the swapped detector now alerts, highly likely that both are working. Yet still a very tiny chance both are defective. Definitive answer is to replace it with new.
Your experience is not typical. I can cook without setting them off, even without the vent running. Detector is 15ft from stove. I've tested it rarely/occasionally, it really does work, and the vent fan took care of that cooking oops quickly.

Lastly, the fire dept might help. In specific, if you have a vent on the roof for the microwave, they have thermal image cameras and can look at your roof vent temperature. You need a time when there is a temperature difference between inside and outside. It's 56deg here now. The vent would be 56 also. Now turn on the vent and the inside air should heat it up if properly venting inside air out that vent. They can see that thermally from the ground.

[Mike57]

Looking for some advice for what appears to be a sensitive smoke alarm.

In the last few months, anytime I fry bacon, or stir fry any type of meat on the stove, my smoke alarms are triggered, even though I am running the vent that is mounted above my gas stove and under my micro wave. After a few minutes of the alarm sounding, I’m usually able to get it to go off by running my ceiling fans, opening windows and waving a towel under the alarm itself.

Although there is some smoke rising from the pan, I don’t think it’s an excessive amount. It’s happened now several times in the past month or so.

So do you think it’s the vent, or the smoke alarm (or both).?

Thanks for any advice.

Our alarms were doing the same thing when we moved into our house. I finally checked the detectors and found that one wasn’t wired up completely, I attached the wire and the problem went away. Just something to check and hopefully you find a solution for an annoying problem.

[Redsmom]

Looking for some advice for what appears to be a sensitive smoke alarm.

In the last few months, anytime I fry bacon, or stir fry any type of meat on the stove, my smoke alarms are triggered, even though I am running the vent that is mounted above my gas stove and under my micro wave. After a few minutes of the alarm sounding, I’m usually able to get it to go off by running my ceiling fans, opening windows and waving a towel under the alarm itself.

Although there is some smoke rising from the pan, I don’t think it’s an excessive amount. It’s happened now several times in the past month or so.

So do you think it’s the vent, or the smoke alarm (or both).?

Thanks for any advice.



You’re clearly triggering a plant-based detector. Simply replace it with a carnivore model.

[Limey]

Happens to us as well, we use it as a food timer!!

[stevesliders]

When i first was married i had to tell my new bride dinner was done long before that
alarm went off.

[Laurel Maryland]

I'm assuming that you have a detector in or near the kitchen that's the problem. If so, I'd just disconnect it. If that somehow disrupts the circuit of con
nected detectors, I'd try covering the vent holes in the cover of the detector with tape, shutting off the flow of air to the internal chambers of the detector.[/QUOTE]

Please don't tape over s smoke detector. Tampering with a smoke detector could be a crime if charged for reckless endangerment to property. You not only endanger your own property and life, but also your neighbors' and the firefighters. You likely invalidate your homeowner insurance if there is a fire and the smoke alarm did not go off because of actions you took.

[Michael 61]

For those who have asked - I just passed my one year, so I won’t be able to call the warranty dept.

I’m in a patio villa with an open floor plan - the alarm is not located in my kitchen, but very high up in my hallway, just outside my master bedroom (the second alarm is located inside my master bedroom, also very high up next to the ceiling.)

[frayedends]

For those who have asked - I just passed my one year, so I won’t be able to call the warranty dept.

I’m in a patio villa with an open floor plan - the alarm is not located in my kitchen, but very high up in my hallway, just outside my master bedroom (the second alarm is located inside my master bedroom, also very high up next to the ceiling.)

Which of the many tips and tricks in the thread have you tried so far? The only other thing I could think of is the possibility they put in a garage type detector. Usually garage detectors detect heat rather than smoke particles. I found this out working on a hot engine in my garage in Massachusetts. You mentioned cooking with barely any smoke. Long shot but worth checking.

[retiredguy123]

///

[retiredguy123]

For those who have asked - I just passed my one year, so I won’t be able to call the warranty dept.

I’m in a patio villa with an open floor plan - the alarm is not located in my kitchen, but very high up in my hallway, just outside my master bedroom (the second alarm is located inside my master bedroom, also very high up next to the ceiling.)
As others have mentioned, the first thing to try is to replace the detector with the exact same type. You just rotate the detector counterclockwise, pull it off of the base, unplug it, and plug in the new one. This will tell you if the issue is a defective detector or an air flow problem. Note that the absence of smoke has nothing to do with the alarm going off. The detectors do not detect smoke, they detect invisible ionized particles.

[Dotneko]

The person who invents a voice deactivated smoke alarm will become a multimillionaire. 'Im cooking, shut off for 15 minutes'.
FWIW, if my oven is cooking at 425 degrees, its even money whether or not the alarm goes off.

[Bwanajim]

I have the same problem and there have been a lot of complaints in Deluna about it. I just passed my one year Inspection of course the inspector didn’t catch it because he would just turn it on for a minute to see that it works. And I only used the oven twice. Has anyone filed a report with the Villages about it?
I have a plug-in, gas and smoke detector right next to my stove and it never goes off. I wonder if this is a construction issue?