Smoke Detector Problem

[BarryRX]

Last night about 11:30 pm our smoke detectors started going off. I got out of bed and checked for smoke or a fire, but everything was ok. But I could not get the detectors to reset. I really do not understand the engineering of these detectors. If a battery goes bad in one, why do all of them beep. It certainly makes it more difficult to find out which detector has the bad battery. I didn't have enough 9 volt batteries in the house to replace them all, so I wound up climbing the ladder 6 times so I could disconnect every smoke detector from the electrical grid and remove all the batteries. Now, keep in mind that I am not very tech savvy, but does anyone have a better idea on how to get them to stop beeping in the middle of the night? I think I would be better off with detectors that weren't hard wired to the house electrical system and would just beep individually when there was a low battery.

[rtime]

What is the age of your house. We recently had the same problem. Changed batteries and even had the FD come out after that didn't fix the problem. The problem was with the CO2 / smoke alarm units, not just the smoke alarms units. Call the manufacturer and found out there were some defective units made in 2008 / 2009. They sent us 3 new units. All is good now.

[golf2140]

If you are in a newer home it maybe the Carbon Monoxide detector going bad. First Alert has had issues with them. If you see that this is the problem and the unit is less then five years old, call First Alert. You'll need to have the unit with you when you call, they will need numbers off the unit. They will send a free replacement

[kfierle]

I currently rent my villa (built in 2008) because I am not yet retired. This same smoke alarm problem happened to my tenants in August. My house watch person did the troubleshooting for me and finally removed the one that was causing the problem. I am glad to know that I can get a replacement unit from First Alert.

[LittleDog]

Also be aware that these units have a life expectancy and sometimes replacing the battery will not work. In that case you need to purchase a new detector. Our house is 8 years old and we had to replace 2 detectors already.

John

[billethkid]

how does one know a detector has to be replaced?

Homes that have hard wired detectors are "usually" wired such when one goes off they all go off.....makes sense from a safety perspective.

When a battery goes bad, only the affected unit will beep. It has been noted and observed that for some reason, Energizer 9 volt batteries work better in most detectors than any other brand. In fact some detectors just will not work with certain brand batteries.

I assume everyone knows that some detectors with a new battery will continue to "chirp" until the internal electronics resets.

One way for sure to not have them go off during the night is to replace the battery every year when daylight savings time goes into effect....whether the unit is chirping or not. If you wait for the battery to go bad you will be awakened at some point. You will definitely be playing the game of which one was it!!!!

btk

[Madelaine Amee]

Last night about 11:30 pm our smoke detectors started going off. I got out of bed and checked for smoke or a fire, but everything was ok. But I could not get the detectors to reset.

About 18 months ago ours went off at about 3:00am. Just one was chirping, then gradually several others joined the chirping and my other half was out of his mind. He finally pulled all batteries and went back to bed.

The next day we called the Fire Dept. to ask for assistance. Within 10 minutes we had the biggest fire and rescue truck you have ever seen outside our house, which, of course, brought out all the neighbors to see what was going on. There was a crew of very young fire persons who checked every detector in the house, told my husband to go to Ace and buy all new batteries and one new detector which was faulty, and they put all the batteries in and replaced the faulty detector - they must have been there for about two hours. They told us they do this as a routine courtesy for TV residents and we should call them every six months for this FREE service. Their number is Fire Safety 205-8280.

[hotrodgirl]

That is awesome news, especially for this of us who don't particularly trust ladders!n

[kentucky blue]

About 18 months ago ours went off at about 3:00am. Just one was chirping, then gradually several others joined the chirping and my other half was out of his mind. He finally pulled all batteries and went back to bed.

The next day we called the Fire Dept. to ask for assistance. Within 10 minutes we had the biggest fire and rescue truck you have ever seen outside our house, which, of course, brought out all the neighbors to see what was going on. There was a crew of very young fire persons who checked every detector in the house, told my husband to go to Ace and buy all new batteries and one new detector which was faulty, and they put all the batteries in and replaced the faulty detector - they must have been there for about two hours. They told us they do this as a routine courtesy for TV residents and we should call them every six months for this FREE service. Their number is Fire Safety 205-8280.

That seems like a service above and beyond the call of duty. Need to ask them if there is a charity a donation can be sent to,i'm sure there are a few they can suggest.

[BarryRX]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I think I will take the fire dept. up on their very kind offer first thing Monday morning.

[GaryW]

Ours are the same way, just put brand new Batts in 2 months ago, and already starting to chirp. I was told to look at date on back of them,,, most likely they need replacing. These units are bought in mass quantities. For the most part are close to shelf life when installed in the homes. That is from a Fireman in TV. SO now we need to start replacing them. We moved in in 2008, and have had problems with them since 2010. Do not put cheap 9v batts in them. Was told to use the energizer 9 volt batts.
Go FIgure..

[Madelaine Amee]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I think I will take the fire dept. up on their very kind offer first thing Monday morning.

Will you let us know that they are still doing this for Villagers please.

[NECHFalcon68]

I had a problem with First Alert units back in mid 2000s. apparently the battery compartment was slightly smaller, so some 9V batteries would fit very tightly, and after a period of time, they may explode...not a normal boom but just that one of the ends would blow out. I called the company and they replaced 7 units free of charge. They also said that you should use the Energizer batteries and not Duracell, which is what I was using.

West County EMS and Fire Protection District - St Louis County, Missouri - Homeowners Warned of Battery Problems with Detectors (http://www.wescofire.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=168&Itemid=110)