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Smoke Detectors

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  • K Offline
    K Offline
    k5054
    wrote on last edited by
    #1

    Why do smoke detector batteries always fail at 2:30 AM?

    M OriginalGriffO P R L 12 Replies Last reply
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    • K k5054

      Why do smoke detector batteries always fail at 2:30 AM?

      M Offline
      M Offline
      megaadam
      wrote on last edited by
      #2

      Because 4:30 would be more painful.

      "If we don't change direction, we'll end up where we're going"

      1 Reply Last reply
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      • K k5054

        Why do smoke detector batteries always fail at 2:30 AM?

        OriginalGriffO Offline
        OriginalGriffO Offline
        OriginalGriff
        wrote on last edited by
        #3

        Well ... it's actually physics, not design. Battery output varies with temperature, and most houses are coolest between 02:00 and 05:00 (for obvious reasons). As they cool, the battery can't put out as much as it can during the warmer day, and the smoke detector picks this up as an imminent battery failure and starts the "replace me" chirp. Or in our case it talks to you, which at 02:30 is even more disconcerting as it wakes you up and then shuts up so you hear something and don't know what it was ...

        Sent from my Amstrad PC 1640 Never throw anything away, Griff Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay... AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!

        "I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
        "Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt

        S 1 Reply Last reply
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        • K k5054

          Why do smoke detector batteries always fail at 2:30 AM?

          P Offline
          P Offline
          Pualee
          wrote on last edited by
          #4

          Mine died when I wanted to sell my house ... I come home after multiple showings and 3 of them were chirping! Why then? Why did 3 start at the same time? If multiples fail at the same time, why didn't all of them fail at the same time? Very odd coincidence.

          OriginalGriffO M M 3 Replies Last reply
          0
          • P Pualee

            Mine died when I wanted to sell my house ... I come home after multiple showings and 3 of them were chirping! Why then? Why did 3 start at the same time? If multiples fail at the same time, why didn't all of them fail at the same time? Very odd coincidence.

            OriginalGriffO Offline
            OriginalGriffO Offline
            OriginalGriff
            wrote on last edited by
            #5

            Probably because you buy batteries in multipacks, like I do. Smoke alarms don't use a lot of power, so it's quite likely that all the batteries will fail at the same time. Generally, if one of mine starts yelling at me, I'll meter the batteries in all of 'em and end up changing them all anyway to avoid the "02:30 wake up call" in a couple of weeks time. Which makes it more likely they will all start yelling at the same time.

            Sent from my Amstrad PC 1640 Never throw anything away, Griff Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay... AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!

            "I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
            "Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt

            1 Reply Last reply
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            • K k5054

              Why do smoke detector batteries always fail at 2:30 AM?

              R Offline
              R Offline
              Ron Anders
              wrote on last edited by
              #6

              My guess is that because they are screaming "change my battery" Wherever you have them is coldest at night. So that's when the battery finally dips below allowable threshold.

              1 Reply Last reply
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              • K k5054

                Why do smoke detector batteries always fail at 2:30 AM?

                L Offline
                L Offline
                Lost User
                wrote on last edited by
                #7

                go for the zero power option: hang up some whistling kettles instead.

                Message Signature (Click to edit ->)

                M 1 Reply Last reply
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                • K k5054

                  Why do smoke detector batteries always fail at 2:30 AM?

                  D Offline
                  D Offline
                  dandy72
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #8

                  Similarly, I used to say that a wireless mouse/keyboard's batteries always die an at inconvenient time. Until I realized there's no such thing as "a convenient time" at which a battery could die.

                  L 1 Reply Last reply
                  0
                  • D dandy72

                    Similarly, I used to say that a wireless mouse/keyboard's batteries always die an at inconvenient time. Until I realized there's no such thing as "a convenient time" at which a battery could die.

                    L Offline
                    L Offline
                    Lost User
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #9

                    you could mod and use your wireless mouse on a phone charging pad.

                    Message Signature (Click to edit ->)

                    D 1 Reply Last reply
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                    • K k5054

                      Why do smoke detector batteries always fail at 2:30 AM?

                      pkfoxP Offline
                      pkfoxP Offline
                      pkfox
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #10

                      If you are in the UK they should be mains wired

                      We can’t stop here, this is bat country - Hunter S Thompson RIP

                      K M B K 4 Replies Last reply
                      0
                      • P Pualee

                        Mine died when I wanted to sell my house ... I come home after multiple showings and 3 of them were chirping! Why then? Why did 3 start at the same time? If multiples fail at the same time, why didn't all of them fail at the same time? Very odd coincidence.

                        M Offline
                        M Offline
                        Marc Clifton
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #11

                        Pualee wrote:

                        I come home after multiple showings and 3 of them were chirping!

                        Some are wired together so that if one goes off, they all go off. Unfortunately, it makes it impossible to figure out which one needs the battery replaced.

                        Latest Article - A 4-Stack rPI Cluster with WiFi-Ethernet Bridging Learning to code with python is like learning to swim with those little arm floaties. It gives you undeserved confidence and will eventually drown you. - DangerBunny Artificial intelligence is the only remedy for natural stupidity. - CDP1802

                        B 1 Reply Last reply
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                        • K k5054

                          Why do smoke detector batteries always fail at 2:30 AM?

                          S Offline
                          S Offline
                          Slacker007
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #12

                          :laugh: :laugh: :thumbsup:

                          1 Reply Last reply
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                          • K k5054

                            Why do smoke detector batteries always fail at 2:30 AM?

                            T Offline
                            T Offline
                            theoldfool
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #13

                            smoke detectors? We don't need smoke detectors.

                            If you can keep your head while those about you are losing theirs, perhaps you don't understand the situation.

                            1 Reply Last reply
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                            • pkfoxP pkfox

                              If you are in the UK they should be mains wired

                              We can’t stop here, this is bat country - Hunter S Thompson RIP

                              K Offline
                              K Offline
                              k5054
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #14

                              I'm in Canada, and I'm not aware that I'm required to have smoke detectors at all in my residence, but I do get a break on my home-owners insurance for having them. I think maybe new builds are required to have wired detectors, but my house dates from the 60s, so it would require a retrofit in any case. Are you saying that a 15th C cottage in the UK needs to be retrofitted with mains wired smoke detectors? My battery operated smoke detectors have a sticker saying "replace in 2020", at which point I'm guessing the smoke-detecting ability has degraded beyond any usefulness. Assuming that wired-in detectors have the same issue, do you have a replaceable detection unit, or do you need to wire-in a new unit? Either way, will they start chirping in the middle of the night to let you know that the detector needs replacing?

                              pkfoxP 1 Reply Last reply
                              0
                              • P Pualee

                                Mine died when I wanted to sell my house ... I come home after multiple showings and 3 of them were chirping! Why then? Why did 3 start at the same time? If multiples fail at the same time, why didn't all of them fail at the same time? Very odd coincidence.

                                M Offline
                                M Offline
                                Mark_Wallace
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #15

                                Did the ghosts follow you to your new house, as well?

                                I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!

                                1 Reply Last reply
                                0
                                • K k5054

                                  Why do smoke detector batteries always fail at 2:30 AM?

                                  Sander RosselS Offline
                                  Sander RosselS Offline
                                  Sander Rossel
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #16

                                  This is a huge coincidence, but just last night I went to bed and I noticed the small light from the smoke detector (it's there, but I'm not very aware of it) and I thought to myself "That's been hanging there for years, when's the battery going to run out? Probably somewhere in the dead of night..." I've slept through smoke alarms in the past (luckily just my dad testing the alarm) :laugh: I'm about 10 years older now, so I'm not sure if I'd still sleep through it... Stress makes you sleep lighter :sigh:

                                  Best, Sander sanderrossel.com Continuous Integration, Delivery, and Deployment arrgh.js - Bringing LINQ to JavaScript Object-Oriented Programming in C# Succinctly

                                  K 1 Reply Last reply
                                  0
                                  • L Lost User

                                    you could mod and use your wireless mouse on a phone charging pad.

                                    Message Signature (Click to edit ->)

                                    D Offline
                                    D Offline
                                    dandy72
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #17

                                    My mod was to get a wired mouse again. Hasn't failed me yet.

                                    1 Reply Last reply
                                    0
                                    • K k5054

                                      Why do smoke detector batteries always fail at 2:30 AM?

                                      K Offline
                                      K Offline
                                      Kschuler
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #18

                                      Because the last time you replaced the battery was at 2:30 AM several months ago.

                                      1 Reply Last reply
                                      0
                                      • L Lost User

                                        go for the zero power option: hang up some whistling kettles instead.

                                        Message Signature (Click to edit ->)

                                        M Offline
                                        M Offline
                                        maze3
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #19

                                        Lopatir wrote:

                                        go for the zero power option: hang up some whistling kettles instead.

                                        That will do for the heat, I think you might want to splurge a bit a get a canary as well for the smoke.

                                        1 Reply Last reply
                                        0
                                        • pkfoxP pkfox

                                          If you are in the UK they should be mains wired

                                          We can’t stop here, this is bat country - Hunter S Thompson RIP

                                          M Offline
                                          M Offline
                                          maze3
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #20

                                          :wtf: :laugh: reading through the comments took me a moment to realise the nesting of the comments were seperate:

                                          dandy72 wrote:

                                          My mod was to get a wired mouse again.

                                          pkfox wrote:

                                          If you are in the UK they should be mains wired

                                          1 Reply Last reply
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