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Smoke Detectors

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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
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    • 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

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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.

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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
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            • 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 ->)

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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
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                • 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

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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:

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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
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                        • 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!

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                          • 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
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                            • 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.

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                              • 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
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                                • 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.

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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

                                    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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                                    • M Marc Clifton

                                      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 Offline
                                      B Offline
                                      BryanFazekas
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #21

                                      Like others, when one battery fails I replace them all. I learned this lesson the first time it happened -- 3 smoke detectors failing within a week. This wasn't as bad as when the sensor in a CO detector failed. We got the babies out and I opened all the windows. Took an hour to find the documentation that said either the battery was failing, the sensor was failing, or we were going to die. Given that the battery tested good and we hadn't died, I was quite certain it was the sensor ...

                                      E 1 Reply Last reply
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                                      • B BryanFazekas

                                        Like others, when one battery fails I replace them all. I learned this lesson the first time it happened -- 3 smoke detectors failing within a week. This wasn't as bad as when the sensor in a CO detector failed. We got the babies out and I opened all the windows. Took an hour to find the documentation that said either the battery was failing, the sensor was failing, or we were going to die. Given that the battery tested good and we hadn't died, I was quite certain it was the sensor ...

                                        E Offline
                                        E Offline
                                        englebart
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #22

                                        Most CO detectors have a built-in kill switch around 10 years because the sensors don't work anymore. Always write the install date on them.

                                        B 1 Reply Last reply
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                                        • E englebart

                                          Most CO detectors have a built-in kill switch around 10 years because the sensors don't work anymore. Always write the install date on them.

                                          B Offline
                                          B Offline
                                          BryanFazekas
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #23

                                          englebart wrote:

                                          Most CO detectors have a built-in kill switch around 10 years because the sensors don't work anymore. Always write the install date on them.

                                          You may have mixed up smoke and CO detectors. Smoke detectors are supposed to last 10 years (just replaced mine and the warranty including backup battery is 10 years). According to several handyman sites I checked, CO detectors last 5 to 7 years -- although my story took place 20 years ago and we had a failure at 3 years. I don't know if the CO sensors last longer now or if I had a defective one. Regardless of that, your advice to record when installation occurred is spot on! Beyond that, I'm now in the habit of writing the purchase date and where purchased on the user manual for everything that comes with a user manual. Anything that doesn't have a manual gets recorded in a small notebook, which goes in the filing cabinet along with product documentation.

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