Plasma ball setting off fire alarm?

[LeighSawczyn]

Here's a head scratcher for you. A friend of mine says that when her son switches on his Plasma ball it sets the fire alarm off, I'm not sure if it is everytime or now and then but there seems to be a link between the two. Any ideas? Has anyone else come across this at all? The only thing I could think off was some kind of ion disruption. Obviously the advice to remedy the situation is to sell the plasma ball on ebay. Thanks in advance

 

[Richard Burns]

I cannot think of anything that could readily cause that unless there are optical beam sensors that detect the plasma as a fire, but unlikely in a domestic property.
The ball may generate a static charge but this would only be noticeable close to the ball.
Other than that it may be that the start up of the ball causes a current spike as the high voltage generator kicks in that causes a jiggle on the alarm circuit.

 

[tazz]

if the smoke is an ionization detector, then there could be a link as this detector is looking for small carbon particles to conduct across its sensor plates, unlike an optical smoke which is using a infra red to detect physical smoke in its chamber.......take a look at what detector has been installed.......real interesting one, so please let us all know what you find

 

[Lucien Nunes]

There's nothing specific about the ball or 'plasma' itself that would cause trouble. It's just a gas discharge lamp with only one electrode and a specific mix of gases, rather like half a neon tube. The high voltage step-up converter in the base can produce quite a lot of radio frequency interference (RFI), as can the discharge itself, and if it is not effectively suppressed it can interfere with electronic kit especially WiFi links etc.

My guess is that the alarm is not well screened against RFI and the plasma globe radiates enough that it disturbs the input stages of the detector circuit and trips it to alarm condition.

 

[DPG]

Agree with above - inductive spikes at power up triggering a badly designed fire alarm (not enough immunity to rfi). Daz

 

[Darkwood]

Its more than likely the Electromagnetic radiation thats emitted from the plasma ball as its known to be able to cause issues with cell phones, Wi Fi etc and as you smoke alarm will have a circuit board it likely to be inducing all sorts of voltages, i would recommend you advise against using this plasma ball as the EM radiation may corrupt or damage the ability of the smoke detector to actually react in a real fire so check it regularly.

Tell him to put a cheap calculator near the plasma ball and watch the display go haywire also note it may knack it up hence the word cheap!

Don't enter the house if you have a pace maker it can also be a obvious danger given what ive just discussed.

EDIT Only problem of writing a lengthy reply is 3 friken buses come at once and i was at the back this time lol

 

[tazz]

Cannot see a plasma ball creating enough RFI to trip a smoke, otherwise the tv an every other receiver in the house would be effected...open to the idea...but not convinced

 

[mechelec]

Sensor picking up the ozone produced by the plasma ?

 

[Darkwood]

Sensor picking up the ozone produced by the plasma ?

Unlikely as OP said on start-up of ball it would take an age for an appreciable level to build up and i suspect you would have breathing problems and asthma issue to those prone if that was the case.... although smoke alarms are now designed alot better and not so prone it used to be common for lightning to ionize the air locally to a pending strike which for a ionization alarm can disrupt the current path of the generated ion stream to the dectector ... if the strike was close enough you may find your smoke alarm went of several seconds before the strike.... a good warning system me thinks .

You still see the similar effect on car and house alarms and is often blamed on the thunder but is the EM pulse corrupting the alarms and setting them off as the lightning struck.

 

[Lucien Nunes]

I've got a violet ray coil - vaguely similar to the plasma globe but 1920s tech - that produces an impressive amount of RFI. If you crank it to max it turns off the wireless lighting dimmers, hangs up any cordless phone calls, erases the channel memories in the TV and makes the DVD player do random things.

 

[uksparks]

I think it's probably the flux capacitor that generates the plasma

 

[Darkwood]

I have a plasma ball and it sets off the security alarm ...strange thing is i don't even have one :crazy: i blame it on quantum physics of the plasma effect creating an alternative universe where i actually got round to fitting a bloody alarm system.

Its just mocking me ;(

 

[uksparks]

You could try holding it right next to the alarm and turning it on to see if it affects it quicker, so if it was an ion thing, it would be closer, therefore more likely if it is that. Just a thought.

 

[Darkwood]

Am i the only one that read the OP's intro... it says the alarm goes off whenever the plasma ball is switched on this would suggest RF interference or EM radiation which is much the same thing it will be almost instant and the high voltage transformer fires out the pulse on energisation.

 

[SPARTYKUS]

Its more than likely the Electromagnetic radiation thats emitted from the plasma ball as its known to be able to cause issues with cell phones, Wi Fi etc and as you smoke alarm will have a circuit board it likely to be inducing all sorts of voltages, i would recommend you advise against using this plasma ball as the EM radiation may corrupt or damage the ability of the smoke detector to actually react in a real fire so check it regularly.

Tell him to put a cheap calculator near the plasma ball and watch the display go haywire also note it may knack it up hence the word cheap!

Don't enter the house if you have a pace maker it can also be a obvious danger given what ive just discussed.

EDIT Only problem of writing a lengthy reply is 3 friken buses come at once and i was at the back this time lol

Love it, not heard that phrase for ages!