Smoke detector problem

[bananafitz]

Hello all you helpful and knowledgeable electricians. I wonder if you can help me with a problem?
For the past 2 nights out mains powered/battery back up smoke detectors have gone off at around 5.30am.
On the first night (after checking for fires) we removed various batteries and after the alarm going off a second time (after replacing one battery)replaced 3 out of the 5 batteries. The batteries are now all solid green light/flashing red light.
On the second night we just disconnected the one on our bedroom landing and then they didnt go off again.
Could they be set off by a dehumidifier that is situated nearby and is on all night. Can you think of any other reason?
The system was fitted when the house was rewired in 2005 and has an independent circuit.
Thank you very much

 

[Gel]

Was it in full alarm mode, or was it intermittent beep, around once a minute.?
Latter would be sign of batteries needing changing; low temperatures at night will drag voltage down to level that will trigger, if they are low in 1st place.

Red LED flashing is normal; it should only flash rapidly when in alarm state.


Is there something in house that is being switched on at this time (heating) that could perhaps be generating mains interference?

 

[JulesHurley]

Check what type your smokes are, normally ionization, but if thermal, it might be detecting heat from compressor of the dehumidifer. Move the unit away, so the smoke cant see it.

 

[mrloy99]

Hello all you helpful and knowledgeable electricians. I wonder if you can help me with a problem?
For the past 2 nights out mains powered/battery back up smoke detectors have gone off at around 5.30am.
On the first night (after checking for fires) we removed various batteries and after the alarm going off a second time (after replacing one battery)replaced 3 out of the 5 batteries. The batteries are now all solid green light/flashing red light.
On the second night we just disconnected the one on our bedroom landing and then they didnt go off again.
Could they be set off by a dehumidifier that is situated nearby and is on all night. Can you think of any other reason?
The system was fitted when the house was rewired in 2005 and has an independent circuit.
Thank you very much

hi.the fact that you are useing a dehumidifier would suggest to me that you have recently had some building works done(drying out new plaster perhaps)in which case dome dust may have contaminated a smoke head.This dust can sometimes be removed by vacuuming it.The other scenario that I can think for the use of a dehumidifier would be you having damp.Spores from some types of mold can also play havock with with the senseing chambers,you might have to end up replacing the "over sensitive"device

 

[L&B Electrics]

If you have more than one smoke head for e.g if you have 3 smoke heads and one if faulty that can cause the alarm to trigger, remove the humidifer and see how it goes if not check on the back of one of the alarms and have a look at the best before date as believe it or not they do have them as this could be a fault...

 

[bananafitz]

Was it in full alarm mode, or was it intermittent beep, around once a minute.?
Latter would be sign of batteries needing changing; low temperatures at night will drag voltage down to level that will trigger, if they are low in 1st place.

Red LED flashing is normal; it should only flash rapidly when in alarm state.


Is there something in house that is being switched on at this time (heating) that could perhaps be generating mains interference?

Thank you for your reply. It was definately full alarm mode - and a good practice for us all. Nothing comes on at this time as far as I am aware.
The temperatues were low as we had had the heating off in the majority of the house for the evening. (Had wood burner going so were warm in the living room).

Check what type your smokes are, normally ionization, but if thermal, it might be detecting heat from compressor of the dehumidifer. Move the unit away, so the smoke cant see it.

The smoke is an ionisation type - AICO Ei 141

Thanks for your advice.

 

[L&B Electrics]

hi there just another quick one but gently put the end of a vacume to a disconnected head to remove any dust e.t.c

hope this helps

 

[bananafitz]

hi.the fact that you are useing a dehumidifier would suggest to me that you have recently had some building works done(drying out new plaster perhaps)in which case dome dust may have contaminated a smoke head.This dust can sometimes be removed by vacuuming it.The other scenario that I can think for the use of a dehumidifier would be you having damp.Spores from some types of mold can also play havock with with the senseing chambers,you might have to end up replacing the "over sensitive"device

No recent building work. Just a 200 year old house that is a little damp, just to keep on top of things!

 

[mrloy99]

No recent building work. Just a 200 year old house that is a little damp, just to keep on top of things!

you could maybe try swapping one of the others to the position that the removed one is,to illiminate the problem of a possibly contaminated head,this would leave you with,if it still went off,with the probability that you are dealing with some kind of local "envionmental polution",it could be fumes from your woodburner,or even a bug has found his way inside senseing chamber. Smoke detectors can sometimes be a nightmare to find faults with,but you would probly find it simpler to replace with a new one.make sure you get the same type as the plugs are not always compatible with other makes.

 

[Gel]

141 is ionisation and these are not really affected by dust contamination.
Opticals (aka Photo) are worse for that.
Could be the high humidity levels, and heat alarm may be only answer.

 

[silver2789]

hello just wondering if anyone can help, i live in a 3 story building and i have just had about 6 of my old smokes alarms replaced with Ei141 smokes and two of them seem to give a single beep at about 10-15min intervals, i have read about the beep at 40sec intervals which suggest battery change, but mine are doing it at 15min intervals, anybody have any ideas

 

[nickblake]

yep its the battery change it all should be ok after , but dont forget when you replace the battery check the alarm by sounding it then after about 3 mins the alarm will bleep twice it then reset its self

 

[mrloy99]

hello just wondering if anyone can help, i live in a 3 story building and i have just had about 6 of my old smokes alarms replaced with Ei141 smokes and two of them seem to give a single beep at about 10-15min intervals, i have read about the beep at 40sec intervals which suggest battery change, but mine are doing it at 15min intervals, anybody have any ideas

Could it be that the wee paper bit between the battery terminals and the terminals on the smokie havn't been removed properly?

 

[NELLINGTON]

Hi guys, I just found this forum whilst searching google for some answers. I have two of the Ei141 smoke alarms in my house, one of which started beeping. I downloaded the instructions from the internet and figured out that the battery needed replacing, which I have now done. When I put the unit back into the ceiling mount and switched the mains back on the green power light has not come on. I pressed the test button and the alarm sounded fine. My unit downstairs has a green power light on constantly but the upstairs one does not. Thinking about it, I can't seem to remember if it ever was on but it doesn't seem right to me. The other thing, when you press the button on one of the alarms for over 10 seconds, all of the other connected alarms should sound and this is not happening. I have tried all of the usual, blown the crud out of the vents, taken it off and put it back on again, checked the fuse, etc, but the light still stays off - any suggestions?

 

[Phil]

sounds like the interconnection is not connected tbh. i would get an electrician out to look at it for you. not a massive job and needs to be right. if you pop your location on there are good members all over the country that would pop out and have a look and price it for you