Smoke Detector Problem

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kiddrock

Member
Location
VA
We wired a house about 3 yrs ago, and this customer called and said his smoke detectors will just go off in the middle of the night for no apparent reason. It doesn't happen constantly but every few months. He's changed a few but the problem still exists. I think he's got about 7. Haven't looked at it yet but going friday, just wondering if anybodys come across this problem before b/c I know we haven't.:confused:
 

cadpoint

Senior Member
Location
Durham, NC
What's the make and model of the devices?

Did this product have a recall?

Is there any other odd applications that you can think due to the nature of the install?

Did someone bounce the F/A of the wall and owner doesn't know it?

Any one else been on or in the house, toying with anything?>
Seems almost endless as to the possible questions and hopefully answers...

After three years are you required to fix or to solve the problem? :cool: & Billable hours!
 

kiddrock

Member
Location
VA
What's the make and model of the devices?

Did this product have a recall?

Is there any other odd applications that you can think due to the nature of the install?

Did someone bounce the F/A of the wall and owner doesn't know it?

Any one else been on or in the house, toying with anything?>
Seems almost endless as to the possible questions and hopefully answers...

After three years are you required to fix or to solve the problem? :cool: & Billable hours!
The smokes are KIDDE, don't know yet if there was a recall. The customer is a good guy and all will be billable, just wanted to know if anyone has dealt with this before.
 

Buck Parrish

Senior Member
Location
NC & IN
It happen to a customer of mine.
I suppose one faulty smoke detector could make them all go off. So you may need to change them all.
I quit providing them after that.
 

Howard Burger

Senior Member
dust possibly

dust possibly

Also a possibility is dust in the smokies, either regular household stuff or possibly byspray from a re-paint job in one or the other of the rooms. Have him (or you) vacuum the smokies and see if that helps.
 

ceb58

Senior Member
Location
Raeford, NC
Believe it or not but they have a shelf life. Take one off and look at the back. It should have a date on it. It is recommended to replace the head after 5 years. I have had to replace some after 3 but there had been water damage in the home and I am sure that the sanding of new sheet rock contributed to excessive dust build up and shortened their life.
 

hurk27

Senior Member
most detectors will have a light/LED that will identify the offending detector, many things can set them off as was said, here is a short list of some of the things I have found:

Dust/cigarette smoke/paint spray build up (clean or replace)

Some house hold cleaning chemicals can damage smokes and also set them off.

Smoke detectors also have a fast temperature rise time detector which detects any fast rise of temperature, common problem in the hot days of summer, hot attic air being allowed to flow through the smoke, older BRKs had a bear of a problem with this if gasket wasn't in place, or they are mounted on a rough textured ceiling that doesn't allow a good seal between the base gasket and finish.

Other then that try to see which one was the offending one by looking for the indacator light/LED
 

Martinelli

Member
Location
Novato, CA
I have had similar problems with Kidde smoke detectors. I talked with other contractors and my supply house and was told that the poco delivered "dirty power" to some parts of my area at night, and small surges would trigger a false alarm.

We recently finished a complete house and within the first 6 months there were 4 false alarms.We tried finding the culprit smoke and replaced about 4, a month later another false alarm. I finally installed a whole house surge protector and no false alarms for 3 months. So far so good.
 

aptman3

Member
I had this problem before. It was one bad smoke detector in the bunch that would set the rest of them off. I just replaced all the heads to insure I took care of the problem.
 

Chamuit

Grumpy Old Man
Location
Texas
Occupation
Electrician
I'm with the one bad smokie setting the others off. Have had two instances of this, old detectors. Replaced and never had another problem. I use BRK 9120AB (I believe) smokies.
 

jaylectricity

Senior Member
Location
Massachusetts
Occupation
licensed journeyman electrician
Make sure it's clear what your customer means by "goes off" before you spend too much time on unnecessary troubleshooting.
 

rodneee

Senior Member
Also a possibility is dust in the smokies, either regular household stuff or possibly byspray from a re-paint job in one or the other of the rooms. Have him (or you) vacuum the smokies and see if that helps.

that is just the tip if the iceberg...the owners manual list of potential false alarm causes reads like an encyclopedia of mishaps...with any ionization sensing device, false alarms just seem to be a way of life...we seem to replace about 200 units a year (all of which were probably fine)...if i were to guess i would say our #1 cause is freshly painted varnish, followed by the innaugural running of the gas heaters...
 

growler

Senior Member
Location
Atlanta,GA
We wired a house about 3 yrs ago, and this customer called and said his smoke detectors will just go off in the middle of the night for no apparent reason. It doesn't happen constantly but every few months. He's changed a few but the problem still exists. I think he's got about 7. Haven't looked at it yet but going friday, just wondering if anybodys come across this problem before b/c I know we haven't.:confused:

Ok, so the house is three years old and the problem is only happening every few months. How many times total have the detectors gone off?

There may not be a problem with the detectors because they may have been set off by something that actually happened.

To make the customer feel better I would just change them all out and make sure the system is in working order. A false alarm is much better than no alarm.
 
A common problem I've faced is bad batteries.

When installing new smoke detectors, we throw away the batteries they come with and install new duracells.

Battery change out on all smoke detectors should be a basic troubleshooting step. And don't trust the homeowner's claim that they changed the batteries. The ones they install may be the cheapies, or sat on the shelf for years.
 

RICK NAPIER

Senior Member
Location
New Jersey
I spoke to a sales rep for one of these companies and he said they all have trouble with humidity. He of course claimed that competitions was worse. He said that in humid areas if they sleep with the windoows open they may get false alarms.
 

satcom

Senior Member
Smokes are not something you install and forget about, they must be kept clean, and batteries replaced according to manufactures recommended instructions, and also take care to check that the installation was per manufactures recommended methods and locations, many of the alarms we find that false, had dust build up, that got damp, or just plain dirty chambers, nothing like a good vac cleaning, and new batteries.If you replace an interconnected smoke remember to make sure the new smoke is from the same manufacture and code series group.
 
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