Hey all,
I have a client who complained that one of their smoke alarms started chirping. They changed batteries, but it still kept chirping. So they did the next best thing. They ripped it out of the ceiling!
I went over and tried installing a new smoke detector. It, too, started chirping after about 1/2 and hour. I've seen circumstances where one bad smoke has caused one or another to chirp. Don't ask me why, but that was what I have seen.
After looking at the dates on the smoke detectors I informed the client that they should all be changed out since they were going on 10 years old. Also, that some rogue detector was signaling that smoke to chirp. So, I did. I changed out all 7 of them throughout the house (one in each bedroom, and one outside and each floor). I get a call about 16 hours later that the very same smoke detector that I was called out on was chirping again. Once every thirty seconds or so...which, indicates a low battery condition. Once again, I put a brand new smoke detector in with a FRESH battery. I called his a few days later to check in with them about a light I was working on for them. I asked about the smoke detectors and he once again informed me that he had to rip it off the ceiling at 2:00 a.m. because it started to chirp.
Now, aside from telling him that the house is haunted, can anyone explain what the &%^! is going on? I checked for loose connections, dust, ectoplasmic residue, etc. But, I am perplexed and a bit embarrassed that I don't have an answer for him.
Thanks for any input...
I have a client who complained that one of their smoke alarms started chirping. They changed batteries, but it still kept chirping. So they did the next best thing. They ripped it out of the ceiling!
I went over and tried installing a new smoke detector. It, too, started chirping after about 1/2 and hour. I've seen circumstances where one bad smoke has caused one or another to chirp. Don't ask me why, but that was what I have seen.
After looking at the dates on the smoke detectors I informed the client that they should all be changed out since they were going on 10 years old. Also, that some rogue detector was signaling that smoke to chirp. So, I did. I changed out all 7 of them throughout the house (one in each bedroom, and one outside and each floor). I get a call about 16 hours later that the very same smoke detector that I was called out on was chirping again. Once every thirty seconds or so...which, indicates a low battery condition. Once again, I put a brand new smoke detector in with a FRESH battery. I called his a few days later to check in with them about a light I was working on for them. I asked about the smoke detectors and he once again informed me that he had to rip it off the ceiling at 2:00 a.m. because it started to chirp.
Now, aside from telling him that the house is haunted, can anyone explain what the &%^! is going on? I checked for loose connections, dust, ectoplasmic residue, etc. But, I am perplexed and a bit embarrassed that I don't have an answer for him.
Thanks for any input...
Well, I'll check with Kidde and see if they have any ideas. In the mean time, my client is just using that one in battery mode only (no chirping with that). I showed him how to remove the device without ripping it off the ceiling!!:blink:
