4 rounds of bad smoke detectors

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anachnujr

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SF, CA, USA
My house was remodeled back in 2016. The electrician installed wired interconnected Kidde AC smoke alarms (7 smoke-only, 2 with CO). After I moved in, I was having random false alarms once very 1-2 months. Only in the middle of the night, very annoying. And after about 10 seconds, the alarm would stop, so I wouldn't have enough time to run around and figure out which one was triggering. Unfortunately, the smoke alarms had no memory/latch feature, so I couldn't tell which smoke alarm was causing the problem. So, in 2017, I threw all of them away and replaced them with a 2nd round of Kidde smoke alarms, this time with the memory/latching feature. They were the Kidde Trusense models. They seemed fine, but a couple of years later, Kidde recalled the entire product line. So, Kidde sent me replacement models (not Trusense), but they still had the memory/latching feature. That brought me to the third round of smoke detectors. This time around, I had multiple go bad. After replacing 2 or 3 of them, I decided that I should try a Kidde was cursed, and switched over to First Alert for my 4th batch of smoke alarms. Now, I've had the same problem with the First Alert smoke alarms. Random, middle of the night false alarms for 10 seconds or less.

I have:
- confirmed that all of the locations meet the manufacturer's standards (far from the AC vents, etc.)
- my meter is showing a solid 119.3-119.5v between neutral and hot
- 3 weeks ago, I replaced all of the wire nuts at every location (replaced them with Wago lever nuts). But, in the middle of the night last night, I had the false alarm again.

What should I do? I've spoken to both manufacturers. Neither is particularly interested in solving the mystery. First Alert suggested it might be a problem with the house's wiring, but that really shouldn't cause false alarms.

I don't get it.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Andrew
 
I've had good luck with these the past few years...
Combo CO/Smoke - First Alert BRK SC7010B
Dual Sensor Smoke - First Alert BRK 3120B
 
nizak said:
BRK here also. I had several issues with Kidde over the last couple years.
Click to expand...
I installed a couple of Kidde SDs a few years ago. One of them is fine, but the other started chirping every 20 seconds or so even though it has wired power and its backup battery is fine. I took it down and took out the battery but it still kept chirping - charged capacitors, I guess - so I put it outside until it finally shut up.
 
The whole business of smoke alrms is jusy off the rails for quality. I've had nothing but trouble with Kidde in my own home. Multiple batches. I can't believe they get away with selling such junk. I've also learned that the ones with a permanant lithium battery are a real PIA as when they false you can't just unplug them and take the battery out as the batteries, once activated, can't be disabled.
 
One thing I've noticed about Kidde...
If there's pressure on the back of the molex connection, there's an increased lijelihood of false alarms. There's something right inside the back of the unit that just doesn't like to be pressed upon.

I've noticed that if I shove all the wire nuts as far out of the way as possible, I've never had an issue with a lot of false alarms

But as with Electrofelon, I had a slew of bad units a couple of years ago. Almost dragged me away from Kidde to BRK
 
We added on to our house in 2020 and the City required smoke detectors with a wireless network. We added 5. Ever since installation they have random false alarms. Kidde sent replacements and they still have false alarms that can occur multiple times a day or once every 4 weeks. Absolute junk product. Will look at replacing them with BRK.
 
I'm assuming (!) that the folks with false alarms have no smokers in the house!
Are the alarms anticipating burning toast in the toaster? :)
Are the alarms sensitive to something you wouldn't expect them to be? Dust in the air? Temperature swings? Pollen??
Changes in humidity, condensing on one of the sensors? (Since you mentioned night time, it's probably not from a hot, steamy shower...)
 
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