home smoke detectors

[cschmid]

so your mother in law comes over and vacuums your general areas in your house while you are on vacation..trips the hallway circuit and does not reset it..batteries go dead on smoke detectors..You come home and rest CB but now you have no battery backup and you do not know it..Yep sounds like I want my smokes on a hallway circuit...NOT...why would you not use a dedicated circuit for smokes when they are suppose to be interconnected..

 

[C3PO]

Here is what I think he is getting at. If your smoke detectors are on a circuit with something else say a bedroom or hallway lights. Then if it trips someone is going to reset the breaker because they now have a bedroom/hall that is dark. If they are on a circuit by themselves the HO may not know for a while if the breaker is tripped.

 

[cschmid]

What is going to trip the circuit breaker..I have never seen a smoke detector trip a 15 or 20 amp circuit breaker..I have seen them burn up (electronic circuit boards) and yet I have never trip a circuit breaker..

 

[stickboy1375]

This thread is getting ridiculous, who cares how the smokes are fed, just feed them and be done with it...

 

[peter d]

This thread is getting ridiculous, who cares how the smokes are fed, just feed them and be done with it...

You forgot what forum you're on...we still have to beat this one to death. :roll:

 

[JohnJ0906]

You forgot what forum you're on...we still have to beat this one to death. :roll:

 

[csparkrun]

Well thats a problem as that under the 2008 NEC they (Dwelling unit smoke alarms) shall be AFCI protected.

i think the reason they adopted this rule is when afci protection first came into the code and there were many complaints of nuisance tripping (flourecents,power spikes or whatever) which then our fire marshalls decided that may impose on there ability to sleep at night. i did agree then, but i think the new generation afci breakers have improved.

 

[cschmid]

I think peta (people eating tasty animals) might want in on this thread beating the ? to death

 

[Q-Ball]

Don?t worry soon the way GFCI and ARC are going the utility company will have that protection on the poles.

 

[mike johnson]

Dedicated smoke circuit?

Dedicated smoke circuit?

Placing smoke detectors on it's own dedicated circuit is a waist of time, labor, and material. Also more breakers to crowd in the panel for no reason.

Placing these on it's own breaker i would have to say the same electrician would probably place the doorbell on it's own circuit also????????????

sir or mam we have to add a sub panel your panel is full?????????????

What a waist. Just place the smoke detectors on a lighting circuit with no receptacles.

Problem solved and call it a day.

 

[Sparkyrob11]

Smokes have always had there own special place in my panels.... why not put them on a dedicated circuit, Abe?

 

[radiopet]

Your architect needs educated.
AFCI protection is required on smokes as of the '05 NEC. 210.12
Using power from the bath circuit is not allowed....210.11(C)(3)

What if he is refering to the lighting circuit in the bathroom .....also I put my smokes on dedicated circuits all the time and end with spare in the attic....all smokes are required to have secondary power ( Battery ) anyway so on the bathroom lighting.....or bedroom circuit is no concern really as 2008 kinda solves that issue anyway in regards to the AFCI .

 

[Sparkyrob11]

I think people appreciate being able to find what they need to shut off as well... I will continue to support the dedicating of smokes.

 

[electricmanscott]

In Massachusetts you are required to feed the smoke detectors from a general purpose branch circuit that feeds other lighting and such. Dedicated circuit is not allowed nor is there any good reason to wire it that way. Doomsday scenarios mentioned prviously and henceforth excluded.

 

[electricmanscott]

What if he is refering to the lighting circuit in the bathroom ......

He is not. OP specified bath receptacle circuit. The architect is wrong on two counts.

Two screwups on something so basic would make me look at the rest of the plans very closely.

 

[radiopet]

LOL..my bad......i figured it was a given no one would do that. Figure an architect would say that.

 

[Sparkyrob11]

You make a good argument Scott. I may change my evil ways....

 

[ZZZ]

Well thats a problem as that under the 2008 NEC they (Dwelling unit smoke alarms) shall be AFCI protected.

We only have city adopted codes, not state adopted and many parts are altered as the city inspectors see fit. We haven't adopted the 2008 yet, so I haven't bought one. Is that the specific wording in the code?

 

[iaov]

He is not. OP specified bath receptacle circuit. The architect is wrong on two counts.

Two screwups on something so basic would make me look at the rest of the plans very closely.

This thread is starting to look like the ground up or down argument. I'm not surprized that the architect gets electrical stuff wrong. On this forum we probably have some of the smartest people in the country on electrical/code issues and we rarely seem to be able to agree on what the damn book says.

 

[dnem]

This thread is getting ridiculous, who cares how the smokes are fed, just feed them and be done with it...

I don't agree !
Here's a point that should be considered.

so your mother in law comes over and vacuums your general areas in your house while you are on vacation..trips the hallway circuit and does not reset it..batteries go dead on smoke detectors..You come home and rest CB but now you have no battery backup and you do not know it..Yep sounds like I want my smokes on a hallway circuit...NOT...why would you not use a dedicated circuit for smokes when they are suppose to be interconnected..

And that's why you shouldn't put the smokes on with a receptacle(s).

I personally feel fine letting the smokes chirp for themselves.

Now for a sump pump, I always would put that on a circuit that was just the sump pump plug and a first floor hallway that has only one or two lights. . The light doesn't work, you discover it as soon as you get home and hopefully before the big rain comes.