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Posted by Jim Beaver on February 7, 2007, 5:25 pm
I've got hard-wired smoke alarms in my house, installed by my building
contractor when the house was built four years ago. For reasons I'm not
certain of, there are two different type/brand alarms in place.
The alarms have started beeping, presumably because the back-up batteries
need changing. Problems, however:
1. Two of the alarms (of the same type/brand) beep three times in
succession, a couple of times a day. But I can't get them off the ceiling!
I've tried everything I've ever known or could learn about smoke alarms to
get them to unlatch, so I could change the batteries, but to no avail.
There is no marking anywhere I can find on the outside of the alarm to give
me either instruction for opening or even the brand name. I've twisted,
turned, pried, and prodded them and cannot get them loose from the ceiling
without pulling down the drywall.
2. Another of the alarms (different type/brand) comes off the ceiling
easily using standard techniques. However, as it turns out, this one
doesn't need to come off the ceiling for battery changes, as the battery
compartment opens from the accessible bottom/down side. I changed the
battery with ease. Several times. It won't stop giving me the weak-battery
warning, no matter how carefully or how many times I replace the battery.
If there's something I'm doing wrong, short of replacing the whole alarm,
I'd like to know what it is.
I've put pictures of both type alarms (from various angles) on the following
binary newsgroups on Usenet, under the same subject line as this message:
alt.binaries.pictures.misc and free.binaries.misc. The beige-ish photos are
of the alarm in example number 2 above, and the grey-ish photos are of the
unremovable alarms in example number 1 above. Can anyone identify these
(especially the grey-ish photos) or tell me how they are supposed to be
opened or removed from the ceiling? And can anyone suggest why changing the
batteries in the alarm in the beige-ish photos doesn't stop the beeping?
(And yes, I'm certain of the polarity. It's clearly marked on the alarm.)
Thanks.
Jim Beaver
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Posted by Don Phillipson on February 7, 2007, 6:17 pm
show/hide quoted text
> I've got hard-wired smoke alarms in my house, installed by my building
> contractor when the house was built four years ago. . . .
> And can anyone suggest why changing the
> batteries in the alarm in the beige-ish photos doesn't stop the beeping?
Most smoke alarms contain tiny amounts of
radioactive elements that sooner or later stop
functioning as designed -- which may cause the
beep signal, to prompt you to replace the unit.
A single mains-connected smoke alarm in our
house died about seven years after installation.
We replaced it by a battery-powered unit since
power outages were then common where we live.
--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)
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Posted by Goedjn on February 7, 2007, 6:18 pm
On Wed, 7 Feb 2007 14:25:34 -0800, "Jim Beaver"
show/hide quoted text
>I've got hard-wired smoke alarms in my house, installed by my building
>contractor when the house was built four years ago. For reasons I'm not
>certain of, there are two different type/brand alarms in place.
>The alarms have started beeping, presumably because the back-up batteries
>need changing. Problems, however:
>1. Two of the alarms (of the same type/brand) beep three times in
>succession, a couple of times a day. But I can't get them off the ceiling!
>I've tried everything I've ever known or could learn about smoke alarms to
>get them to unlatch, so I could change the batteries, but to no avail.
>There is no marking anywhere I can find on the outside of the alarm to give
>me either instruction for opening or even the brand name. I've twisted,
>turned, pried, and prodded them and cannot get them loose from the ceiling
>without pulling down the drywall.
>2. Another of the alarms (different type/brand) comes off the ceiling
>easily using standard techniques. However, as it turns out, this one
>doesn't need to come off the ceiling for battery changes, as the battery
>compartment opens from the accessible bottom/down side. I changed the
>battery with ease. Several times. It won't stop giving me the weak-battery
>warning, no matter how carefully or how many times I replace the battery.
>If there's something I'm doing wrong, short of replacing the whole alarm,
>I'd like to know what it is.
>I've put pictures of both type alarms (from various angles) on the following
>binary newsgroups on Usenet, under the same subject line as this message:
>alt.binaries.pictures.misc and free.binaries.misc. The beige-ish photos are
>of the alarm in example number 2 above, and the grey-ish photos are of the
>unremovable alarms in example number 1 above. Can anyone identify these
>(especially the grey-ish photos) or tell me how they are supposed to be
>opened or removed from the ceiling? And can anyone suggest why changing the
>batteries in the alarm in the beige-ish photos doesn't stop the beeping?
>(And yes, I'm certain of the polarity. It's clearly marked on the alarm.)
>Thanks.
DOn't some smoke detectors use a little radioactive emitter
with a fairly short half-life? How old are these things?
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Posted by Jim Beaver on February 7, 2007, 7:12 pm
show/hide quoted text
> DOn't some smoke detectors use a little radioactive emitter
> with a fairly short half-life? How old are these things?
Around 3 to 3 1/2 years old.
Jim Beaver
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Posted by greg6755 on February 7, 2007, 6:33 pm
show/hide quoted text
> I've got hard-wired smoke alarms in my house, installed by my building
> contractor when the house was built four years ago. For reasons I'm not
> certain of, there are two different type/brand alarms in place.
> The alarms have started beeping, presumably because the back-up batteries
> need changing. Problems, however:
> 1. Two of the alarms (of the same type/brand) beep three times in
> succession, a couple of times a day. But I can't get them off the ceiling!
> I've tried everything I've ever known or could learn about smoke alarms to
> get them to unlatch, so I could change the batteries, but to no avail.
> There is no marking anywhere I can find on the outside of the alarm to give
> me either instruction for opening or even the brand name. I've twisted,
> turned, pried, and prodded them and cannot get them loose from the ceiling
> without pulling down the drywall.
> 2. Another of the alarms (different type/brand) comes off the ceiling
> easily using standard techniques. However, as it turns out, this one
> doesn't need to come off the ceiling for battery changes, as the battery
> compartment opens from the accessible bottom/down side. I changed the
> battery with ease. Several times. It won't stop giving me the weak-battery
> warning, no matter how carefully or how many times I replace the battery.
> If there's something I'm doing wrong, short of replacing the whole alarm,
> I'd like to know what it is.
> I've put pictures of both type alarms (from various angles) on the following
> binary newsgroups on Usenet, under the same subject line as this message:
> alt.binaries.pictures.misc and free.binaries.misc. The beige-ish photos are
> of the alarm in example number 2 above, and the grey-ish photos are of the
> unremovable alarms in example number 1 above. Can anyone identify these
> (especially the grey-ish photos) or tell me how they are supposed to be
> opened or removed from the ceiling? And can anyone suggest why changing the
> batteries in the alarm in the beige-ish photos doesn't stop the beeping?
> (And yes, I'm certain of the polarity. It's clearly marked on the alarm.)
> Thanks.
> Jim Beaver
I not sure I can help you with getting the ones off the ceiling but I
have had a go around with nonstop beeping ones.
I run into this before with the FireX Smoke/CO detectors.
As it turns out when changing the batteries you need to also unplug
the unit from the back or kill the circuit breaker supplying it while
the battery is out and leave it off for about one minute.
This allows it to reset.
Hope that helps.
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> contractor when the house was built four years ago. . . .
> And can anyone suggest why changing the
> batteries in the alarm in the beige-ish photos doesn't stop the beeping?