110 Smoke Detector

[JumpinJack]

I just bought my house which is about 9 years old and equipped with 110V smoke detectors. All has been fine with them until I turned on the evaporative cooling system. Whenever the cooling system is on (blowing air throughout the house) one or more of the smoke detectors intermittently falses, setting off all of the others. They trip for only about 30- 60 seconds and then reset. Generally this happens at night when I am fast asleep. :angry: This may happen just once during the night or several times. I haven't been able to isolate which is the culprit setting off the rest because by the time I pull myself off the ceiling from a dead sleep, they are all going off.

I am guessing there may be dust within the detector that is getting "stirred" up when the evap starts blowing. If this is the case, what is the best method of cleaning them? Canned air or vacuuming them? I don't want to damage them in the process of trying to rectify the falsing. Or would I be better off just replacing them? I have no idea what they cost, but I figure I have at least 6 to replace.

Any thoughts or ideas would be greatly appreciated. As would the restful sleep.

 

[Steve]

Welcome to CocoonTech! I would agree that it may be dust in the detector. It almost sounded like a weak battery but that should only cause 1 detector to chirp, not all of them to alarm.

I'm pretty sure the NFPA recommends replacing detectors every 10 years, so I guess if it were me I'd ask - are you planning on putting in a security system?

The only problem with 110V based detectors are they are not monitored. If you do not plan on using a security system then I would probably replace the 110 detectors at roughly $20 each. If you have a security system or plan on putting one in, I would supplement with either 2 or 4 wire units. They work off of the 12V security system and when they alarm they can call the monitoring station. These detectors will run around $50. Sentrol says as long as they work they do not need to be replaced. Most of them can also be partly disassembled and cleaned where I think the 110V ones are pretty much sealed units. So if you go with 12V detectors I would probably just leave the 110 ones and just replace the bad one(s), or just bite the bullet and replace them all and add the monitored ones - you can't have too much protection. Also take into account their locations - older houses did not mandate locating in all bedrooms, etc so if you add in the 12V ones it may be good to hit the now recommended locations with them.

 

[Digger]

if they are photoelectrics you can vacuum them out to buy you some time until you can replace them.

 

[upstatemike]

I am currently having a similiar problem on my basement fire zone. These are low voltage detectors but similiar symptoms. Unfortunately I can't even narrow it down to a specific detector because somehow it is tripping the zone without latching on so I can see which one it is.

I am not going to trust to cleaning but am going to start replacing detectors until I get to the troublemaker. They are several years old now and I just don't think once they get unstable that any amount of cleaning will make them reliable agin in the long run.

 

[Digger]

If the detector is not latching it is defective. Are you sure it is a detector causing the alarm or possibly wiring? Its wierd that the detector would not latch and I would personally troubleshoot alittle more before spending the money on new detectors.

If the wiring looks good then maybe buy one detector and install it first in line for a few weeks and then move it down the line until you find the problem stops?

 

[upstatemike]

Fortunately I keep spare detectors on hand so there is no new expense. Wiring is pretty unlikely as what would cause a change? Shouldn't be hard to troubleshoot since I can't reset the zone at the moment without it tripping again right away.

Course it could be a failure at the panel which would certainly suck.

 

[HoustonFirefox]

This thread got me thinking about the three 110v detectors that came with my house (bought in 1982). I tested them when I moved in in 1997 but (ghast!) haven't since.

Anyways, I tested every one of them and while they all have the cute little light glowing, NONE of them activated in test mode!

I've been thinking about getting rid of them (they look so 80s!) but now I have a darned good reason. Adding them to the Elk will be a big plus as well.

Anyways, not to get to far off topic but I would remind everyone concerned to TEST YOUR DETECTORS... the little light means nothing if they don't work :angry:

 

[Steve]

I've been thinking about getting rid of them (they look so 80s!) but now I have a darned good reason. Adding them to the Elk will be a big plus as well.

Just understand that a 110v detector will not tie directly into the Elk. The Elk uses 2 or 4 wire 12V detectors. You can use 110V detectors if they have a relay that can trip an Elk zone, but a security based detector is better imo for tying into the Elk.

 

[johnnynine]

1. How do the 110v smoke detectors communicate with each other?

2. Is it possible to replace a 110v smoke detector that can still communicate with the others and have a low voltage relay on it to signal the Elk?

 

[Steve]

1. I believe via a third wire. They are wired with 3 conductors each.

2. Yes. But that detector needs an onboard relay that can trip an Elk zone. They are not easy to find. I much rather have a System Sensor or Sentrol 2 or 4 wire dedicated detector for my Elk.

 

[JumpinJack]

Thanks all. I currently have a 110v detector in the main living area, hallway, and each bedroom, each mounted on the ceiling 12 ft up. My house is "prewired" for an alarm system, but I honestly don't know whether that includes smokes. And yes, I had planned to look into getting a system installed, perhaps sooner now than I had originally planned.

I am not going to trust to cleaning but am going to start replacing detectors until I get to the troublemaker. They are several years old now and I just don't think once they get unstable that any amount of cleaning will make them reliable agin in the long run.

I had considered just replacing them all but this is a very good point that I really hadn't fully considered in the thought process.

Anyways, I tested every one of them and while they all have the cute little light glowing, NONE of them activated in test mode!

I am guessing that mine will fail as well. How do I test these units? I'm assuming they have some sort of a test button. Then what? Do they reset on their own, should they actually go off?

And what's up with Elk? Everyone seems to be talking about Elk panels. Are they the latest and greatest or what? Who sells and monitors them?

 

[Steve]

And what's up with Elk? Everyone seems to be talking about Elk panels. Are they the latest and greatest or what? Who sells and monitors them?

Elk panels are a very popular panel lately. If you are in the market for a security and automation panel, Elk is a very good choice. They are feature rich, reliable, easy to setup and program and Elk is a diy friendly company. There is literally a ton of info about them here.

A great source for the panel and all your HA stuff is Automated Outlet. You can set it up to monitor yourself via email or phone or can use any monitoring company you desire like Next Alarm, Alarm Relay, etc.