Smoke alarms in the cold

[CollinR]

Use the firewire and you are good to go!

The lighting strike is very realistic, in the past I have seen houses the burned for an hour before an interior smoke tripped. By that time the entire attic and ceiling (I think it caved in, first really) was involved and it was a total loss.

 

[beelzerob]

Use the firewire and you are good to go!

The lighting strike is very realistic, in the past I have seen houses the burned for an hour before an interior smoke tripped. By that time the entire attic and ceiling (I think it caved in, first really) was involved and it was a total loss.

Well, hopefully the strike won't knock everything out first. I think if I'm inside the house when a strike happens, probably I'll just automatically check the attic just to check it. But having at least a couple heat sensors up there makes good sense to me.

speaking of "in the cold", good to have you back, Collin!

 

[judge_l]

Beelzerob, you just seem to keep asking the right questions. I never thought about the attic for smoke detectors. I guess I need to add some fire wire up to the attic for the heat sensors. I just can't tell my wife. If she catches me adding more stuff, she just might lose her patience.

 

[beelzerob]

Beelzerob, you just seem to keep asking the right questions. I never thought about the attic for smoke detectors. I guess I need to add some fire wire up to the attic for the heat sensors. I just can't tell my wife. If she catches me adding more stuff, she just might lose her patience.

Hehe...well, I have the advantage of not only being very involved in the building process for our house...but also being really ignorant of a lot of stuff! Thank god this community exists, and they're so very patient with me.

Ya, that's a tricky area with the wife.... On the one hand, it'd be hard for her to give you too much anger for adding to the safety of the house. At the same time, you have to be careful not to alarm her with the idea that your attic might spontaneously explode into fire (because I'm sure SHE never considered that area either). You just have to phrase it as "This adds another layer of safety for our family" versus "We will all surely die without this". (because believe me, if you use that too often, it loses all effectiveness. )

 

[judge_l]

So do heat sensors get boxes mounted for them? If they do, round or rectangular? And I'm assuming they would be mounted fairly high up in the atic?

 

[CORT]

So do heat sensors get boxes mounted for them? If they do, round or rectangular? And I'm assuming they would be mounted fairly high up in the atic?

The GE heat sensors that I use come with separate plastic mounting bases and do not need an extra box for installation--just make sure the wire is secured appropriately to the rafter. I have my sensors mounted high, but not so high that I cannot reach them without a ladder. These are expendable devices, and if the trigger temperature is exceeded, they must be replaced.

 

[Sandpiper]

Make sure you use the 195 degF heat detectors for the attic. In the garage, kitchen and mechanical rooms use a 135 degF.

 

[beelzerob]

Make sure you use the 195 degF heat detectors for the attic. In the garage, kitchen and mechanical rooms use a 135 degF.

I assume the reason is so that normal summer day heat doesn't pop it? If I still lived in AZ, I'd say so for sure...you'd go through a 135 deg sensor every day there...heck, even a 195 might not be safe in the attic in AZ... But in PA?