In ,
trader_4 typed:
On Thursday, March 24, 2016 at 2:42:29 PM UTC-4, TomR wrote:
In ,
typed:
Meanwhile, I just read in another post where someone said that
"philo" is an electrician. If that is correct, and if you do
happen to know the answer to my original question about how to
wire a 110-volt interconnected alarm system, that would be great.
I think that I may already have that question figured out, but if
you know the answer, that would be helpful information.
to interconnect the alarms, you need a third wire run between the
alarms.
The third wire is usually in the 14/3 i,e usually the "red" wire.
It does not matter how the wire is routed, it does not have to be
directly between the alarms, as long as it gets connected.
The hard part is that you probably have 14/2 running to the alarms
and that would have to be replaced with 14/3. The third wires from
each alarm could then be connected together wherever they meet. i.e
in the breaker panel.
If I understand what you mean, it is not correct. The alarms now are
individual battery operated alarms that are not connected to each
other. So there is no 14/2 running to them or between them. 14/2
would go from the panel to the first detector, so there would be no
third red wire in the panel to connect to anything. From the first
detector to all of the other detectors, there would be 14/3 wire.
And those red wires would all be connected to re, the black wires
connected to black, and the white wires connected to white.
Sounds like you have it right. IDK how you can figure out which
detectors are good ones. I have a house with ones that are about
8 years old, that are both AC powered and battery powered. They
are a real pain in the ass. You would think that with AC, the
battery would only be used if AC drops out. But the damn things
start beeping for a battery change in less than a year and with
a whole bunch of them, it gets annoying real fast. If it
were up to me, I'd get ones that are AC only, but that probably isn't
sufficient in many places today.
Thanks. I think my plan is going to be to get the ones that are AC powered
with a battery back-up, but ones where the battery is a built-in 10-year
(allegedly) lithium battery. Also, I want them all to have a "Hush Button"
feature to silence the alarm triggered by a known cause such as cooking or
shower mist/"steam". I am not sure, but I think the battery back-up feature
in AC powered detectors is either the code (in locations where
interconnected alarms are required), or are at least recommended. I guess
the theory is that if a fire is started by an electrical malfunction and/or
arcing etc., which also causes the AC power to go out (what are the odds?),
then the alarm system will still work with the battery back-up.
And, I think the detectors are supposed to be changed every 10 years anyway
(especially CO detectors, I think), then changing the detectors when the
lithium battery dies would make sense anyway. Yes, that costs more money,
but that's okay with me. Also, in the promotional literature for the more
expensive lithium battery back-up models, they claim that the increased cost
is offset by not having to pay the cost of replacing regular 9-volt
batteries every year for 10 years.