In our home there are 3 smoke alarms, all wired into the house wiring.
All are the same age (about 22 yrs). There's a high pitched noise
coming from one of them.

In a recent discussion, one guy told me to replace all of them, not
just the one. He said new ones aren't compatible with the new ones. I
didn't ask him what he meant about being compatible.

So, can anyone tell me what this means? Do I have to replace all 3?

Thanks,
Myrna

"Myrna" wrote in message
oups.com...
In our home there are 3 smoke alarms, all wired into the house wiring.
All are the same age (about 22 yrs). There's a high pitched noise
coming from one of them.

In a recent discussion, one guy told me to replace all of them, not
just the one. He said new ones aren't compatible with the new ones. I
didn't ask him what he meant about being compatible.

So, can anyone tell me what this means? Do I have to replace all 3?

Thanks,
Myrna


Fire departments recommend using battery operated ones that are independent
of house current and could be compromised in a fire.

Butch Haynes wrote:
"Myrna" wrote in message
oups.com...
In our home there are 3 smoke alarms, all wired into the house wiring.
All are the same age (about 22 yrs). There's a high pitched noise
coming from one of them.

In a recent discussion, one guy told me to replace all of them, not
just the one. He said new ones aren't compatible with the new ones. I
didn't ask him what he meant about being compatible.

So, can anyone tell me what this means? Do I have to replace all 3?

Thanks,
Myrna


Fire departments recommend using battery operated ones that are independent
of house current and could be compromised in a fire.

In many cases 120VAC detectors are required in new construction, and
therefore likely it would be a code violation to replace them with
battery operated units. However, there are detectors available which
are 120VAC and also use a 9V battery for backup power should the 120VAC
power fail.

nate

On Tue, 21 Nov 2006 15:34:41 -0500, "Butch Haynes"
wrote:

"Myrna" wrote in message
roups.com...
In our home there are 3 smoke alarms, all wired into the house wiring.
All are the same age (about 22 yrs). There's a high pitched noise
coming from one of them.

In a recent discussion, one guy told me to replace all of them, not
just the one. He said new ones aren't compatible with the new ones. I
didn't ask him what he meant about being compatible.

So, can anyone tell me what this means? Do I have to replace all 3?

Thanks,
Myrna


Fire departments recommend using battery operated ones that are independent
of house current and could be compromised in a fire.

I was gong to say something like this, but I think the best system
would be a combination of battery and AC detectors.

Also, I don't want to discourage anyone from safety measures, but
these detectors are testable. Hold a burning match below one, and it
will sound within 3 or 4 seconds iirc.

Finally a story. I have a lot of smoke detectors, and the one in the
basement started beeping to indicate the battery is low. but I have
piled things below it and can't reach it without moving everything.
So I let it beep for about 3 or 4 months. Yet, when I tried to start
the furnace in late Sept, early Oct. and it was smokey, the smoke
detector whe off and was as loud as iff the battery were new.. It was
plenty loud.. It's been another six or 7 weeks and it's still
beeping, more often now I think , once a minute. Now I'm curious how
long it will beep. It's been at least 6 months. I'm impressed.

Butch Haynes wrote:
"Myrna" wrote in message
oups.com...
In our home there are 3 smoke alarms, all wired into the house wiring.
All are the same age (about 22 yrs). There's a high pitched noise
coming from one of them.

In a recent discussion, one guy told me to replace all of them, not
just the one. He said new ones aren't compatible with the new ones. I
didn't ask him what he meant about being compatible.

So, can anyone tell me what this means? Do I have to replace all 3?

Thanks,
Myrna


Fire departments recommend using battery operated ones that are independent
of house current and could be compromised in a fire.


I'd like to see a reference for this claim. I've seen lots of news
stories where people died in fires where they either did not have any
smoke detectors, or else had ones with dead or removed batteries.
I've never read a story about anyone dying in a fire due to the power
to the smoke detector being taken out by the fire. Here in NJ all the
new construction homes I see have AC powered units, as does my home.
It's a theoreticaly possibility that the power to the smoke detector
could be lost in a fire before the alarm goes off, but IMO, that risk
is very small compared to having a dead battery.

wrote:

I'd like to see a reference for this claim. I've seen lots of news
stories where people died in fires where they either did not have any
smoke detectors, or else had ones with dead or removed batteries.
I've never read a story about anyone dying in a fire due to the power
to the smoke detector being taken out by the fire. Here in NJ all
the new construction homes I see have AC powered units, as does my
home. It's a theoreticaly possibility that the power to the smoke
detector could be lost in a fire before the alarm goes off, but IMO,
that risk is very small compared to having a dead battery.

I got some moderate-priced smoke detectors recently. They have a bracket
that mounts on the wall and the smoke detector itself twist-locks into the
bracket. But here's the interesting part:

You can't put the smoke detector back in the bracket unless a battery is
installed! That's right, a little arm pops up when the battery is missing
that prevents the detector from fitting back in the bracket.

Good idea.

On Wed, 22 Nov 2006 10:14:06 -0600, "HeyBub"
wrote:

wrote:

I'd like to see a reference for this claim. I've seen lots of news
stories where people died in fires where they either did not have any
smoke detectors, or else had ones with dead or removed batteries.
I've never read a story about anyone dying in a fire due to the power
to the smoke detector being taken out by the fire. Here in NJ all
the new construction homes I see have AC powered units, as does my
home. It's a theoreticaly possibility that the power to the smoke
detector could be lost in a fire before the alarm goes off, but IMO,
that risk is very small compared to having a dead battery.

I got some moderate-priced smoke detectors recently. They have a bracket
that mounts on the wall and the smoke detector itself twist-locks into the
bracket. But here's the interesting part:

You can't put the smoke detector back in the bracket unless a battery is
installed! That's right, a little arm pops up when the battery is missing
that prevents the detector from fitting back in the bracket.

Good idea.


The 2 I bought last month were like that. They also contain both types
of detectors.
--
33 days until the winter solstice celebration

Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.laughingsquid.com

"I have found Christian dogma unintelligable. Early
in life I absented myself from Christian assemblies."
-- Benjamin Franklin

I'd like to see a reference for this claim. I've seen lots of news
stories where people died in fires where they either did not have any
smoke detectors, or else had ones with dead or removed batteries.
I've never read a story about anyone dying in a fire due to the power
to the smoke detector being taken out by the fire. Here in NJ all the
new construction homes I see have AC powered units, as does my home.
It's a theoreticaly possibility that the power to the smoke detector
could be lost in a fire before the alarm goes off, but IMO, that risk
is very small compared to having a dead battery.


the real risk is fires cause by flame-powered devices
that you're using because the power's out....

Myrna wrote:
In our home there are 3 smoke alarms, all wired into the house wiring.
All are the same age (about 22 yrs). There's a high pitched noise
coming from one of them.

In a recent discussion, one guy told me to replace all of them, not
just the one. He said new ones aren't compatible with the new ones. I
didn't ask him what he meant about being compatible.

So, can anyone tell me what this means? Do I have to replace all 3?

Thanks,
Myrna

When you say "wired into the house wiring" I'm assuming that a) they
are 120VAC units and b) they are also "tandem" detectors, i.e. there's
an extra wire or pair of wires between all of the detectors so that
when one detects smoke it causes the sounder in all of them to sound.
Kind of a fire alarm system without a panel if you will. If that is
the case I would believe your source that anything 22 years old may not
be compatible with current equipment. If nothing else a 22 year old
smoke detector probably has drifted significantly in sensitivity and I
wouldn't really trust it to protect me. I'd sleep better at night
knowing that they were all new. If you have an ADI nearby they
probably have something you can use with your current wiring, just take
one of the existing ones in with you, but buy three of them.

good luck,

nate

"Myrna" wrote in message
oups.com...
In our home there are 3 smoke alarms, all wired into the house wiring.
All are the same age (about 22 yrs). There's a high pitched noise
coming from one of them.

In a recent discussion, one guy told me to replace all of them, not
just the one. He said new ones aren't compatible with the new ones. I
didn't ask him what he meant about being compatible.

So, can anyone tell me what this means? Do I have to replace all 3?

The alarms must be able to "talk" to each other. When one alarm trip, the
others will sound. Different brands and different models may not work
together.

At 22 years, they should be replace anyway. For the sake of $20, do you want
to take chances of the second alarm now working properly? Chances are, the
old one does not have battery backup, but the new ones will. That alone is a
good reason to replace them.

In article .com, "Myrna" wrote:
In our home there are 3 smoke alarms, all wired into the house wiring.
All are the same age (about 22 yrs). There's a high pitched noise
coming from one of them.

In a recent discussion, one guy told me to replace all of them, not
just the one. He said new ones aren't compatible with the new ones. I
didn't ask him what he meant about being compatible.

So, can anyone tell me what this means? Do I have to replace all 3?

Smoke detectors do have a finite life -- the sensors degrade
over time and will eventually become non-functional. Typically,
fire departments and manufacturers recommend replacing the
smoke detectors every 10 years.

So, it's definitely time to replace all 3. You may even want
to add some more and ensure your property is up to current
code. You'll need to make sure you buy new detectors of the
right type.

I'd suggest you check the model number of the existing
detectors. It's almost certainly obsolete by now but the
manufacturer will likely be able to tell you what current
products are most compatible/equivalent.

This is what I did and the manufacturers web site guided
me to exactly the right products and plenty of other
useful information. With the right detectors and all of
that documentation, installation was a walk in the park.

In all it took an hour of research, an hour to run to the
store and an hour to install the things. Well worth the
effort to make my home and family a little safer.

--
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| Malcolm Hoar "The more I practice, the luckier I get". |
| Gary Player. |
| http://www.malch.com/ Shpx gur PQN. |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

if they are 2-wire, replace the noisy one and test the others. if they
are 3-wire units, replace them all: that way when one sounds it tells
its other two to sound also. more at:
http://home.howstuffworks.com/question576.htm
and:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoke_alarm


Myrna wrote:
In our home there are 3 smoke alarms, all wired into the house wiring.
All are the same age (about 22 yrs). There's a high pitched noise
coming from one of them.

In a recent discussion, one guy told me to replace all of them, not
just the one. He said new ones aren't compatible with the new ones. I
didn't ask him what he meant about being compatible.

So, can anyone tell me what this means? Do I have to replace all 3?

Thanks,
Myrna

Hello Myrna,

All 3 should be replaced bacause of their age. As with all electronic
devices, smoke alarms degrade over time, and the failure rate increases
over time. Most manufacturers indicate that smoke alarms should be
replaced every ten years.



Best regards,

Tim

Hi, Tim,

Thank you to you and everyone else for your answers and guidance.

I have no idea if my 3 detectors are wired together. When the one in
the kitchen sounds (if I broil, it always does), I have no idea if the
others are also sounding. Is there any way to tell this? Over the
years, we have found many areas where the builder and his workers cut
corners. I would not be surprised if this is yet another of those
areas.

Myrna





AlarmArm wrote:
Hello Myrna,

All 3 should be replaced bacause of their age. As with all electronic
devices, smoke alarms degrade over time, and the failure rate increases
over time. Most manufacturers indicate that smoke alarms should be
replaced every ten years.



Best regards,

Tim

On 27 Nov 2006 07:19:31 -0800, "Myrna" wrote:

Hi, Tim,

Thank you to you and everyone else for your answers and guidance.

I have no idea if my 3 detectors are wired together. When the one in
the kitchen sounds (if I broil, it always does), I have no idea if the
others are also sounding. Is there any way to tell this?

You mean you can't walk into another room, and listen there?

Over the
years, we have found many areas where the builder and his workers cut
corners. I would not be surprised if this is yet another of those
areas.

Myrna





AlarmArm wrote:
Hello Myrna,

All 3 should be replaced bacause of their age. As with all electronic
devices, smoke alarms degrade over time, and the failure rate increases
over time. Most manufacturers indicate that smoke alarms should be
replaced every ten years.



Best regards,

Tim
--
28 days until the winter solstice celebration

Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.laughingsquid.com

"Unlike biological evolution. 'intelligent design' is
not a genuine scientific theory and, therefore, has
no place in the curriculum of our nation's public
school classes." -- Ted Kennedy

Mark Lloyd wrote:
On 27 Nov 2006 07:19:31 -0800, "Myrna" wrote:

Hi, Tim,

Thank you to you and everyone else for your answers and guidance.

I have no idea if my 3 detectors are wired together. When the one in
the kitchen sounds (if I broil, it always does), I have no idea if the
others are also sounding. Is there any way to tell this?

You mean you can't walk into another room, and listen there?

Over the
years, we have found many areas where the builder and his workers cut
corners. I would not be surprised if this is yet another of those
areas.

Myrna





AlarmArm wrote:
Hello Myrna,

All 3 should be replaced bacause of their age. As with all electronic
devices, smoke alarms degrade over time, and the failure rate increases
over time. Most manufacturers indicate that smoke alarms should be
replaced every ten years.



Best regards,

Tim
--
28 days until the winter solstice celebration

Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.laughingsquid.com

"Unlike biological evolution. 'intelligent design' is
not a genuine scientific theory and, therefore, has
no place in the curriculum of our nation's public
school classes." -- Ted Kennedy

I am not stupid, like this response suggests. When the alarm is
sounding its ear-piercing wail and the meat is smoking, it hasn't been
convenient to run to another level of the house. If that makes me
stupid, so be it!

On 30 Nov 2006 08:52:49 -0800, "Myrna" wrote:


Mark Lloyd wrote:
On 27 Nov 2006 07:19:31 -0800, "Myrna" wrote:

Hi, Tim,

Thank you to you and everyone else for your answers and guidance.

I have no idea if my 3 detectors are wired together. When the one in
the kitchen sounds (if I broil, it always does), I have no idea if the
others are also sounding. Is there any way to tell this?

You mean you can't walk into another room, and listen there?

Over the
years, we have found many areas where the builder and his workers cut
corners. I would not be surprised if this is yet another of those
areas.

Myrna





AlarmArm wrote:
Hello Myrna,

All 3 should be replaced bacause of their age. As with all electronic
devices, smoke alarms degrade over time, and the failure rate increases
over time. Most manufacturers indicate that smoke alarms should be
replaced every ten years.



Best regards,

Tim

I am not stupid, like this response suggests.

IT doesn't. It has to be read that way. However, I did notice the
likely misinterpretation, just a little too late.

When the alarm is
sounding its ear-piercing wail and the meat is smoking, it hasn't been
convenient to run to another level of the house. If that makes me
stupid, so be it!

As I said, I never said that.
--
25 days until the winter solstice celebration

Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.laughingsquid.com

"Unlike biological evolution. 'intelligent design' is
not a genuine scientific theory and, therefore, has
no place in the curriculum of our nation's public
school classes." -- Ted Kennedy

Hi, Tim,

Thank you to you and everyone else for your answers and guidance.

I have no idea if my 3 detectors are wired together. When the one in
the kitchen sounds (if I broil, it always does), I have no idea if the
others are also sounding. Is there any way to tell this? Over the
years, we have found many areas where the builder and his workers cut
corners. I would not be surprised if this is yet another of those
areas.

Myrna





AlarmArm wrote:
Hello Myrna,

All 3 should be replaced bacause of their age. As with all electronic
devices, smoke alarms degrade over time, and the failure rate increases
over time. Most manufacturers indicate that smoke alarms should be
replaced every ten years.



Best regards,

Tim

Two ways:

one, simply cause an alarm at one detector and have a helper stand
under one elsewhere in the house.

two, pull one down and see how many wires are hooked up to it. If it's
only white and black, they are 120VAC but not hooked up in tandem. If
there's also a red wire in the box, they are likely tandemed. The
terminals ought to be labeled, so you can also tell that way. Make
sure to cut the power if you don't have confidence that you can do this
without touching any of the terminals. If you think you might want to
cut the power, you want to cut the power. better safe than sorry.

good luck,

nate

Myrna wrote:
Hi, Tim,

Thank you to you and everyone else for your answers and guidance.

I have no idea if my 3 detectors are wired together. When the one in
the kitchen sounds (if I broil, it always does), I have no idea if the
others are also sounding. Is there any way to tell this? Over the
years, we have found many areas where the builder and his workers cut
corners. I would not be surprised if this is yet another of those
areas.

Myrna





AlarmArm wrote:
Hello Myrna,

All 3 should be replaced bacause of their age. As with all electronic
devices, smoke alarms degrade over time, and the failure rate increases
over time. Most manufacturers indicate that smoke alarms should be
replaced every ten years.



Best regards,

Tim