How do I get my home's smoke alarm to not send a signal to the
monitoring company right away?

Even though the system is grounded through a 6' copper rod, there was a
lightning strike that set off the smoke alarm which called the
monitoring company.

A week later, I was broiling something and I left the oven on in case I
needed to put the food in for more time, and though I didn't smell
anything, the smoke alarm went off and it started dialing the monitoring
company within about 2 minutes. I called them and cancelled, but now
I'm afraid to cook anything except by boiling.

What key words should I look for to buy something new?

On 7/4/18 9:54 AM, micky wrote:
How do I get my home's smoke alarm to not send a signal to the
monitoring company right away?

Even though the system is grounded through a 6' copper rod, there was a
lightning strike that set off the smoke alarm which called the
monitoring company.

A week later, I was broiling something and I left the oven on in case I
needed to put the food in for more time, and though I didn't smell
anything, the smoke alarm went off and it started dialing the monitoring
company within about 2 minutes. I called them and cancelled, but now
I'm afraid to cook anything except by boiling.

What key words should I look for to buy something new?


Is the alarm photoelectric, ionization, or dual sensor?

--
The fastest way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.

On Wednesday, July 4, 2018 at 9:54:40 AM UTC-4, micky wrote:
How do I get my home's smoke alarm to not send a signal to the
monitoring company right away?

Even though the system is grounded through a 6' copper rod, there was a
lightning strike that set off the smoke alarm which called the
monitoring company.

A week later, I was broiling something and I left the oven on in case I
needed to put the food in for more time, and though I didn't smell
anything, the smoke alarm went off and it started dialing the monitoring
company within about 2 minutes. I called them and cancelled, but now
I'm afraid to cook anything except by boiling.

What key words should I look for to buy something new?

I would contact the alarm company for guidance. Maybe they can do something at their end.

A 6' ground rod is not to code. 8' is the minimum required length and burial depth. Even though you have a ground rod, if the connections to the ground rod and at the service are not good, the rod will not be as effective as it can be.

John Grabowski
https://www.MrElectrician.TV

In alt.home.repair, on Wed, 4 Jul 2018 08:44:29 -0700 (PDT), John G
wrote:

On Wednesday, July 4, 2018 at 9:54:40 AM UTC-4, micky wrote:
How do I get my home's smoke alarm to not send a signal to the
monitoring company right away?

Even though the system is grounded through a 6' copper rod, there was a
lightning strike that set off the smoke alarm which called the
monitoring company.

A week later, I was broiling something and I left the oven on in case I
needed to put the food in for more time, and though I didn't smell
anything, the smoke alarm went off and it started dialing the monitoring
company within about 2 minutes. I called them and cancelled, but now
I'm afraid to cook anything except by boiling.

What key words should I look for to buy something new?

I would contact the alarm company for guidance. Maybe they can do something at their end.

It's a long story but for good reasons I hate to bother them.

A 6' ground rod is not to code. 8' is the minimum required length and burial depth. Even though you have a ground rod, if the connections to the ground rod and at the service are not good, the rod will not be as effective as it can be.

Maybe it was 8 feet. It's been a while. But lightning** is not what
I'm worried about. It's my cooking. In the past I've set the smoke
alarm off maybe 10 times in the last 15 years, so I expect to do it
again. However in the past, I had no monitoring, just the smoke alarm,
so if it buzzed, I'd go upstairs and wave a magazine undeneath it until
it stopped. And that was the end of it for a year or two.

What do other people do?

John Grabowski
https://www.MrElectrician.TV

Wade, it's a 110 volt smoke alarm. I forget what that says about it.


**That was interesting, actually. I was on the phone when the lightning
struck, not my house but nearby. The siren went off and I started
downstairs to stop it, but it stopped on its own maybe 60 or 90 seconds
later for some reason. I went back to the phone call and in a couple
minutes heard touch tones. I didn't know what they were but my friend
on the other end of the line did. After about 5 attempts at one or two
minute intervals to call with touch tone, it switched to pulse, about 5
times at one or two minute intervals. Eventually it stopped and I
thought I was done.

Went to sleep early. Next day go downstairs and find the alarm control
panel squealing. Disarmed the alarm (even though I had not armed it)
and I thought I was done. Five or 10 minutes later the police show up.
It seems that disarming the alarm must have restarted its attempt to
call the monitoring station, and when they called me to verify, I'd left
the cordless phone upstairs so I didn't hear it. Police said they'd
gotten loads of alarm calls because of the lighting. Then a couple days
later a guy from my alarm company called me. So everyone was involved.
The second time, I cancelled so only the monitoring compnay was
involved, not the police or the alarm company, but I expect somehow the
next time, everyone will be involved ag again.

On 7/4/2018 12:03 PM, micky wrote:


But lightning** is not what
I'm worried about. It's my cooking. In the past I've set the smoke
alarm off maybe 10 times in the last 15 years, so I expect to do it
again. However in the past, I had no monitoring, just the smoke alarm,
so if it buzzed, I'd go upstairs and wave a magazine undeneath it until
it stopped. And that was the end of it for a year or two.

What do other people do?


Mine is not monitored. It has a button to push and it stops it for
about 10 minutes or so. Perhaps you can change the device?

I set it off at least twice a month if I forget to turn on the vent over
the range.

In alt.home.repair, on Wed, 4 Jul 2018 12:48:56 -0400, Ed Pawlowski
wrote:

On 7/4/2018 12:03 PM, micky wrote:


But lightning** is not what
I'm worried about. It's my cooking. In the past I've set the smoke
alarm off maybe 10 times in the last 15 years, so I expect to do it
again. However in the past, I had no monitoring, just the smoke alarm,
so if it buzzed, I'd go upstairs and wave a magazine undeneath it until
it stopped. And that was the end of it for a year or two.

What do other people do?


Mine is not monitored. It has a button to push and it stops it for
about 10 minutes or so. Perhaps you can change the device?

I tried to find something like this, but I think I need a keyword that
means "stop for 10 minutes" (until the smoke goes away anyhow.)

I did hunt through some alarm documents and I found that there already
is a 30-second delay.

Unless I can find a better smoke alarm, I need about a 5 minute delay,
to give myself time to go upstairs and use a magazine to blow away the
smoke. It's very hard to understand the alarm manual, and I haven't
even found the right pdf file or the right setting, so it will probably
take 2 hours at least.


I set it off at least twice a month if I forget to turn on the vent over
the range.

On 07/04/2018 07:54 AM, micky wrote:
How do I get my home's smoke alarm to not send a signal to the
monitoring company right away?

Take the batteries out. It works wonders. My repertoire of blackened
recipes goes well beyond seafood so the smoke alarm got castrated
decades ago.

On 07/04/2018 10:03 AM, micky wrote:
Wade, it's a 110 volt smoke alarm. I forget what that says about it.

That says you'll need to unplug it rather than just take the batteries
out. Does it have batteries? It would seem a smoke alarm that required
110 might not be too good at detecting electrical fires.

In alt.home.repair, on Wed, 04 Jul 2018 13:55:51 -0400, micky
wrote:

In alt.home.repair, on Wed, 4 Jul 2018 12:48:56 -0400, Ed Pawlowski
wrote:

On 7/4/2018 12:03 PM, micky wrote:


But lightning** is not what
I'm worried about. It's my cooking. In the past I've set the smoke
alarm off maybe 10 times in the last 15 years, so I expect to do it
again. However in the past, I had no monitoring, just the smoke alarm,
so if it buzzed, I'd go upstairs and wave a magazine undeneath it until
it stopped. And that was the end of it for a year or two.

What do other people do?


Mine is not monitored. It has a button to push and it stops it for
about 10 minutes or so. Perhaps you can change the device?

I tried to find something like this, but I think I need a keyword that
means "stop for 10 minutes" (until the smoke goes away anyhow.)

I did hunt through some alarm documents and I found that there already
is a 30-second delay.

Unless I can find a better smoke alarm, I need about a 5 minute delay,
to give myself time to go upstairs and use a magazine to blow away the
smoke. It's very hard to understand the alarm manual, and I haven't
even found the right pdf file or the right setting, so it will probably
take 2 hours at least.

One pdf file says "Operates the same as the standard Fire zone, except
the alarm memory and transmission by the communicator is
delayed by 30 seconds. If the alarm is acknowledged by pressing any key
within 30 seconds, the bells will silence and
the transmission will be aborted. If the alarm has been acknowledged,
and the smoke detector has not been
restored to normal, the bell output will activate after 90 seconds. The
user then has another 30 second delay before
the bell output latches and communications is activated. A code is then
required to silence the bell output."

No hint that the delay time can be changed. ;-(

Looking further, again no hint. What a bummer.


I set it off at least twice a month if I forget to turn on the vent over
the range.

In alt.home.repair, on Wed, 4 Jul 2018 12:01:18 -0600, rbowman
wrote:

On 07/04/2018 10:03 AM, micky wrote:
Wade, it's a 110 volt smoke alarm. I forget what that says about it.

That says you'll need to unplug it rather than just take the batteries
out. Does it have batteries? It would seem a smoke alarm that required
110 might not be too good at detecting electrical fires.

One should have both. The 110 volt ones work differently from the
battery operated ones, and one is better at smouldering fires and the
other is better at the other kind.

But even with an electrical fire, it usually takes longer to cut the
power to the house than it takes for the smoke alarm to go off. Just
like even when your car goes into the lake and under the water, you can
still probalby open the power windows if you act quickly.

In alt.home.repair, on Wed, 4 Jul 2018 11:58:50 -0600, rbowman
wrote:

On 07/04/2018 07:54 AM, micky wrote:
How do I get my home's smoke alarm to not send a signal to the
monitoring company right away?

Take the batteries out. It works wonders. My repertoire of blackened
recipes goes well beyond seafood so the smoke alarm got castrated
decades ago.

even if it had batteries, that would not work because I don't plan to
set off the smoke alarm.

On 7/4/18 2:28 PM, micky wrote:
In alt.home.repair, on Wed, 4 Jul 2018 12:01:18 -0600, rbowman
wrote:

On 07/04/2018 10:03 AM, micky wrote:
Wade, it's a 110 volt smoke alarm. I forget what that says about it.

That says you'll need to unplug it rather than just take the batteries
out. Does it have batteries? It would seem a smoke alarm that required
110 might not be too good at detecting electrical fires.

One should have both. The 110 volt ones work differently from the
battery operated ones, and one is better at smouldering fires and the
other is better at the other kind.

But even with an electrical fire, it usually takes longer to cut the
power to the house than it takes for the smoke alarm to go off. Just
like even when your car goes into the lake and under the water, you can
still probalby open the power windows if you act quickly.


No, the power source has nothing to do with which kind of fire a
detector is more sensitive to.

That's determined by Whether it uses photoelectric or ionization
technology. The former is better detecting fast flame, the latter
smoldering fires.

That's why I originally asked you which yours is. I didn't see a reply
though- which is kinda' what I expected given your typical off-point
posts ;-)

--
Stupid is as stupid does.
- Forrest Gump

On Wednesday, July 4, 2018 at 9:54:40 AM UTC-4, micky wrote:
How do I get my home's smoke alarm to not send a signal to the
monitoring company right away?

Even though the system is grounded through a 6' copper rod, there was a
lightning strike that set off the smoke alarm which called the
monitoring company.

A week later, I was broiling something and I left the oven on in case I
needed to put the food in for more time, and though I didn't smell
anything, the smoke alarm went off and it started dialing the monitoring
company within about 2 minutes. I called them and cancelled, but now
I'm afraid to cook anything except by boiling.

What key words should I look for to buy something new?

Modern alarm system panels are highly programmable and the delay for various trips before it sends an alarm can be set. Find the installation manual for your. If you bought it from an alarm monitoring company you won't have the install code ti change it though. But they can change it, probably for the cost of a trip, even though modern ones can be reconfigured remotely.

On 7/4/2018 2:01 PM, rbowman wrote:
On 07/04/2018 10:03 AM, micky wrote:
Wade, it's a 110 volt smoke alarm.* I forget what that says about it.

That says you'll need to unplug it rather than just take the batteries out. Does it have batteries? It would seem a smoke alarm that required 110 might not be too good at detecting electrical fires.



https://www.firstalertstore.com/stor...k-up-3120b.htm

In alt.home.repair, on Wed, 4 Jul 2018 13:54:43 -0700 (PDT), trader_4
wrote:

On Wednesday, July 4, 2018 at 9:54:40 AM UTC-4, micky wrote:
How do I get my home's smoke alarm to not send a signal to the
monitoring company right away?

Even though the system is grounded through a 6' copper rod, there was a
lightning strike that set off the smoke alarm which called the
monitoring company.

A week later, I was broiling something and I left the oven on in case I
needed to put the food in for more time, and though I didn't smell
anything, the smoke alarm went off and it started dialing the monitoring
company within about 2 minutes. I called them and cancelled, but now
I'm afraid to cook anything except by boiling.

What key words should I look for to buy something new?

Modern alarm system panels are highly programmable and the delay for various trips before it sends an alarm can be set. Find the installation manual for your. If you bought it from an alarm monitoring company you won't have the install code ti change it though. But they can change it, probably for the cost of a trip, even though modern ones can be reconfigured remotely.

I have the install code but it seems the delay is not adjustable. Lots
of other things are, but not that. My friend who owns the alarm company
uses newer boards now but I don't want to bother him.

I was hoping there were smoke detectors that themselves had the delay,
that squealed locally at the first notice of smoke, but didn't alert the
monitoring company until some later time. 30 seconds just isn't
enough.

In alt.home.repair, on Wed, 4 Jul 2018 15:44:12 -0400, Wade Garrett
wrote:

On 7/4/18 2:28 PM, micky wrote:
In alt.home.repair, on Wed, 4 Jul 2018 12:01:18 -0600, rbowman
wrote:

On 07/04/2018 10:03 AM, micky wrote:
Wade, it's a 110 volt smoke alarm. I forget what that says about it.

That says you'll need to unplug it rather than just take the batteries
out. Does it have batteries? It would seem a smoke alarm that required
110 might not be too good at detecting electrical fires.

One should have both. The 110 volt ones work differently from the
battery operated ones, and one is better at smouldering fires and the
other is better at the other kind.

But even with an electrical fire, it usually takes longer to cut the
power to the house than it takes for the smoke alarm to go off. Just
like even when your car goes into the lake and under the water, you can
still probalby open the power windows if you act quickly.


No, the power source has nothing to do with which kind of fire a
detector is more sensitive to.

That's determined by Whether it uses photoelectric

These were usually 110 VAC.

or ionization
technology.

And these originally used 9 volt batteries. Later they used other
batteries too.

The former is better detecting fast flame, the latter
smoldering fires.

It's conceivable that things have changed but when last I looked, in
practice what I said was true.

That's why I originally asked you which yours is. I didn't see a reply
though- which is kinda' what I expected given your typical off-point
posts ;-)

Always important to get a little insult in there and then pretend it's
not one by putting a smiley.

On 7/5/2018 12:00 AM, micky wrote:

I was hoping there were smoke detectors that themselves had the delay,
that squealed locally at the first notice of smoke, but didn't alert the
monitoring company until some later time. 30 seconds just isn't
enough.


While you and I think it makes sense, someone will sue the alarm company
because there was a 60 second delay in response and their cat died in
the fire.

On 07/04/2018 02:44 PM, Wade Garrett wrote:

[snip]

That's determined by Whether it uses photoelectric or ionization
technology. The former is better detecting fast flame, the latter
smoldering fires.

I have had battery-operated (9V) units containing both types of detectors.

[snip]

--
Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.us/

"My computer said to "Insert disk #3" but I couldn't get more than one
disk fit in at a time!"

On 07/04/2018 11:04 PM, micky wrote:

[snip]

These were usually 110 VAC.

with a backup battery.

[snip]

On Thursday, July 5, 2018 at 12:00:57 AM UTC-4, micky wrote:
In alt.home.repair, on Wed, 4 Jul 2018 13:54:43 -0700 (PDT), trader_4
wrote:

On Wednesday, July 4, 2018 at 9:54:40 AM UTC-4, micky wrote:
How do I get my home's smoke alarm to not send a signal to the
monitoring company right away?

Even though the system is grounded through a 6' copper rod, there was a
lightning strike that set off the smoke alarm which called the
monitoring company.

A week later, I was broiling something and I left the oven on in case I
needed to put the food in for more time, and though I didn't smell
anything, the smoke alarm went off and it started dialing the monitoring
company within about 2 minutes. I called them and cancelled, but now
I'm afraid to cook anything except by boiling.

What key words should I look for to buy something new?

Modern alarm system panels are highly programmable and the delay for various trips before it sends an alarm can be set. Find the installation manual for your. If you bought it from an alarm monitoring company you won't have the install code ti change it though. But they can change it, probably for the cost of a trip, even though modern ones can be reconfigured remotely.

I have the install code but it seems the delay is not adjustable. Lots
of other things are, but not that. My friend who owns the alarm company
uses newer boards now but I don't want to bother him.

I was hoping there were smoke detectors that themselves had the delay,

I've never seen one that had any delay.




that squealed locally at the first notice of smoke, but didn't alert the
monitoring company until some later time.


Seems to me if you had all kinds of alarm inputs that had their own delay, it
would make the whole system more complex and confusing. Having the alarm
panel control how long a delay there is and for what types of trips is the
more logical approach.



30 seconds just isn't
enough.


Are you sure you're looking at the right settings? If you're looking
at the alarm panel settings specific to fire alarms, that may be the
wrong place. There may be a general setting that changes the delay time
before *all* alarms are reported to the monitoring company. Generally
these home monitored alarm systems are more trouble than they are worth.
Police don't give them much priority because 99% are false alarms, so
they may take quite awhile to arrive. Many places also start fining
people after a couple false alarms. IMO, an alarm with a good siren
that can be heard is good enough, unless you have the Hope diamond
in your house. Any burglar is going to hear the siren go off, they
don't know if it's monitored or not, and they will almost certainly
beat it. Put a sign in the window that says "Monitored Alarm System"
and stop paying monthly monitoring fees, that's my advice. That saves
you money and solves the problem.

On Thursday, July 5, 2018 at 8:35:22 AM UTC-4, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 7/5/2018 12:00 AM, micky wrote:

I was hoping there were smoke detectors that themselves had the delay,
that squealed locally at the first notice of smoke, but didn't alert the
monitoring company until some later time. 30 seconds just isn't
enough.


While you and I think it makes sense, someone will sue the alarm company
because there was a 60 second delay in response and their cat died in
the fire.

That's probably about it. I wish there were smoke detectors that first
started with a reasonable beeping for 30 secs to give you time to get
to it with a dish towel and move the smoke away when you're there and
know it's from opening the oven, before it goes off at 150db.

In alt.home.repair, on Thu, 5 Jul 2018 09:29:08 -0500, Sam E
wrote:

On 07/04/2018 11:04 PM, micky wrote:

[snip]

These were usually 110 VAC.

with a backup battery.

[snip]

The backup battery came later.

In alt.home.repair, on Thu, 5 Jul 2018 07:55:13 -0700 (PDT), trader_4
wrote:

On Thursday, July 5, 2018 at 12:00:57 AM UTC-4, micky wrote:
In alt.home.repair, on Wed, 4 Jul 2018 13:54:43 -0700 (PDT), trader_4
wrote:

On Wednesday, July 4, 2018 at 9:54:40 AM UTC-4, micky wrote:
How do I get my home's smoke alarm to not send a signal to the
monitoring company right away?

Even though the system is grounded through a 6' copper rod, there was a
lightning strike that set off the smoke alarm which called the
monitoring company.

A week later, I was broiling something and I left the oven on in case I
needed to put the food in for more time, and though I didn't smell
anything, the smoke alarm went off and it started dialing the monitoring
company within about 2 minutes. I called them and cancelled, but now
I'm afraid to cook anything except by boiling.

What key words should I look for to buy something new?

Modern alarm system panels are highly programmable and the delay for various trips before it sends an alarm can be set. Find the installation manual for your. If you bought it from an alarm monitoring company you won't have the install code ti change it though. But they can change it, probably for the cost of a trip, even though modern ones can be reconfigured remotely.

I have the install code but it seems the delay is not adjustable. Lots
of other things are, but not that. My friend who owns the alarm company
uses newer boards now but I don't want to bother him.

I was hoping there were smoke detectors that themselves had the delay,

I've never seen one that had any delay.

I went to my friend's website to try to find the installation manual for
the panel he uses now. I dl'd one and searched for "delay" and found
in an Impasse manual: "Note that fire-type alarms are normally reported
without a delay".

My friend has bought maybe 10 smaller companies, so he has customers now
that use, or used when he got them, lots of different panels. So he has
manuals online for lots of panels that either he uses now or has used in
the past. As he has time, he replaces the panels with his favorite
panel. And I guess if I want to know what that is, I'll have to ask
someone there.

that squealed locally at the first notice of smoke, but didn't alert the
monitoring company until some later time.

I don't think any panel has a smoke input, only fire.



Seems to me if you had all kinds of alarm inputs that had their own delay, it
would make the whole system more complex and confusing.

It would require documentation,

Having the alarm
panel control how long a delay there is and for what types of trips is the
more logical approach.

I have no objection to that, and unlike Impasse, my panel gives me 30
seconds. As you can imagine, there is no way I can get upstairs and
wave away the smoke (which is inside the detector by now).

30 seconds just isn't
enough.

Oh, I said that.


Are you sure you're looking at the right settings? If you're looking

You may be right**. i will look some more. The installation manual is
very complicated. I installed my own alarm 35 years ago and that manual
was complicated with some argot I didn't undestand. I read it over and
over and over and over, over 5 or 10 hours before I knew it well enough.
And this one is worse.

at the alarm panel settings specific to fire alarms, that may be the
wrong place. There may be a general setting that changes the delay time

I've been relying on searching for delay or fire. Later I found out
that PDF-XchangeEditor will let me search for two words at the same time

But maybe that doesn't find everything.

before *all* alarms are reported to the monitoring company. Generally
these home monitored alarm systems are more trouble than they are worth.
Police don't give them much priority because 99% are false alarms, so

That's why monitoring companies were created. They are supposed to
verify the problem and when they can't get a phone reply and the
password, they should call the police or fire that should consider it
NOT a false alarm. And indeed, it was only 5 or 10 minutes after the
alarm went off before a policeman showed up. And part of that time was
spent before the dialer dialed (30 seconds) and then by the monitors
trying to reach me.

they may take quite awhile to arrive. Many places also start fining
people after a couple false alarms. IMO, an alarm with a good siren
that can be heard is good enough, unless you have the Hope diamond

You're the first person I've met who agrees with me on that. Even 35
years ago, I bought a separate amplifier panel to run the siren off of
18 volts instead of 12 to make it louder. And I have a siren under the
eaves and another in the attic. Which is sort of ridiculous. I have a
2 story house plus another foot of the basement is above ground and no
one here is going to climb up and cut** the wires to the siren, or fill
it full of foam. **If they did cut the wires, it has 4 wires instead
of 2 and cutting the other 2 will set off the alarm.

And it seems true that my neighbors ignore the alarm when it goes off,
even though they are not common here at all.

But I think the burglar will hear the alarm the moment he breaks the
door or window, and why would he possibly stick around? It's not like
this is Topkapi.

in your house. Any burglar is going to hear the siren go off, they
don't know if it's monitored or not, and they will almost certainly
beat it. Put a sign in the window that says "Monitored Alarm System"

I've got that.

and stop paying monthly monitoring fees, that's my advice. That saves
you money and solves the problem.

80% or more of the fire danger is when I'm home causing fires. I can
call the fire department

I don't even set the alarm when I'm in town. I wanted it mostly for
trips, 3 weeks to drive to Florida and back, and 3 months abroad in
2017, 2 months in 2018, and a similar trip planned for next year**

When I got back from every trip I've taken, everything was like I'd left
it, including the car, but a vacant house a few blocks away was broken
into and used as a "clubhouse" by teenagers, who also did a lot of
damage. I guess the siren is enough to stop that.



**BTW the 3 month trip was iirc only 7500, including everything,
airfare, room, car, phone, meals, souvenirs. The 2-month trip was
$4500. That's how I can afford to take such long trips. Last year
rented a room for $900 a month. This year lucked out, better roommmates
and only $450/month. Older, smaller, more rundown apartment but I don't
care about that.

On 7/4/2018 9:03 AM, micky wrote:
In alt.home.repair, on Wed, 4 Jul 2018 08:44:29 -0700 (PDT), John G
wrote:

On Wednesday, July 4, 2018 at 9:54:40 AM UTC-4, micky wrote:
How do I get my home's smoke alarm to not send a signal to the
monitoring company right away?

Even though the system is grounded through a 6' copper rod, there was a
lightning strike that set off the smoke alarm which called the
monitoring company.

A week later, I was broiling something and I left the oven on in case I
needed to put the food in for more time, and though I didn't smell
anything, the smoke alarm went off and it started dialing the monitoring
company within about 2 minutes. I called them and cancelled, but now
I'm afraid to cook anything except by boiling.

What key words should I look for to buy something new?

I would contact the alarm company for guidance. Maybe they can do something at their end.

It's a long story but for good reasons I hate to bother them.

A 6' ground rod is not to code. 8' is the minimum required length and burial depth. Even though you have a ground rod, if the connections to the ground rod and at the service are not good, the rod will not be as effective as it can be.

Maybe it was 8 feet. It's been a while. But lightning** is not what
I'm worried about. It's my cooking. In the past I've set the smoke
alarm off maybe 10 times in the last 15 years, so I expect to do it
again. However in the past, I had no monitoring, just the smoke alarm,
so if it buzzed, I'd go upstairs and wave a magazine undeneath it until
it stopped. And that was the end of it for a year or two.

What do other people do?

I have a 9v powered smoke detector with a silence button I set on top of
the fridge. Cooking sets it off quick, I reset it and ventilate.

On 7/5/18 12:04 AM, micky wrote:
In alt.home.repair, on Wed, 4 Jul 2018 15:44:12 -0400, Wade Garrett
wrote:


That's why I originally asked you which yours is. I didn't see a reply
though- which is kinda' what I expected given your typical off-point
posts ;-)

Always important to get a little insult in there and then pretend it's
not one by putting a smiley.


Nah, that wasn't an insult. If I wanted to insult you, believe me- you
would have known it.

My plonk file erroneously let you through and it was constructive
criticism/feedback attempting to improve the quality and focus of posts
in this newsgroup.

Really dude, you can't be serious with half the scribble you launch
clicking on the SEND button!

--
€œI succeeded by saying what everyone else is thinking.€�
- Joan Rivers, RIP

In alt.home.repair, on Thu, 5 Jul 2018 12:15:55 -0700, Bob F
wrote:

On 7/4/2018 9:03 AM, micky wrote:
In alt.home.repair, on Wed, 4 Jul 2018 08:44:29 -0700 (PDT), John G
wrote:

On Wednesday, July 4, 2018 at 9:54:40 AM UTC-4, micky wrote:
How do I get my home's smoke alarm to not send a signal to the
monitoring company right away?

Even though the system is grounded through a 6' copper rod, there was a
lightning strike that set off the smoke alarm which called the
monitoring company.

A week later, I was broiling something and I left the oven on in case I
needed to put the food in for more time, and though I didn't smell
anything, the smoke alarm went off and it started dialing the monitoring
company within about 2 minutes. I called them and cancelled, but now
I'm afraid to cook anything except by boiling.

What key words should I look for to buy something new?

I would contact the alarm company for guidance. Maybe they can do something at their end.

It's a long story but for good reasons I hate to bother them.

A 6' ground rod is not to code. 8' is the minimum required length and burial depth. Even though you have a ground rod, if the connections to the ground rod and at the service are not good, the rod will not be as effective as it can be.

Maybe it was 8 feet. It's been a while. But lightning** is not what
I'm worried about. It's my cooking. In the past I've set the smoke
alarm off maybe 10 times in the last 15 years, so I expect to do it
again. However in the past, I had no monitoring, just the smoke alarm,
so if it buzzed, I'd go upstairs and wave a magazine undeneath it until
it stopped. And that was the end of it for a year or two.

What do other people do?

I have a 9v powered smoke detector with a silence button I set on top of
the fridge. Cooking sets it off quick, I reset it and ventilate.

That's' a good idea, but that means it's not connected to the house
alarm and won't call the monitoring who calls the fire department if
there's a fire. I have one like that too except no silence button. I
put it in the fridge until it stops beeping. ;-)

In alt.home.repair, on Thu, 5 Jul 2018 17:05:00 -0400, Wade Garrett
wrote:

On 7/5/18 12:04 AM, micky wrote:
In alt.home.repair, on Wed, 4 Jul 2018 15:44:12 -0400, Wade Garrett
wrote:


That's why I originally asked you which yours is. I didn't see a reply
though- which is kinda' what I expected given your typical off-point
posts ;-)

Always important to get a little insult in there and then pretend it's
not one by putting a smiley.


Nah, that wasn't an insult. If I wanted to insult you, believe me- you
would have known it.

My plonk file erroneously let you through and it was constructive
criticism/feedback attempting to improve the quality and focus of posts
in this newsgroup.

Really dude, you can't be serious with half the scribble you launch
clicking on the SEND button!

Another insult. Without your even knowing you're doing it. Shows how
experienced you are at it.

On 7/5/2018 10:56 PM, micky wrote:
In alt.home.repair, on Thu, 5 Jul 2018 12:15:55 -0700, Bob F
wrote:

On 7/4/2018 9:03 AM, micky wrote:
In alt.home.repair, on Wed, 4 Jul 2018 08:44:29 -0700 (PDT), John G
wrote:

On Wednesday, July 4, 2018 at 9:54:40 AM UTC-4, micky wrote:
How do I get my home's smoke alarm to not send a signal to the
monitoring company right away?

Even though the system is grounded through a 6' copper rod, there was a
lightning strike that set off the smoke alarm which called the
monitoring company.

A week later, I was broiling something and I left the oven on in case I
needed to put the food in for more time, and though I didn't smell
anything, the smoke alarm went off and it started dialing the monitoring
company within about 2 minutes. I called them and cancelled, but now
I'm afraid to cook anything except by boiling.

What key words should I look for to buy something new?

I would contact the alarm company for guidance. Maybe they can do something at their end.

It's a long story but for good reasons I hate to bother them.

A 6' ground rod is not to code. 8' is the minimum required length and burial depth. Even though you have a ground rod, if the connections to the ground rod and at the service are not good, the rod will not be as effective as it can be.

Maybe it was 8 feet. It's been a while. But lightning** is not what
I'm worried about. It's my cooking. In the past I've set the smoke
alarm off maybe 10 times in the last 15 years, so I expect to do it
again. However in the past, I had no monitoring, just the smoke alarm,
so if it buzzed, I'd go upstairs and wave a magazine undeneath it until
it stopped. And that was the end of it for a year or two.

What do other people do?

I have a 9v powered smoke detector with a silence button I set on top of
the fridge. Cooking sets it off quick, I reset it and ventilate.

That's' a good idea, but that means it's not connected to the house
alarm and won't call the monitoring who calls the fire department if
there's a fire. I have one like that too except no silence button. I
put it in the fridge until it stops beeping. ;-)


Your other alarm will do all that. If you are worried about cooking
smoke, the extra alarm tells you that quickly so the other one doesn't
have to.

On 7/5/2018 2:05 PM, Wade Garrett wrote:
On 7/5/18 12:04 AM, micky wrote:
In alt.home.repair, on Wed, 4 Jul 2018 15:44:12 -0400, Wade Garrett
wrote:


That's why I originally asked you which yours is. I didn't see a reply
though- which is kinda' what I expected given your typical off-point
posts ;-)

Always important to get a little insult in there and then pretend it's
not one by putting a smiley.


Nah, that wasn't an insult. If I wanted to insult you, believe me- you
would have known it.

My plonk file erroneously let you through and it was constructive
criticism/feedback attempting to improve the quality and focus of posts
in this newsgroup.

Really dude, you can't be serious with half the scribble you launch
clicking on the SEND button!


Yes, it was an insult. As was this one. At least Micky listens to what
people say to him. He is way more of a contributor here than the know it
all dull blade. This thread is actually on topic. How unusual is that?