A few months ago I decided that it was prudent to fit a smoke alarm, much
against the wishes of SWMBO (it's ugly, if it goes off, I'll hit it with a
brush, etc etc).

What I _wanted_ was to get 2 mains interlinked ones with battery backup, and
a "shut up" button in case of nuisance tripping due to smoke from grill
pans, etc. Ideally, it shoudl have also had a 15 second or so warning that
it was about to go off so that it could be overridden before incurring the
wrath of SWMBO who might have been asleep in bed whilst I was burning
toast...

However, enquiries here, online, in electrical wholesalers, etc, indicated
that such a beast did not exist, and for interlinked ones once one had gone
off then the other would operate independently and need resetting
independently if indeed I could find one with "shut up" button.

So, as a stop gap measure I fitted a cheap battery operated one.

Now, this doesn;'t have an override, so the only way to shut it up is to
remove the battery.

When the smoke has cleared, the battery has to be replaced, in which case it
will sound for up to 60 seconds. So, replacing the battery late at night
isn't an option.

Of course this one now will not shut up at all - have left it for 5 mins and
it still continues sounding.

The result? The battery is sitting on the stairs...

Completely useless. In fact, worse than useless - it's modus operandi means
that it's more likely to be left disabled than not.

This one's going back, if I can find the invoice.

So, does my ideal out there exist? if not, why the hell not? A product
that works in a conceptually perfect way but is impractical or irritating
beyond belief in practise is no good whatsoever - surely a pragmatic product
that encourages it's proper use rather than complete disablement isn't too
much to ask?

As I say, grrrr.....


Richard
--
Richard Sampson

email me at
richard at olifant d-ot co do-t uk

What I _wanted_ was to get 2 mains interlinked ones with battery backup,
and a "shut up" button in case of nuisance tripping due to smoke from
grill pans, etc.

It is not permitted to install smoke alarms near kitchens for this very
reason. You should use a mains interlinked heat detector alarm. Then, on the
same floor, but far from the kitchen door, fit an optical detector. Use
ionisation detectors upstairs. This should prevent accidental operation
except in cases where you really would hope it went off.

Christian.

"Christian McArdle" wrote in message
t...
What I _wanted_ was to get 2 mains interlinked ones with battery backup,
and a "shut up" button in case of nuisance tripping due to smoke from
grill pans, etc.

It is not permitted to install smoke alarms near kitchens for this very
reason. You should use a mains interlinked heat detector alarm. Then, on
the
same floor, but far from the kitchen door, fit an optical detector. Use
ionisation detectors upstairs. This should prevent accidental operation
except in cases where you really would hope it went off.

Christian.



It's about 4 metres away, in the downstairs hallway at the moment. Of
course, the missus never remembers to put the extractor on when grilling
things....

Perhaps the optical detector would have been a better bet.


cheers
Richard

--
Richard Sampson

email me at
richard at olifant d-ot co do-t uk

"RichardS" noaccess@invalid wrote in message
. ..

Now, this doesn;'t have an override, so the only way to shut it up is to
remove the battery.
When the smoke has cleared, the battery has to be replaced, in which case
it
will sound for up to 60 seconds. So, replacing the battery late at night
isn't an option.

Our smoke-alarm is in the hallway, just off the kitchen, and sometimes goes
off when the grill is being used.
A waft of a newspaper underneath it, or even just a hand, always shuts it
up.

i got all 3 in the screwfix catalog and have them in a line on the ceiling. i had a big fire in the grate last week that smoked. they went off, they all shut
up when the smoke cleared.

Rick

On Mon, 17 Nov 2003 17:03:14 -0000, "RichardS" noaccess@invalid wrote:

A few months ago I decided that it was prudent to fit a smoke alarm, much
against the wishes of SWMBO (it's ugly, if it goes off, I'll hit it with a
brush, etc etc).

What I _wanted_ was to get 2 mains interlinked ones with battery backup, and
a "shut up" button in case of nuisance tripping due to smoke from grill
pans, etc. Ideally, it shoudl have also had a 15 second or so warning that
it was about to go off so that it could be overridden before incurring the
wrath of SWMBO who might have been asleep in bed whilst I was burning
toast...

However, enquiries here, online, in electrical wholesalers, etc, indicated
that such a beast did not exist, and for interlinked ones once one had gone
off then the other would operate independently and need resetting
independently if indeed I could find one with "shut up" button.

So, as a stop gap measure I fitted a cheap battery operated one.

Now, this doesn;'t have an override, so the only way to shut it up is to
remove the battery.

When the smoke has cleared, the battery has to be replaced, in which case it
will sound for up to 60 seconds. So, replacing the battery late at night
isn't an option.

Of course this one now will not shut up at all - have left it for 5 mins and
it still continues sounding.

The result? The battery is sitting on the stairs...

Completely useless. In fact, worse than useless - it's modus operandi means
that it's more likely to be left disabled than not.

This one's going back, if I can find the invoice.

So, does my ideal out there exist? if not, why the hell not? A product
that works in a conceptually perfect way but is impractical or irritating
beyond belief in practise is no good whatsoever - surely a pragmatic product
that encourages it's proper use rather than complete disablement isn't too
much to ask?

As I say, grrrr.....


Richard
--
Richard Sampson

email me at
richard at olifant d-ot co do-t uk

RichardS wrote:

A few months ago I decided that it was prudent to fit a smoke alarm, much
against the wishes of SWMBO (it's ugly, if it goes off, I'll hit it with a
brush, etc etc).

What I _wanted_ was to get 2 mains interlinked ones with battery backup, and
a "shut up" button in case of nuisance tripping due to smoke from grill
pans, etc. Ideally, it shoudl have also had a 15 second or so warning that
it was about to go off so that it could be overridden before incurring the
wrath of SWMBO who might have been asleep in bed whilst I was burning
toast...

However, enquiries here, online, in electrical wholesalers, etc, indicated
that such a beast did not exist, and for interlinked ones once one had gone
off then the other would operate independently and need resetting
independently if indeed I could find one with "shut up" button.

So, as a stop gap measure I fitted a cheap battery operated one.

Now, this doesn;'t have an override, so the only way to shut it up is to
remove the battery.

When the smoke has cleared, the battery has to be replaced, in which case it
will sound for up to 60 seconds. So, replacing the battery late at night
isn't an option.

Of course this one now will not shut up at all - have left it for 5 mins and
it still continues sounding.

The result? The battery is sitting on the stairs...

Completely useless. In fact, worse than useless - it's modus operandi means
that it's more likely to be left disabled than not.

This one's going back, if I can find the invoice.

So, does my ideal out there exist? if not, why the hell not? A product
that works in a conceptually perfect way but is impractical or irritating
beyond belief in practise is no good whatsoever - surely a pragmatic product
that encourages it's proper use rather than complete disablement isn't too
much to ask?

As I say, grrrr.....


Richard
--
Richard Sampson

email me at
richard at olifant d-ot co do-t uk



just a quick delurk in passing :-)
I really got fed up with our smoke alarm going off all the time in our
hallway. We've put in a fireangel detector. It goes between your
lightbulb and socket. If it goes off by accident you just flip your
light switch on and off. Works very well, 'cept the test mode is to turn
the lightswitch on and off quickly. if you do that in the middle of the
night when everyone is sleeping its a bit of a bugger....
SarahH

snip

Had a B&D one some years back, was a right pain in the ... So I bought a
decant (Kiddie) combined smoke and Co one, has only once gone-off by
accident, when I was soldering some copper pipe up-stairs (so it does
work!). Don't but cheapies, good ones don't cost that much more and do a
better job.

On Mon, 17 Nov 2003 17:03:14 -0000, "RichardS" noaccess@invalid
wrote:

A few months ago I decided that it was prudent to fit a smoke alarm, much
against the wishes of SWMBO (it's ugly, if it goes off, I'll hit it with a
brush, etc etc).

Hi.

I'm new to the group but I happen to be a Firefighter. May I take a
moment to say to SWAMBO that this could be one of the most important
gadgets you ever install? If she cares about her family that is.

http://www.odpm.gov.uk/pns/DisplayPN...n_id=2003_0161

"The total number of fires attended increased by 3% to 529,400." It
*can* happen to you.

What I _wanted_ was to get 2 mains interlinked ones with battery backup, and
a "shut up" button in case of nuisance tripping due to smoke from grill
pans, etc. Ideally, it shoudl have also had a 15 second or so warning that
it was about to go off so that it could be overridden before incurring the
wrath of SWMBO who might have been asleep in bed whilst I was burning
toast...

I have a 'hush' detector downstairs. It sometimes goes off when
cooking and I press a button on the alarm to silence it. It beeps
once a minute or so for 15 minutes to warn me it is in hush mode, then
resets to normal.

However, enquiries here, online, in electrical wholesalers, etc, indicated
that such a beast did not exist, and for interlinked ones once one had gone
off then the other would operate independently and need resetting
independently if indeed I could find one with "shut up" button.

I don't know individual brands. Just ensure it has a British standard
Kite mark. Got mine from B&Q, about 7 quid, a year or so ago.

So, as a stop gap measure I fitted a cheap battery operated one.

Better than none, believe me.

Now, this doesn;'t have an override, so the only way to shut it up is to
remove the battery.

When the smoke has cleared, the battery has to be replaced, in which case it
will sound for up to 60 seconds. So, replacing the battery late at night
isn't an option.

This shouldn't happen. Putting a battery in makes it beep once at the
most. I fit loads of detectors for free due to a local fire safety
scheme and never has one activated for 60 seconds on fitting a
battery.

Of course this one now will not shut up at all - have left it for 5 mins and
it still continues sounding.

Sounds like a defective unit.

The result? The battery is sitting on the stairs...

Completely useless. In fact, worse than useless - it's modus operandi means
that it's more likely to be left disabled than not.

This one's going back, if I can find the invoice.

They're so cheap you shouldn't wait. But invoice or not if you
demonstrat instore they should be happy (!) to take it back.

So, does my ideal out there exist? if not, why the hell not? A product
that works in a conceptually perfect way but is impractical or irritating
beyond belief in practise is no good whatsoever - surely a pragmatic product
that encourages it's proper use rather than complete disablement isn't too
much to ask?

As I say, grrrr.....

Also, ask your local fire station for the number of your fire safety
department. They'll be happy to help.

"Mike Barnard" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 17 Nov 2003 17:03:14 -0000, "RichardS" noaccess@invalid
wrote:

A few months ago I decided that it was prudent to fit a smoke alarm, much
against the wishes of SWMBO (it's ugly, if it goes off, I'll hit it with
a
brush, etc etc).

Hi.

I'm new to the group but I happen to be a Firefighter. May I take a
moment to say to SWAMBO that this could be one of the most important
gadgets you ever install? If she cares about her family that is.

http://www.odpm.gov.uk/pns/DisplayPN...n_id=2003_0161

"The total number of fires attended increased by 3% to 529,400." It
*can* happen to you.

What I _wanted_ was to get 2 mains interlinked ones with battery backup,
and
a "shut up" button in case of nuisance tripping due to smoke from grill
pans, etc. Ideally, it shoudl have also had a 15 second or so warning
that
it was about to go off so that it could be overridden before incurring
the
wrath of SWMBO who might have been asleep in bed whilst I was burning
toast...

I have a 'hush' detector downstairs. It sometimes goes off when
cooking and I press a button on the alarm to silence it. It beeps
once a minute or so for 15 minutes to warn me it is in hush mode, then
resets to normal.

However, enquiries here, online, in electrical wholesalers, etc,
indicated
that such a beast did not exist, and for interlinked ones once one had
gone
off then the other would operate independently and need resetting
independently if indeed I could find one with "shut up" button.

I don't know individual brands. Just ensure it has a British standard
Kite mark. Got mine from B&Q, about 7 quid, a year or so ago.

So, as a stop gap measure I fitted a cheap battery operated one.

Better than none, believe me.

Now, this doesn;'t have an override, so the only way to shut it up is to
remove the battery.

When the smoke has cleared, the battery has to be replaced, in which case
it
will sound for up to 60 seconds. So, replacing the battery late at night
isn't an option.

This shouldn't happen. Putting a battery in makes it beep once at the
most. I fit loads of detectors for free due to a local fire safety
scheme and never has one activated for 60 seconds on fitting a
battery.

Of course this one now will not shut up at all - have left it for 5 mins
and
it still continues sounding.

Sounds like a defective unit.

The result? The battery is sitting on the stairs...

Completely useless. In fact, worse than useless - it's modus operandi
means
that it's more likely to be left disabled than not.

This one's going back, if I can find the invoice.

They're so cheap you shouldn't wait. But invoice or not if you
demonstrat instore they should be happy (!) to take it back.

So, does my ideal out there exist? if not, why the hell not? A product
that works in a conceptually perfect way but is impractical or irritating
beyond belief in practise is no good whatsoever - surely a pragmatic
product
that encourages it's proper use rather than complete disablement isn't
too
much to ask?

As I say, grrrr.....

Also, ask your local fire station for the number of your fire safety
department. They'll be happy to help.


Well, I think that I'm slowly winning the battle with her - the old one is
still installed but currently inoperable. She's not demanded it's removal
which is a positive step.

Having read a lot of the posts (thanks, folks) then I'm going to go out and
find a much better optical model with a hush function, which should sort out
the nuisance tripping. Once she finds that we can have protection without
the tripping then the next stage of detectors upstairs can be carried out.

--
Richard Sampson

email me at
richard at olifant d-ot co do-t uk

Once she finds that we can have protection without the tripping
then the next stage of detectors upstairs can be carried out.

The upstairs ones are more important anyway. They are closer to the
bedrooms, so will be heard at night. Smoke rises, so in a real fire, they
might even activate earlier than the downstairs ones, even in a downstairs
fire.

Christian.

P.S. the beeping of the hush feature must be the most annoying thing ever.
Why would I want a 3000dB beep every five seconds to remind me not to set
fire to myself, whilst the alarm is in hush mode? It just encourages people
to remove batteries instead.

I bought a couple of linked detectors from an alarm specialist shop in
Middleton about £ 20 each. Fitted one in shed the other top of landing and
connected both to 24 hr loop on house alarm. apart from the landing one
telling me occasionaly that the bacon is ready on a Saturday morning they've
been no trouble at all. I test twice a year with a smoking candle, NB I also
added magnetic door switch on shed to 24hr loop and that used to go off in
high winds untill I added an extra shed door twist thing ( don't know what
you call 'em, bar of metal; with hole in middle, screw to shed half
overlapping door ) near the bottom of the door. These have 5 connections
each, ground,+12v,link to next one,and a pair of normally closed contacts
for a 24hr loop.

there must be similar readily available if you check out alarm suppliers.

--
Pete Cross

"Christian McArdle" wrote in message
. net...
Once she finds that we can have protection without the tripping
then the next stage of detectors upstairs can be carried out.

The upstairs ones are more important anyway. They are closer to the
bedrooms, so will be heard at night. Smoke rises, so in a real fire, they
might even activate earlier than the downstairs ones, even in a downstairs
fire.

Christian.

P.S. the beeping of the hush feature must be the most annoying thing ever.
Why would I want a 3000dB beep every five seconds to remind me not to set
fire to myself, whilst the alarm is in hush mode? It just encourages
people
to remove batteries instead.