The fire alarm and the office chair
 

We have three mains powered, battery backed, linked fire sensors. Last
week - beep, beep, beep - then silence for several minutes. Usually the
sign that a battery needs replacement. None of the three are flashing,
so difficult to work out which one is complaining and the complaint is
irregular anyway.

So I decided they had been in a while, get three new batteries, so a
special trip to a local centre to get them, plus a spare. This after
checking the alarm's leaflet and seeing alkaline PP3.

Got back, more reading of the leaflet, to see how to remove head to
replace the batteries, then steps and remove an head. Remove head and
search inside in vain, to find a replaceable battery. Reread leaflet
and only the none mains version uses a PP3. Mains version uses a none
replaceable lithium. Admit defeat, put it all back and decide to ring
supplier, because it suggests it has a 10 year guarantee.

I delayed making the call until yesterday morning, sat down in my
office chair, in the small bedroom where I have a bit of office like
space to make the call.

Chair mechanism for the nth time slipped, so chair tries to deposit me
on the floor. Its a hydraulic up/down, with a lockable sprung lean
forward/ back. Lean lock keeps slipping.

It is a chair I was given 20 years ago from an office which was closing
down. I had a quick look at the locking system before, but ran out of
time before any progress.

Yesterday, I looked at buying replacement - around £70 plus the council
disposal cost another £20 and decided to have another go at fixing it.
Four hours later, I was still at it lean springs had both broken,
locking system worn out from slipping, hydraulic up/down fine, so I
decided to simply permanently fix the lean system, so it would no
longer move. Weld up a tubular T bracket, between under seat bracket
and hydraulic stem. That took the remainder of the day and too late to
ring about the fire alarm problem.

6am this morning, the beep-beep-beep starts again. Just a short series,
still not long enough to be certain where it is coming from,
but....This time I think I know where it is actually coming from. A
battery powered fire alarm in my loft workshop/radio shack.

The fire alarm and the office chair
 

On 02/08/2018 08:18, Harry Bloomfield wrote:

only the none mains version uses a PP3. Mains version uses a none
replaceable lithium. Admit defeat, put it all back and decide to ring
supplier, because it suggests it has a 10 year guarantee.

in most cases the alarm itself is supposed to be replaced after 10
years, so if they can make the lithium cell last that long, there is not
much point in making it replaceable - it might only encourage people to
carry on using an alarm that has lost sensitivity.


--
Cheers,

John.

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The fire alarm and the office chair
 

Alexa, which is the broken fire alarm.
Sorry I don't know that...
Brian

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This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...

Blind user, so no pictures please
Note this Signature is meaningless.!
"Harry Bloomfield" wrote in message
...
We have three mains powered, battery backed, linked fire sensors. Last
week - beep, beep, beep - then silence for several minutes. Usually the
sign that a battery needs replacement. None of the three are flashing, so
difficult to work out which one is complaining and the complaint is
irregular anyway.

So I decided they had been in a while, get three new batteries, so a
special trip to a local centre to get them, plus a spare. This after
checking the alarm's leaflet and seeing alkaline PP3.

Got back, more reading of the leaflet, to see how to remove head to
replace the batteries, then steps and remove an head. Remove head and
search inside in vain, to find a replaceable battery. Reread leaflet and
only the none mains version uses a PP3. Mains version uses a none
replaceable lithium. Admit defeat, put it all back and decide to ring
supplier, because it suggests it has a 10 year guarantee.

I delayed making the call until yesterday morning, sat down in my office
chair, in the small bedroom where I have a bit of office like space to
make the call.

Chair mechanism for the nth time slipped, so chair tries to deposit me on
the floor. Its a hydraulic up/down, with a lockable sprung lean forward/
back. Lean lock keeps slipping.

It is a chair I was given 20 years ago from an office which was closing
down. I had a quick look at the locking system before, but ran out of time
before any progress.

Yesterday, I looked at buying replacement - around £70 plus the council
disposal cost another £20 and decided to have another go at fixing it.
Four hours later, I was still at it lean springs had both broken, locking
system worn out from slipping, hydraulic up/down fine, so I decided to
simply permanently fix the lean system, so it would no longer move. Weld
up a tubular T bracket, between under seat bracket and hydraulic stem.
That took the remainder of the day and too late to ring about the fire
alarm problem.

6am this morning, the beep-beep-beep starts again. Just a short series,
still not long enough to be certain where it is coming from, but....This
time I think I know where it is actually coming from. A battery powered
fire alarm in my loft workshop/radio shack.

The fire alarm and the office chair
 

I've got a fire alarm older than that and it still goes off when you do
toast in the kitchen downstairs. it alls bleeps when its battery is going
down, usually in the middle of the night.. Its only those with radioactive
sources that wear out I think.
How do the others work?
Brian

--
----- --
This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...

Blind user, so no pictures please
Note this Signature is meaningless.!
"John Rumm" wrote in message
...
On 02/08/2018 08:18, Harry Bloomfield wrote:

only the none mains version uses a PP3. Mains version uses a none
replaceable lithium. Admit defeat, put it all back and decide to ring
supplier, because it suggests it has a 10 year guarantee.

in most cases the alarm itself is supposed to be replaced after 10 years,
so if they can make the lithium cell last that long, there is not much
point in making it replaceable - it might only encourage people to carry
on using an alarm that has lost sensitivity.


--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

The fire alarm and the office chair
 

Harry Bloomfield explained :
6am this morning, the beep-beep-beep starts again. Just a short series, still
not long enough to be certain where it is coming from, but....This time I
think I know where it is actually coming from. A battery powered fire alarm
in my loft workshop/radio shack.

Nope, still wrong. The one in the loft doesn't have a replaceable
battery at all. It says it is good to 2024. So now I am completely
stumped as to what is giving out three beeps at very irregular times.
If only it would repeat its beep long enough to track it down.

The fire alarm and the office chair
 

On 02/08/2018 16:20, Brian Gaff wrote:
I've got a fire alarm older than that and it still goes off when you do
toast in the kitchen downstairs. it alls bleeps when its battery is going
down, usually in the middle of the night.. Its only those with radioactive
sources that wear out I think.

Most are the ionisation type...

How do the others work?

Optical detection or heat detection.

(the optical ones also "age" due to dust etc, and the heat detectors are
not effective as general purpose early warning alarms)

--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

The fire alarm and the office chair
 

In article ,
says...

Harry Bloomfield explained :
6am this morning, the beep-beep-beep starts again. Just a short series, still
not long enough to be certain where it is coming from, but....This time I
think I know where it is actually coming from. A battery powered fire alarm
in my loft workshop/radio shack.

Nope, still wrong. The one in the loft doesn't have a replaceable
battery at all. It says it is good to 2024. So now I am completely
stumped as to what is giving out three beeps at very irregular times.
If only it would repeat its beep long enough to track it down.

Just telling my wife about your problem when I saw this and
read it out.

She says is it possible thar you have thin walls and its
coming from your neighbour's house?

Thought I'd pass it on - you never know, she could be right.

--

Terry

---
This email has been checked for viruses by AVG.
https://www.avg.com

The fire alarm and the office chair
 

Terry Casey wrote :
She says is it possible thar you have thin walls and its
coming from your neighbour's house?

Thought I'd pass it on - you never know, she could be right.


--

Not thin at all, definitely in the house.

The fire alarm and the office chair
 

"John Rumm" wrote in message
...
On 02/08/2018 08:18, Harry Bloomfield wrote:

only the none mains version uses a PP3. Mains version uses a none
replaceable lithium. Admit defeat, put it all back and decide to ring
supplier, because it suggests it has a 10 year guarantee.

in most cases the alarm itself is supposed to be replaced after 10 years,
so if they can make the lithium cell last that long, there is not much
point in making it replaceable - it might only encourage people to carry
on using an alarm that has lost sensitivity.

That's not true of the photoelectric alarms.

The fire alarm and the office chair
 

On 02/08/2018 17:04, Harry Bloomfield wrote:
Harry Bloomfield explained :
6am this morning, the beep-beep-beep starts again. Just a short
series, still not long enough to be certain where it is coming from,
but....This time I think I know where it is actually coming from. A
battery powered fire alarm in my loft workshop/radio shack.

Nope, still wrong. The one in the loft doesn't have a replaceable
battery at all. It says it is good to 2024. So now I am completely
stumped as to what is giving out three beeps at very irregular times. If
only it would repeat its beep long enough to track it down.

In our case, after days of looking, it turned out to be the electronic
catflap complaining of a low battery.

SteveW

The fire alarm and the office chair
 

"Brian Gaff" wrote in message
...
I've got a fire alarm older than that and it still goes off when you do
toast in the kitchen downstairs. it alls bleeps when its battery is going
down, usually in the middle of the night.. Its only those with radioactive
sources that wear out I think.

How do the others work?

Photoelectric.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoke_detector

"John Rumm" wrote in message
...
On 02/08/2018 08:18, Harry Bloomfield wrote:

only the none mains version uses a PP3. Mains version uses a none
replaceable lithium. Admit defeat, put it all back and decide to ring
supplier, because it suggests it has a 10 year guarantee.

in most cases the alarm itself is supposed to be replaced after 10 years,
so if they can make the lithium cell last that long, there is not much
point in making it replaceable - it might only encourage people to carry
on using an alarm that has lost sensitivity.


--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/