Annoyed - smoke detector and 9v backup batteries

[ltiu]

I am really annoyed at those types of smoke detectors that are hooked to AC power but have a 9v backup battery.

When the 9v runs low, it beeps once every 2 minutes or so until you change the 9v battery.

It seems to occur at insane hours typically when you are asleep. You are forced to get up and go out to the local 24 hour store to get a 9v and replace it.

I remember the rule to change smoke detector batteries once a year. But I think this rule applies to those that are not hooked up to AC power.

 

[Norm]

I am really annoyed at those types of smoke detectors that are hooked to AC power but have a 9v backup battery.

When the 9v runs low, it beeps once every 2 minutes or so until you change the 9v battery. Otherwise how would you know the battery was flat ?

It seems to occur at insane hours typically when you are asleep. You are forced to get up and go out to the local 24 hour store to get a 9v and replace it. The battery Voltage will be lower at night because the temperature is lower, hence they always beep in the night when the battery is nearing the end of its life..

I remember the rule to change smoke detector batteries once a year. But I think this rule applies to those that are not hooked up to AC power. You still need a back up battery your house may catch fire due to an electrical fault and there may be no power for the smoke detectors. Fire may also occur during a blackout.

 

[Varriano]

We recently had our smokes tested (hard wired units with 9v backup) and the service guy suggested that we vacuum the penetration into the ceiling whenever we change the batts. Seems that the LED's are bright enough at night to attract small insects causing an occasional false trigger.

 

[greenlight]

I remember this happening once and I cut the wires instead of buying a new battery. I'm getting older and I can't remember which house it was at. I hope it hasn't burned down since then.

 

[Patriot]

Norm
The batter Voltage will be lower at night because the temperature is lower, hence they always beep in the night wen the battery is nearing the end of its life..

LOL! The truth of this is annoyingly funny..I only have to replace them at night.

Something that the OP didn't mention was that sometimes it's difficult to tell which one is beeping and I have to walk around with a step stool, closing one bedroom door at a time to find the loud one. Once I had no battery to install and just unplugged the thing from AC power. There are six others in the house with one wired to central, so it might take a minute longer but I knew another would go off.

 

[jzmtl]

The house I live has two separate systems, one hooked up to AC with no backup, another only runs on 9V battery. So if it beeps I know it's the battery only one.

 

[VidPro]

no kidding and what patriot said too, add to that with alkalines the alarm will test the battery cold and start having a fit, when you wake up and the house is warm the alkaline voltage increased just enough that it stops beeping, so that night it cools down and it starts all over again.
so they are sneaky as heck when you go look for the guilty party it goes all quiet. myself i am not waking up and running off to the store for them, they still work when complaining about the battery, and trying to find the one that is beeping (then stops) in the middle of the night half asleep, i would rather the house burn down

i think they are so paranoid they check the battery to death, so while the backup in your radio will last 3-6 years, the smoke alarm tests it continually till you have to replace it yearly anyways. some of mine last only 6-8months, see also relative lithium test below.

i tried Ultralife lithium, and about 1/2 of them didnt last crud longer than with alkaline, the other half is still riding off the lithium cells, weird. i actually tagged everything this time, and got only 6-10months on the half that is now dead, the other half is still going.

i replace One of the 10 alarm units , the whole thing, in this place with a new model, and the new model doesnt seem to kill its backup battery as quickly.
now i am wondering if the builder bought them at the doller store

 

[ltiu]

I guess the best way around it is to replace the 9v once a year regardless of the remaining power left.

Or, if i can figure out a way to hook it up to a pack of 6 D cells. Those guys should last a very very long time.

 

[ALiteZ]

I just keep my fingers crossed that it's not the unit in my kids rooms that decide to die in the middle of the night. :tired:

I have managed to get almost 3 years out of some cheepo batteries installed by the builder (AC wired units). I just replaced one battery the other day, but it kept beeping with a fresh battery. I then vacuumed it out and hit the A/C to reduce the humidity. It finally settled.

 

[Turbo Guy]

Replace the 9V battery twice a year as in when Daylight savings time starts and ends and they most likely will never become low enough to cause the chirping.

 

[Hondo]

And even when run until they chirp, the batteries you change out can provide an endless power supply for your SafeLight Superbright or Pak Lite. I just had one go the other night (at 4 AM) and was searching for it with the SafeLight on high, which worked great. The battery in the alarm was better than the one I was using in the light! The SafeLight is much brighter now.

 

[chmsam]

The bad news is most smoke detectors should be replaced every 10 years or so. They aren't really expensive but there have been a few fatalities around here from detectors that failed. Not as many as from ones with dead batteries or none at all but still something to be considered.

Vacuum the things out every month or so (it only takes a few seconds) and yeah, having a mix of battery and AC operated detectors makes sense. Power is one of the first things to fail in a fire. Even replaced every 6 months, 9 volt batteries are still cheap. Since a few years ago the kid finally stopped swapping out the battery in the smoke detector for the one in one of his video game controllers :hairpull:, mine never chirp.

Being cheap on these things is not a good way to save money. Put into perspective, the average house could have 2 smoke detectors in each room and the whole deal wouldn't cost $200. A lot cheaper than a new house, a long stay in a burn ward, or even worse.

 

[ALiteZ]

What I need is something out of the "Flintstones". Instead of a beep...a hammer whacks a monkey on the tail...who then crawls out of the ceiling...to then swing from the ceiling fan...over to the battery drawer...to get a fresh cell.

Of course...then I'd spend all my free time buying bannanas and shoveling poo.

 

[abvidledUK]

I run my replaced smoke alarm 9v PP3's in Safelights, and my own 9v 2 led diy's, they last for at least a year in the torches on standby with occasional use.

However, Ultralife 9v lithiums are just a little too large to fit into my Safelight Palights.

OK on my DIY 2 led lights though.