Rikkitic:

 

Are photoelectric as good if wall-mounted?

 

Dunno. But got to be better than only photelectric.

RunningMan:

 

I went through the same thing - buying cheap (junk) detectors that keep giving low battery alarms and random beeping. Replaced with Cavius, all good now.

 

Are there none available with rechargeable batteries? e.g. a micro-USB connector that can have a permanently wired charger if it's in a hard-to-reach spot. Otherwise recharge once every 6 months. This seems like a no-brainer to me.

Normally they are mounted on ceilings. That is always a hard-to-reach spot, especially if they are high. 

I want smoke alarms that are reliable and will tell me if there is a fire. But I also want ones that don't keep blaring out false alarms in the middle of the night. If there are standards here for the former, there should also be standards for the latter. False alarms can motivate some people to deactivate the alarm altogether (I am not one of those). That is a safety hazard and is as bad as an alarm that doesn't work at all. Standards should ensure that such alarms can't even be sold here.

frankv:

 

RunningMan:

 

 

 

I went through the same thing - buying cheap (junk) detectors that keep giving low battery alarms and random beeping. Replaced with Cavius, all good now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Are there none available with rechargeable batteries? e.g. a micro-USB connector that can have a permanently wired charger if it's in a hard-to-reach spot. Otherwise recharge once every 6 months. This seems like a no-brainer to me.

 

 

 

 

 

https://www.cavius.co.nz/all-products/

Apparently in Kitchens you should use the old type. I think you can buy a 3 pack of cavius ones which has both types in it.

mattwnz:

Apparently in Kitchens you should use the old type. I think you can buy a 3 pack of cavius ones which has both types in it.

Cavius say never use a smoke detector in the kitchen - they get clagged up with oils etc in the atmosphere and stop working. They say use a heat detector in the kitchen - which of course they also make.

One Cavius 3-pack starter kit has two smoke and one heat - another one has three smoke.

Rikkitic:

 

I bought mine from Bunnings. I think they are called Arma. I didn't really think about brands. The articles said photoelectric and that was what I focused on. 

Mmmmm @Rikkitic 8990 posts and I thought you were a true geek and would have carried out some research .

Having said that I notice that Consumer.org rated my failed brand as recommended but all 9 reviews give it a failure. So sometimes even the so called experts get it wrong

 I admit I was also led by price. We have a big old house with lots of rooms. I can't afford premium detectors everywhere. I would also point out that the one that saved me the one time there actually was a fire was a $5 ionisation detector (which in years never gave a false alarm). But I will place expensive detectors in a few selected locations and leave cheap ones elsewhere.

Rikkitic:

 I admit I was also led by price. We have a big old house with lots of rooms. I can't afford premium detectors everywhere. I would also point out that the one that saved me the one time there actually was a fire was a $5 ionisation detector (which in years never gave a false alarm). But I will place expensive detectors in a few selected locations and leave cheap ones elsewhere.

 

Rikkitic:

 I admit I was also led by price. We have a big old house with lots of rooms. I can't afford premium detectors everywhere. I would also point out that the one that saved me the one time there actually was a fire was a $5 ionisation detector (which in years never gave a false alarm). But I will place expensive detectors in a few selected locations and leave cheap ones elsewhere.

 

eracode:

 

mattwnz:

 

 

 

Apparently in Kitchens you should use the old type. I think you can buy a 3 pack of cavius ones which has both types in it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cavius say never use a smoke detector in the kitchen - they get clagged up with oils etc in the atmosphere and stop working. They say use a heat detector in the kitchen - which of course they also make.

 

 

 

One Cavius 3-pack starter kit has two smoke and one heat - another one has three smoke.

 

I stand corrected. I though the heat ones they sold were ionization, but it doesn't look that way. 

Rikkitic:

 

... I have to bring a ladder in from outside to get at the alarms...

 

Why? Do the alarms you have have the small reset Buttons? You will always get some false triggers so I  bought the alarms with the large reset buttons.  It means you can easily reset them with a broom handle.  Also, alarms now come with a replace by date on them. I don't know if the date varies between brands but it worth considering if you are trying to save money.