Smoke alarm dilemma

Forums › Gadgets, robotics, home automation, electronics (including wearables) › Smoke alarm dilemma

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Smpl Mnmlst
8877 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Subscriber

#2166933 24-Jan-2019 13:40

debo:
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.

No way you can reset a Cavius alarm with a broom handle - button is small and on the side of the unit.

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

Rikkitic

Awrrr
18668 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#2166956 24-Jan-2019 14:23

If a smoke alarm starts shrieking in a room I am sleeping in during the middle of the night, there is no way I am going to start playing tag with it with a broom handle or golf club or any other thing I happen to grab in the dark in a state of deep sleepiness. How am I ever supposed to trust something that pulls a stunt like that on me? Is it going to wait a half-hour until I am fast asleep and then start screaming again? No way. I am going to go get a ladder, rip the damned thing out of the ceiling, and make sure the rest of my night carries on undisturbed.

Plesse igmore amd axxept applogies in adbance fir anu typos

DonH

230 posts

Master Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#2167000 24-Jan-2019 15:32

Rikkitic:

.. make sure the rest of my night carries on undisturbed.

... for eternity, if you're unlucky.

RunningMan

8965 posts

Uber Geek

#2167012 24-Jan-2019 15:52

@Rikkitic - have you looked at the Cavius website. They have wireless alarms that all link together, along with a handheld remote to test/hush alarms with.

https://www.cavius.co.nz/wireless-family-smart-remote/ Yes they are more expensive, but you get what you pay for

Rikkitic

Awrrr
18668 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#2167045 24-Jan-2019 17:33

I haven't looked at it yet but I will.

Plesse igmore amd axxept applogies in adbance fir anu typos

msukiwi

2418 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#2168101 26-Jan-2019 19:04

Cavius - Great product, but the Wireless connected version is a hard buy, non Wireless in 3 packs, but the Wireless ones aren't, and no-one seems to have the Wireless Family Smart Remote!

Incredibly frustrating!

Why show things on their .nz website if you can't buy them!

msukiwi

2418 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#2168988 28-Jan-2019 15:12

Have emailed Cavius this morning re where can you actually buy the Wireless Remote, and is the Wireless version available in a multipack.

Their website online form does nothing, gave up after 5 minutes of the submitting going nowhere!

Phone goes to answerphone!

Wonder when / if I will get a reply!

Why is buying stuff so hard in New Zealand?

Quic Broadband

Move to New Zealand's best fibre broadband service (affiliate link). Free setup code: R587125ERQ6VE. Note that to use Quic Broadband you must be comfortable with configuring your own router.

mattwnz

20182 posts

Uber Geek

#2169015 28-Jan-2019 15:47

msukiwi:

Have emailed Cavius this morning re where can you actually buy the Wireless Remote, and is the Wireless version available in a multipack.

Their website online form does nothing, gave up after 5 minutes of the submitting going nowhere!

Phone goes to answerphone!

Wonder when / if I will get a reply!

Why is buying stuff so hard in New Zealand?

It's a public holiday in Auckland. But yes getting info from companies in NZ, including technical info, can be incredibly difficult.

msukiwi

2418 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#2169061 28-Jan-2019 16:14

Aaaah.....They are in the Bay of Plenty (Te Puke)

So being a Mainlander didn't put 2 & 2 together to get 5!

Thanks, won't bother with another wasted toll call today.

msukiwi

2418 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#2169457 29-Jan-2019 09:53

Received an email from Cavius this morning.

... Needless to say, phoned back, and all sorted.

The remotes are only available from Electrical Wholesalers, and the Wireless Detectors are not available in multipacks at this time.

Explained "my" situation, and they took my order over the phone.

Now I await my parcel.

10/10 for service in the end. (But most people would have given up!)

Rikkitic

Awrrr
18668 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#2209435 2-Apr-2019 14:35

Rather than start a new discussion I am resurrecting this one.

I have a specific question about the 10-year lithium smoke alarm batteries. I just put some I bought several months ago into a couple of brand-new alarms and both alarms started peeping every few seconds. This is usually an indication that the battery is low. I checked the voltages on both batteries and one is just under 9 volts. Both are less than a new standard (non-alkaline) battery I am using for comparison, which measures nearly 10 volts. This is without a load, of course, though my meter is an analogue one.

My question: Should there be any voltage difference between a new lithium battery of this type (9 volt) and regular carbon or alkaline batteries? Should a lithium battery that has never been used measure at only just over 9 volts while another that has been used only briefly is actually slightly under 9 volts? Do I have a case for complaining about this to the shop where I bought them?

On a separate note, both alarms peep briefly every few seconds even on the new standard battery. I assume this means they are faulty, though both are still brand-new in the packaging. The brand is Elto photoelectric and I bought them some time ago but they have never been used. But they shouldn't peep continuously even if it is only briefly. However, my question is not about those, but about the lithium batteries.

Plesse igmore amd axxept applogies in adbance fir anu typos

allan

2044 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Lifetime subscriber

#2209491 2-Apr-2019 16:29

Rikkitic:

Rather than start a new discussion I am resurrecting this one.

I have a specific question about the 10-year lithium smoke alarm batteries. I just put some I bought several months ago into a couple of brand-new alarms and both alarms started peeping every few seconds. This is usually an indication that the battery is low. I checked the voltages on both batteries and one is just under 9 volts. Both are less than a new standard (non-alkaline) battery I am using for comparison, which measures nearly 10 volts. This is without a load, of course, though my meter is an analogue one.

My question: Should there be any voltage difference between a new lithium battery of this type (9 volt) and regular carbon or alkaline batteries? Should a lithium battery that has never been used measure at only just over 9 volts while another that has been used only briefly is actually slightly under 9 volts? Do I have a case for complaining about this to the shop where I bought them?

On a separate note, both alarms peep briefly every few seconds even on the new standard battery. I assume this means they are faulty, though both are still brand-new in the packaging. The brand is Elto photoelectric and I bought them some time ago but they have never been used. But they shouldn't peep continuously even if it is only briefly. However, my question is not about those, but about the lithium batteries.

No idea of the brand we are using (i'm not at home right now), but I know that they do beep for 15 mins or so when you change the batteries. They then operate as normal. I recall it said so on the original packaging.

Rikkitic

Awrrr
18668 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#2209493 2-Apr-2019 16:31

Thanks for that info. I don't remember seeing that but I will check it out.

Plesse igmore amd axxept applogies in adbance fir anu typos

jonathan18

7413 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

#2209769 2-Apr-2019 20:34

Sorry, this doesn’t directly answer your question in the slightest, but more to acknowledge I went through so many of the same problems that you’ve reported in this thread, so I understand the frustration!

We too had smoke alarms that would regularly go off in the middle of the night - same situation of an old house with a high stud. I was told this was a common experience in such situations, where colder air could lead to a voltage drop of the battery.

Since we (finally!) purchased the Cavius alarms we have had zero problems. The moral of that story for me was sometimes it’s just worth buying quality products from day one!

This is the thread here:

https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=141&topicid=196460&singlepage=yes

I clearly didn’t learn my lesson as a couple of months ago I bought cheap batteries for my mother’s smoke alarms, on the basis I would replace them every six months no matter what. I went from a cheap battery to a medium priced battery and with both had the same problem with them going off randomly. They work fine now with some high-priced battery in them, but of course a Cavius or similar would have been the best option from day one.

Bung

6506 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#2209802 2-Apr-2019 22:20

jonathan18: >Since we (finally!) purchased the Cavius alarms we have had zero problems. The moral of that story for me was sometimes it’s just worth buying quality products from day one!

This is the thread here:

https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=141&topicid=196460&singlepage=yes

I clearly didn’t learn my lesson as a couple of months ago I bought cheap batteries for my mother’s smoke alarms, on the basis I would replace them every six months no matter what. I went from a cheap battery to a medium priced battery and with both had the same problem with them going off randomly. They work fine now with some high-priced battery in them, but of course a Cavius or similar would have been the best option from day one.

Even Cavius have had their problems. This is from Jan 2016 "CAVIUS Denmark have recently brought to our attention that there is a small faulty battery batch which, over time, was recognised by CAVIUS through constant product testing. The battery itself will actually last 10 years but it is the message the battery is sending to the alarm which makes it think it is going flat, however it is still fully operational, but we need to replace it for you."

1 | 2 | 3 | 4