Clipsal FireTek smoke alarms

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SumnerBoy

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#285910 24-May-2021 16:24

Hi,

Doing some research for our new build, and have gotten to smoke alarms...

My requirements are;

Mains powered with battery backup
Interconnected - i.e. one alarm tripping triggers all alarms to sound
Integrate with my home automation system - i.e. get notified when any alarm is tripped

I have heard of the Cavius alarms and know they have a very good reputation. And then support 1 and 2, but I don't think can do 3.

I came across the Clipsal FireTek range today, and they appear to support all my requirements (with the addition of the relay base - 755RB - module).

I am unsure of the quality and reliability of the Clipsal alarms when compared to the Cavius.

Does anyone have a view or any experience with these alarms?

Any other suggestions or recommendations for what I should be looking at for a new build?

Cheers,

Ben

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meow
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#2712424 24-May-2021 16:27

If you're doing a new build wouldn't it be better to get a proper alarm / smoke alarm system installed along with it and integrate to that?

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SumnerBoy

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#2712427 24-May-2021 16:30

Yep - that is an option - but I am considering not putting in a proper alarm system since I intend to hardwire a load of presence and door/window sensors for my automation system.

I would just add a siren and strobe out the front, hooked up to my automation system, and end up with pretty much everything an expensive alarm system would provide, plus a load more.

Not a decision set in stone, but as a result I want the smoke alarms to be stand alone and independent.

jarledb

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#2712437 24-May-2021 16:51

I would recommend the mains powered wirelessly interconnected smoke alarm from Cavius.

I don't know of any other producer of smoke alarms that fully test their smoke alarms before they are shipped from the factory. It is the best smoke alarm I have come across after almost 20 years in the business.

Disclaimer: I own part of the Nordic distributor for Cavius. But I have no ownership in the NZ/Australian distributor.

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mattenz

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#2712451 24-May-2021 17:23

jarledb:
I would recommend the mains powered wirelessly interconnected smoke alarm from Cavius.

I don't know of any other producer of smoke alarms that fully test their smoke alarms before they are shipped from the factory. It is the best smoke alarm I have come across after almost 20 years in the business.

Disclaimer: I own part of the Nordic distributor for Cavius. But I have no ownership in the NZ/Australian distributor.

They don't seem easy to get ahold of in NZ, unless you're an electrician (but maybe that's by design).

cisconz

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#2712574 24-May-2021 18:49

SumnerBoy:

Yep - that is an option - but I am considering not putting in a proper alarm system since I intend to hardwire a load of presence and door/window sensors for my automation system.

I would just add a siren and strobe out the front, hooked up to my automation system, and end up with pretty much everything an expensive alarm system would provide, plus a load more.

Not a decision set in stone, but as a result I want the smoke alarms to be stand alone and independent.

Why do you say an alarm is expensive?

If you are hard wiring anyway, you can do all of this with an ESX-1 V2 from arrowhead, and it has serial over IP to link into automation etc - even has control4 drivers.

I did my new build with alarm panel, door controllers, heat and smoke sensors, pir's etc for about $1200.

PM me and I can get you in touch with an installer who can drop ship it to you if you want.

Hmmmm

mattwnz

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#2712578 24-May-2021 18:59

michaelmurfy:

If you're doing a new build wouldn't it be better to get a proper alarm / smoke alarm system installed along with it and integrate to that?

The problem is that you still need to replace the sensors very 10 years, which is the same as a 10 year alarm. The only advantage is probably that you can wire it into a central siren and , and have sirens all over the house when there is a fire.maybe have an remote alert setup The downside of this is you won't necessarily know which area has the fire, unless it is setup to show you.

mattwnz

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#2712579 24-May-2021 19:03

cisconz:

SumnerBoy:

Yep - that is an option - but I am considering not putting in a proper alarm system since I intend to hardwire a load of presence and door/window sensors for my automation system.

I would just add a siren and strobe out the front, hooked up to my automation system, and end up with pretty much everything an expensive alarm system would provide, plus a load more.

Not a decision set in stone, but as a result I want the smoke alarms to be stand alone and independent.

Why do you say an alarm is expensive?

If you are hard wiring anyway, you can do all of this with an ESX-1 V2 from arrowhead, and it has serial over IP to link into automation etc - even has control4 drivers.

I did my new build with alarm panel, door controllers, heat and smoke sensors, pir's etc for about $1200.

PM me and I can get you in touch with an installer who can drop ship it toy you if you want.

Prices of such systems vary significantly. We were quote about 5k for just a basic home alarm system based on the requirements. They decided to add extras we weren't interested in so didn't get the job. Instead went with a company which charged about 2k which was closer to the spec, which was still quite pricey, and they had to come back several times to fix issues with te setup. The problem is that companies don't seem to provide the installer codes now, so some configurations are locked out without them. Also stuck if they go out of business. .

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mattwnz

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#2712582 24-May-2021 19:05

jarledb:

I would recommend the mains powered wirelessly interconnected smoke alarm from Cavius.

I don't know of any other producer of smoke alarms that fully test their smoke alarms before they are shipped from the factory. It is the best smoke alarm I have come across after almost 20 years in the business.

Disclaimer: I own part of the Nordic distributor for Cavius. But I have no ownership in the NZ/Australian distributor.

How do you know which area of the house the alarms has gone off in, if all the alarms sound with this system?

SumnerBoy

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#2712583 24-May-2021 19:10

Not sure I would be too worried. If they went off I would be grabbing the kids and getting out of there.

neb

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#2712608 24-May-2021 20:37

cisconz:
If you are hard wiring anyway, you can do all of this with an ESX-1 V2 from arrowhead, and it has serial over IP to link into automation etc - even has control4 drivers.

Yup, pair that with the HM detectors which are rebadged Cavius and the OP has what he wants. They'll push events out to an external monitoring system so you can then hook them to whatever you want for automation, but in any event the AAP app will alert you to smoke alarms being triggered anywhere in the house.

SumnerBoy

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#2712609 24-May-2021 20:39

neb: Yup, pair that with the HM detectors which are rebadged Cavius and the OP has what he wants. They'll push events out to an external monitoring system so you can then hook them to whatever you want for automation, but in any event the AAP app will alert you to smoke alarms being triggered anywhere in the house.

Is that right? Rebadged Cavius? Sounds very promising.

neb

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#2712612 24-May-2021 20:51

SumnerBoy:
Is that right? Rebadged Cavius? Sounds very promising.

There's a maze of cross-connected companies in Europe that share the same tech, I traced through some of it a while back and it's more or less the tech Cavius is using in terms of the smoke chamber etc. Compare the AAP HM Mini with the Cavius Cavius Mini.

SumnerBoy

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#2712683 24-May-2021 21:46

neb: Yup, pair that with the HM detectors which are rebadged Cavius and the OP has what he wants. They'll push events out to an external monitoring system so you can then hook them to whatever you want for automation, but in any event the AAP app will alert you to smoke alarms being triggered anywhere in the house.

Did some reading - the HM-Mini-12V hooked up to an alarm system is pretty close to my requirements. The only thing is they are not interconnected - so if one is triggered the others won't sound. The house alarm might go off but I intend to have these in all bedrooms, and I really want everyone to be notified ASAP if there is a fire.

So having the buzzer go off in each room is preferrable. I see AAP has some other smoke detectors, the HM-SMOKE230, which is 230VAC powered and interconnected, and with the VST Controller module you can connect it to an automation or alarm system.

https://www.aap.co.nz/shop/Fire+Accessories/Detector/VST-CONTROLLER.html

No idea of the quality of the smoke detector itself however...

neb

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#2712693 24-May-2021 22:12

If you can wait, I'm bringing in some LoRa-connected ones from Europe which talk to a central gateway and are linked, if one goes off they all go off. They've been made redundant by the AAP-connected ones we've got now so I'll be selling those once they arrive (shipping was held up due to Covid). It's another part of the maze of vendors that Cavius is part of.

mattwnz

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#2712713 25-May-2021 01:28

SumnerBoy: Not sure I would be too worried. If they went off I would be grabbing the kids and getting out of there.

It depends, as if it is burnt toast in the kitchen, you would want to know if it was just a false alarm. By the time an alarm goes off, it may just be very small, as can be put out with a fire extinguisher etc.

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