Smoke Detector hardwired to electricity!! - Page 3

ChillyTulip · ‎03-11-2010

Some hardwired smoke detectors have battery back up. Some do not.

When we bought our home all of the detectors were hard wired. What a P.I.A. When one goes off they all go off. We were getting frequent false alarms (usually in the middle of the night). Our detectors are on a separate breaker and there were nights we just flipped the breaker so we could sleep. We tried cleaning them (dust and bugs can set them off) but to no avail. Two months ago we gave up----we bought all battery only detectors, capped off the wiring, and simply installed those. Haven't had a problem yet.

False alarms are much more common with hard wired detectors.

Iambeezer · ‎01-10-2013

That's the death rattle chirping. It means the detector is End Of Life. Replace it. Mine are all hardwired because if one goes off downstairs they go off upstairs.

LuvsLabs_1 · ‎07-02-2012

We had same thing happen, You don't need to call electrician. Just get a replacement one and follow the directions. There are only I think 2 wires that you unplug then plug into the new one. Trust me my hubby is about as handy as Tim Allen was on Home Improvement and he was able to fix this. I think they should all have battery backups myself.

Mmsfoxxie · ‎06-19-2010

Well, except for the tv, it is sooooo nice and quiet! I examined the unit, looking for a model # and saw the test button. For the heck of it, I push it. I got a series of loud beeps...scared me. I thought I had made it worse. Then.....nothing. It's been an hour and it hasn't started up again. I thought hubby had tried that button. As usual, I had to go over what he did, lol. I love him dearly but handy around the house, he is not. Still no phone line but I can live with just my cell phone for now. Thanks everybody for your input. I learned a lot about something I'd never heard of....hard wired smoke detectors.

“You can’t wait until life isn’t hard anymore to be happy”. (By Nightbirde, singer of the song, It’s Ok)

Lynnj · ‎03-21-2010

On 3/28/2014 Mmsfoxxie said:
On 3/28/2014 Lynnj said: Do you have a security system? That may be the reason that the phone is not working because hubby disconnected the fire detector. With my security system, the detector is hard wired, and plays into the overall security system which has connections to the phone line. Like others have already posted, mine also has battery backup in addition to being hard wired. It is a pain to get to the battery, even more of a pain to get the piece back on once the battery is replaced.

Yes, we do have a security system....but I used it today and it seemed to be working as usual.

Thanks everyone for the responses.

Call the security company and explain what happened. They need to have someone come out and fix whatever happened when hubby took the detector down. The security system works with your phone. You may have done a test with the security system and it went off, but since your phone is not working, the security system is not connected to the security company system. Which. Means they wouldnt receive an alert if your system went off. As a result, they wouldn't know anything is wrong in the home to notify anyone on your behalf.

Mmsfoxxie · ‎06-19-2010

On 3/28/2014 Lynnj said:
On 3/28/2014 Mmsfoxxie said:
On 3/28/2014 Lynnj said: Do you have a security system? That may be the reason that the phone is not working because hubby disconnected the fire detector. With my security system, the detector is hard wired, and plays into the overall security system which has connections to the phone line. Like others have already posted, mine also has battery backup in addition to being hard wired. It is a pain to get to the battery, even more of a pain to get the piece back on once the battery is replaced.

Yes, we do have a security system....but I used it today and it seemed to be working as usual.

Thanks everyone for the responses.

Call the security company and explain what happened. They need to have someone come out and fix whatever happened when hubby took the detector down. The security system works with your phone. You may have done a test with the security system and it went off, but since your phone is not working, the security system is not connected to the security company system. Which. Means they wouldnt receive an alert if your system went off. As a result, they wouldn't know anything is wrong in the home to notify anyone on your behalf.

Omg! Boy, hubby sure picked a fine time to go off for a conference, lol. Actually, it was planned months ago. I'm gonna put this right in his lap as soon as he gets home tomorrow. By the way, the darn thing started chirping again around 2:30 am. I hit the test button again and it stopped again.

“You can’t wait until life isn’t hard anymore to be happy”. (By Nightbirde, singer of the song, It’s Ok)

Sunshine Kate · ‎03-10-2010

Ours are hardwired also and require a 9 volt battery. Sometimes it's hard to find the battery inside. I've seen them with a hidden swing-out door and another is closed with a door and a tiny screw holds it shut.

(They don't make it too easy).

lolakimono · ‎03-29-2012

I believe they only last about 10 years, and then need to be replaced. I did that when I purchased my home and had the electrician do it all at once. There is one on each floor.

cerb · ‎03-09-2010

Oh...I HATE these type of alarms. Ours are hard-wired with 9-volt batteries for back up. They are wired together, so that if one battery gets low, all 6 alarms will start to go off. We have to climb up an extra tall ladder to reach the alarms on our vaulted ceilings to replace the batteries, and yes, it often happens in the middle of the night, and the batteries are hard to replace. Worst was the alarm we had to place right in front of our oven, as per county code. That thing went off almost every time I used the oven, several times a week. The sound was ear piercing (who do I get to sue when I lose my hearing because of that?). My husband permanently disabled the one by the oven, but he's had training as an electrician. I think alarms are important but the codes can be ridiculous. We have an alarm in the hallway...good idea. Then 4 feet away in the bedroom is another alarm. 6 feet away in the second bedroom is another alarm. 8 feet away in the master bedroom is another alarm. These alarms can be heard 100 yards away, and yet we need 3 of them in a 12 foot radius? Oh brother...

srick tx · ‎03-09-2010

On 3/28/2014 ChillyTulip said:
Some hardwired smoke detectors have battery back up. Some do not.

When we bought our home all of the detectors were hard wired. What a P.I.A. When one goes off they all go off. We were getting frequent false alarms (usually in the middle of the night). Our detectors are on a separate breaker and there were nights we just flipped the breaker so we could sleep. We tried cleaning them (dust and bugs can set them off) but to no avail. Two months ago we gave up----we bought all battery only detectors, capped off the wiring, and simply installed those. Haven't had a problem yet.

False alarms are much more common with hard wired detectors.

We've had two houses with are wired smoke detectors and both of them had false alarms (needed batteries changed in one unit) on more than one occasion in the middle of the night, causing all units to blare the dreaded siren at 3 am. The last time was when our newborn grandson was at our house, so we hadn't slept well for a few days anyway. It was the second time that week, so we called the fire dept. They found nothing, so we turned off the circuit breaker and put new batteries in each unit. I will continue to just replace 8 batteries each year instead of continuing to listen for those 3 am false alarms. BTW, the first two times those false alarms went off, my 10 year old daughter slept right through all 8 alarms going off simultaneously.