To Palindrome: Your Ionization Particles Reply Re Smoke Detectors To My Previous Post

Hello,

Much thanks for your thoughts on my older post regarding ionization smoke detector particles. Appreciate your help and time.

This has all started with my trying several brands, and models, of smoke detectors for my upstairs (typical colonial house) that do not give a 3 or 4 chirps once a day or so. Tried several models of Kidde, First Alert, and BRK (ionization and photoelectric) and they all do this occasional chirp. Driving me crazy.

Happens totally randomly, and the upstairs location seems to be about as "normal" a location as you can have. In a hall ceiling, nothing extreme that I can correlate with. No kitchen odors, etc.

Again, it's only a few chirps; never the alarm that would sound if it ever detected an actual fire.

I was intrigued by your temperature statement as a triggering possibility: "...and by air temperature changing rapidly"

Might you elaborate on this rapidly changing air temp possibility a bit more as relates to ionization (and also photoelectric) types, please.

Any other thoughts on this would be most appreciated.

Thanks, bob

Reply to
Robert11
Loading thread data ...

Try pointing a hair drier (blowing hot air) at an ionisation type - the alarm sounds. The chamber current falls because the less dense hot air doesn't ionise at the same rate as cool air. No effect on an optical sensor, of course.

I find the odd chirp reassuring, rather than worrying. It shows they are actually working.

It could be that both types have thresholds set with reference to their normal levels. And that periodic resetting of the normal levels is needed, to compensate for changing conditions and drift. Hence the "random" but infrequent chirps, as the units reset themselves.

Reply to
Palindrome

PolyTech Forum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.