Searching for Quiet Battery Operated Smoke Detectors

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the challenges and experiences related to battery-operated smoke detectors, particularly their sensitivity to cooking odors and the appropriateness of their placement in homes. Participants share personal anecdotes, propose alternative solutions, and explore the technical aspects of smoke and heat detection.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express frustration with smoke detectors that activate from minor cooking odors, questioning their effectiveness in kitchens.
  • One participant suggests that smoke detectors are not meant for kitchens due to their sensitivity, proposing that a heat alarm might be a better alternative.
  • Another participant mentions the installation of a smoke detector in an adjacent room to avoid false alarms from cooking.
  • Concerns are raised about the reliability of heat alarms, with one participant noting that they may only trigger after a fire has already progressed significantly.
  • There is a discussion about the technical specifications of smoke detectors, including their sensitivity to different particle sizes and the use of americium-241 in UK alarms.
  • Some participants speculate about the effectiveness of different types of smoke detectors, including optical versus traditional models.
  • A humorous exchange occurs regarding the cultural differences in responding to fire alarms, particularly in British contexts.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the best type of smoke detector or the appropriateness of their placement. Multiple competing views and experiences are shared, highlighting the complexity of the issue.

Contextual Notes

Some discussions touch on the limitations of smoke detectors in specific environments, such as kitchens, and the potential for false alarms due to cooking. There are also unresolved questions regarding the technical differences between types of detectors and their effectiveness in various scenarios.

wolram
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The little round battery operated one's, has anyone found one that doe's not sound off
at the slightest whiff from the cooker, i mean i have one in my living room that is yards away from the cooker and that sounds off with no visible smoke about, even the one upstairs
has gone off a few times.

And it is not my cooking, the last thing i burnt was months ago.
 
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wolram said:
The little round battery operated one's, has anyone found one that doe's not sound off at the slightest whiff from the cooker,
But then how would you know that tea is ready?

You aren't supposed to put them in kitchens for this reason (which is a bit daft cos that's where all the fires start!). Time to clean the oven?
 
mgb_phys said:
But then how would you know that tea is ready?

You aren't supposed to put them in kitchens for this reason (which is a bit daft cos that's where all the fires start!). Time to clean the oven?


My cooker is clean as a whistle, it should be i spend as much on oven cleaner as i do food.

I think you got it right, it is more a food ready alarm rather than a fire alarm, and i do clean the alarm often, i would chuck the things out, but i bet a pound to a penny i would have a real fire the next day.
 
We resolved this scenerio, by installing the smoke detector in the room next to kitchen. If cooking odours were strong enough to set it off, we closed the door between the kitchen & adjacent room.
 
It could be due to the dust in your house?Are you a bit advanced in years and do you suffer from dust?My wife has to dust me off every time I go out.I quite enjoy it when she uses a feather duster
 
I had to remove my smoke alarm and install a heat alarm. I still have a smoke alarm in my sleeping area and laundry room. The heat alarm, goes off only when a certain temp is reached, its also tied in with my home alarm system, which automatically calls the fire department.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_detector
 
That sounds dangerous hypatia.I would have thought that any fire would be well underway before a heat alarm is triggered.
 
I thought the smoke alarms were tuned to a particular particle size, so they are supposed to trigger from a smoldering foam sofa before you can see any smoke.

I remember we had to have different ones fitted in offices where presumably paper is a big risk than in a workshop where it was burning electricals.
 
About 15 years ago a friend of mine was making his living by repairing some strange electronic devices. Once he was given a bunch of gas detectors to clean, repair, adjust - whatever. It seemed to him they were all sensitive to nothing. Then he decided to use them at lowest sensitivity setting and walk his house. He found a gas leak.
 
  • #10
Because alpha particles are so easily absorbed I do not think that particle size would be very relevant -I may be wrong.Most,if not all of the alarms sold in the UK use americium 241 as the source this having a long half life.
 
  • #11
Dadface said:
Because alpha particles are so easily absorbed I do not think that particle size would be very relevant -I may be wrong.Most,if not all of the alarms sold in the UK use americium 241 as the source this having a long half life.
That was the point, one of them had to be an optical smoke detector and the other could be a regular Americium one. I can't remember which way round it was though!
 
  • #12
Yes I suppose an optical one could cover a larger area or something similar.
 
  • #13
Dadface said:
Most,if not all of the alarms sold in the UK use americium

Don't tell me Brits are not able to make their own detectors.
 
  • #14
Borek said:
Don't tell me Brits are not able to make their own detectors.
Because all the British isotopes are perfectly stable, they don't go firing off particles at the slightest provocation.
 
  • #15
...which makes them useless in a dealing with a crisis situation?
 
  • #16
Brits are nice sensitive gentle people and manage crisis situations with tender loving persuasion.
 
  • #17
russ_watters said:
...which makes them useless in a dealing with a crisis situation?

crisis? what crisis?

in case of fire, shout 'fire"!

and what's all the fuss? :confused: … goldfish don't have fire alarms anyway :smile: …​
 
  • #18
tiny-tim said:
in case of fire, shout 'fire"!​

Shout? I don't think so.
I think a British smoke alarm would just cough - discreetly.​
 
  • #19
in case of fire shout "fire"

mgb_phys said:
Shout? I don't think so.
I think a British smoke alarm would just cough - discreetly.

ah … that's exactly why we English (I don't know about the Scots and the Welsh, and I'm pretty sure it doesn't apply to the Northern Irish!) have to be told to shout …

English hotels and barracks and so on always have notices saying "in case of fire shout fire", otherwise it would never occur to us! :smile:
 

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