Thanks a lot for all your replies. I think i may have found the problem:
Some cheap photo-type smoke detectors are sensitive to things other
than smoke, such as dust, high humidity. Is this detector located
near a kitchen, heat vent, sink where wife uses hair spray, etc?
This one Chris is a ionisation type...and is not located near any vent.
It's near the kitchen (not in) but we use a range hood with exterior
venting.
The false alarms didn't occured when we cooked something. But what you
mentioned is effectively the cause of problems with false alarms in many
houses
i admit.
Hey! A question that I might be able to help with!
The main difference between an AC and battery operated detector is that the
AC operated detector HAS A HOLE IN >THE CEILING BEHIND IT. Because of this
I've discovered that there seems to be constant drafts going back and forth
through those openings due to pressure differentials in the house which
accelerates the buildup of crap in the detector.
Try this:
Remove the detector and seal all around the utility box opening so that no
air can pass through it (I've even done this with >duct tape
Then clean
out the detector and its sensing chamber as best as possible. I've done this
with a vacuum. Replace >the detector and see if you have any more problems
with it. This procedure has eliminated the "dirty detector" scenario
everyplace that I've tried it so far. Maybe you'll have the same
experience. Hope this helps.
Jeff...what you've wrote was no so far from our problem. When i did twisted
off the detector and removed the power connector from it, i did noticed a
considerable draft coming out of the hole from the mounting plate. But
worst, i've found small bugs (not the ones we find in software!
) in the
detector...two went out when removing it, and found two others still inside
when i disassembled the casing. Not cockroaches, but small ones about half
an inch, light brown with some white stripes on them and large
antennas...and the kind of nervous than run FAST!
One of the two i've
found inside was in the ionisation chamber...sucked it out with the vacuum.
I thought i would find some dust but the inside was pretty clean besides
it's occupants! I dont know if it was the draft from the ceiling or the bugs
that caused the false alarms, but for what i know about electronics, bugs
aren't among the kind of good electrical conductors except probably for very
high voltages wich is not the case in a smoke detector. Anyway...sealed with
duct tape all the openings from the mounting plate except for a small
section for the wring and the power connector. Unfortunately i may take a
few days or even a few weeks before i see if the problem is solved or not.
AC powered Smoke detectors are nice, in the fact that they will work with a
dead battery, but if your power goes out, as >long as the battery is good,
you're alright. The only reason I DO NOT recomend AC powered detectors are
because of >lightning and surges can kill a detector in an instant.
Rendering it and the battery useless. (Know from experiance) If you still
want to keep the AC powered one, I recommend adding a battery ONLY powered
on close by or on the same floor.
You're right Red...battery operated is more safer. Most new installation now
are made with AC operated ones because people were peobably too lazy to
change the battery...and unfortunately here in Québec...it's going the way
that some would preffer to spend for a six pack of beer instead of buying a
good alkaline 9v battery! (not our case!
)
--
Alain(alias:Kilowatt)
Montréal Québec
PS: 1000 excuses for errors or omissions,
i'm a "pure" french canadian!
Come to visit me at:
http://kilowatt.camarades.com
(If replying also by e-mail, remove
"no spam" from the adress.)
