We went through a fire safety "house" today where they smoke it up with a smoke generator and your kids practice climbing out a window. I somehow got stuck in to the very end. I could see absolutely nothing. Even when the door opened for the parents and the firefighter to leave, it took a good 20 seconds for the "smoke" to dissipate so I could see where the door frame was to not fall out.

Most of our wired detectors are 13yrs old and it is my understanding they should be replaced every 10 years. Any recommendations? The wife hates our current ones because they are yellow from UV sunlight. They all work when tested and give no false alarms.

I understand dual smoke and fire detectors (photoelectric and ionization) are what is best. I was looking at First Alert BRK3120

At $40 each, this won't be cheap, but I don't want to waste my time on junk that won't keep us safe or will false alarm at 2am.

Are various brands generally compatible on the same hardwire? I need to mix in some CO detectors as well.

I recently got these as replacements for basically the same FireX model (but with different mount and harness). The FireX was basically trouble free for 15 years.

We've never had smoke so I don't know how well they work but we've never had issues with false alarms or other failures. I assume the Kidde version will be okay but not sure.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00P...?_encoding=UTF8&th=1

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
I recently got these as replacements for basically the same FireX model (but with different mount and harness). The FireX was basically trouble free for 15 years.

We've never had smoke so I don't know how well they work but we've never had issues with false alarms or other failures. I assume the Kidde version will be okay but not sure.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00P...?_encoding=UTF8&th=1

I was looking at these too. It's an updated version of what we have now.

Those are the basic run of the mill smoke detectors. They are what are in 80% of the houses built after 1990 (or a pervious model of the same).

They are good basic protection and cost effective. You can also look at dual sensor ones to detect smoldering and fast spreading fires. If you have gas/oil/propane or fireplaces in your house also consider using the combo CO and fire alarms or adding/replacing stand alone CO detectors. CO detectors are installed in hallways outside bedrooms minimum, some of my customers are just opting to put the more expensive combo units in at every location.

I currently have the same ones in my house, when due to change I will probably switch to dual sensor because they are not that much more expensive and add better protection for smoldering fires. Or I'll go the all combo units.

quote:

I currently have the same ones in my house, when due to change I will probably switch to dual sensor because they are not that much more expensive and add better protection for smoldering fires. Or I'll go the all combo units.

Do all sensors have the same life? Or does ion vs photo have different life spans? How about CO?

Just wondering if it's better to keep separate - I probably need one CO detector.

Dual sensors for smoke detectors. Separate CO detectors because they go in an outlet low to the floor.

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:

quote:

I currently have the same ones in my house, when due to change I will probably switch to dual sensor because they are not that much more expensive and add better protection for smoldering fires. Or I'll go the all combo units.

Do all sensors have the same life? Or does ion vs photo have different life spans? How about CO?

Just wondering if it's better to keep separate - I probably need one CO detector.

The rule of thumb for all of them is 10 years.