Home & Garden

Smoke Detector is not even 10 yrs old and it beeps randomly.

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  • May 23rd, 2020 6:04 pm
[OP]
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Jun 24, 2015
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Smoke Detector is not even 10 yrs old and it beeps randomly.

We bought a previously owned house and put in a NEW smoke alarm shortly after we took possession of the house. The Alarm I bought was a Kidde brand, which I heard is really good. So I bought the Hard Wired one cus my hallway has a electrical box in the ceiling already where the old one went. So anyways I installed it, and it was good for a good 6 or 7 years but lately it does a random Chirp or a few chirps, and then its silent for like days. This one has no batteries its connected to the Hydro so it cant be a low battery alarm? i heard they chirp when they are dying but its not 10 years old yet, i even vacuumed it really good one day and it lasted a week without chirping and its back to chirping, what to do should i call Kiddie or should i just replace it with a different brand? is First Alert / BRK any good? I always thought Kidde was a good brand, i see them at the Home Depot and Lowes all the time
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19 replies
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May 23, 2009
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Is it a combination alarm(Smoke and CO)? The Kiddie combo units they sold before 2013 were 7 yr replacements. Check the date code and warranty of your model?

I use First Alert combo units in my house which are still 7 yr replacements. I went with First alert because they had a model that was Photoelectric smoke and CO combo back in 2013 when I first replaced mine. Kiddie focused more on Ionization smoke and CO combo units back then. I replaced three got a solid 7 years before one unit started beeping.

The new revision has voice warning. Lowes has it on sale for $30 once in a while.
https://www.lowes.ca/product/combinatio ... -up-888262
https://www.lowes.ca/product/combinatio ... -up-383669
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Jan 21, 2018
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Many detectors now have a built-in lifetime timer that starts on the day of manufacturing. It can already be 6 months into a 10-year lifespan setting when you install it. When they expire they are intentionally set to keep beeping to annoy you until you replace them. Doesn't matter if the sensor still works, it's supposed to be conservative. Most IR or ionization smoke detectors will last way longer than 10 years, but those with a CO detector will likely expire after 7 years or 10 years, depending on the exact type.
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Jan 2, 2009
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It also depends how long the detector was on the shelf in the store, and if the censor is dusty or greasy from cooking. A 2 pack can be bought for $30.0 if they are on sale which I did just 3 months ago.
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Jun 26, 2019
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Most of my old Kiddie alarms signaled they were at end of life after about 7 years. Granted most of those were CO, and I think maybe 1 or 2 on the 7 year side were Smoke.

Also, I must say I find it odd that it has no battery back up, I thought most did, or does it have a sealed 10 year battery backup? Every hardwired or plug in alarm Ive ever had, had battery backups, so you get low battery chirps from them, but they are constant.
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Oct 13, 2008
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When we moved in ... there were 3 wired alarms in the house ... never bothered to check any of them.

Then in May 2018 had an appointment with Simply Smart Home ... they gave a FREE Wireless Nest Protect.

After that appointment, scheduled another appointment in June 2018 with them and had the 50 Gallon Hot Water Tank swapped out with them with 3 FREE Wired Nest Protects (second floor hallway, mainfloor foyer, basement).

Then my mom had an appointment with Simply Smart Home in July 2018 and got a FREE Wireless Nest Protect.

When she SOLD and MOVED out of her home of 30 years in November 2019, I took the Wireless Nest Protect and put it in my living room.

We got five and are set for the next 10 years.

ALL FIVE NEST PROTECTS ... FREE ... oh ... also sold two of the three old wired ones for $20 each on Kijiji since it still had 3 years of life left.
16'x11' Living Room 11' Cathedral Ceiling. Hisense 65Q8G. Denon AVR-S740H 7.2 setup. Jamo Classic 10 280W Towers - FR+FL; Polk S35 - Center; Klipsch R51M - RR+RL; Klipsch R14M - Dolby FHR+FHL; Polk HTS10 Subwoofer x2. Unlocked Android Boxes from Taiwan x2
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Feb 4, 2010
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GoodFellaz wrote: We bought a previously owned house and put in a NEW smoke alarm shortly after we took possession of the house. The Alarm I bought was a Kidde brand, which I heard is really good. So I bought the Hard Wired one cus my hallway has a electrical box in the ceiling already where the old one went. So anyways I installed it, and it was good for a good 6 or 7 years but lately it does a random Chirp or a few chirps, and then its silent for like days. This one has no batteries its connected to the Hydro so it cant be a low battery alarm? i heard they chirp when they are dying but its not 10 years old yet, i even vacuumed it really good one day and it lasted a week without chirping and its back to chirping, what to do should i call Kiddie or should i just replace it with a different brand? is First Alert / BRK any good? I always thought Kidde was a good brand, i see them at the Home Depot and Lowes all the time

I had a similar problem. Kidde customer support was useless but no harm in calling them to see if it can be resolved.
SubjectivelyObjective wrote: Most of my old Kiddie alarms signaled they were at end of life after about 7 years. Granted most of those were CO, and I think maybe 1 or 2 on the 7 year side were Smoke.

Also, I must say I find it odd that it has no battery back up, I thought most did, or does it have a sealed 10 year battery backup? Every hardwired or plug in alarm Ive ever had, had battery backups, so you get low battery chirps from them, but they are constant.
Some older models seemed to have no backup battery feature (the one I replaced didn't have one either) but doubtful you'll be able to find one without a backup battery nowadays.
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Dec 12, 2007
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Toronto
AV-Fishing wrote: When we moved in ... there were 3 wired alarms in the house ... never bothered to check any of them.

Then in May 2018 had an appointment with Simply Smart Home ... they gave a FREE Wireless Nest Protect.

After that appointment, scheduled another appointment in June 2018 with them and had the 50 Gallon Hot Water Tank swapped out with them with 3 FREE Wired Nest Protects (second floor hallway, mainfloor foyer, basement).

Then my mom had an appointment with Simply Smart Home in July 2018 and got a FREE Wireless Nest Protect.

When she SOLD and MOVED out of her home of 30 years in November 2019, I took the Wireless Nest Protect and put it in my living room.

We got five and are set for the next 10 years.

ALL FIVE NEST PROTECTS ... FREE ... oh ... also sold two of the three old wired ones for $20 each on Kijiji since it still had 3 years of life left.
And did you rent the water heater or you bought it out right ? If you rented no wonder they gave you a couple of free nest protects

You probably paid 10X more just for the rental !
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phoenix_bladen wrote: And did you rent the water heater or you bought it out right ? If you rented no wonder they gave you a couple of free nest protects

You probably paid 10X more just for the rental !
Bought outright. One time payment. Three nest protects free. Done.
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[OP]
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Jun 24, 2015
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yeah this one I must have bought around 2013 or so. Its NOT a combo unit, its a smoke only detector but you gave me a good idea, I should replace it with the combo unit when I get a chance, its probably easier for me to have one single unit instead of two. plus i have kids who constantly unplug and plug and move the carbon monoxide detector everywhere in the house except where i need it, so if its in the ceiling its out of the way.
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AV-Fishing wrote: Bought outright. One time payment. Three nest protects free. Done.
How much was it to supply & install ? 2-3$k to give them out ?
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AV-Fishing wrote: When we moved in ... there were 3 wired alarms in the house ... never bothered to check any of them.

Then in May 2018 had an appointment with Simply Smart Home ... they gave a FREE Wireless Nest Protect.

After that appointment, scheduled another appointment in June 2018 with them and had the 50 Gallon Hot Water Tank swapped out with them with 3 FREE Wired Nest Protects (second floor hallway, mainfloor foyer, basement).

Then my mom had an appointment with Simply Smart Home in July 2018 and got a FREE Wireless Nest Protect.

When she SOLD and MOVED out of her home of 30 years in November 2019, I took the Wireless Nest Protect and put it in my living room.

We got five and are set for the next 10 years.

ALL FIVE NEST PROTECTS ... FREE ... oh ... also sold two of the three old wired ones for $20 each on Kijiji since it still had 3 years of life left.
The unfortunate part of replacing hardwired detectors with Nest Protect is the fact you lose the hardwire interconnect of your old alarms. I love the idea of Nest Protects but the fact they leave out a hardwire interconnect is unacceptable. The safety of home owners in an emergency should not depend on a wifi signal to maintain communication. It’s a great feature for older homes with no hardwire interconnect but in my opinion a massive oversight to completely omit a hardwire interconnection. For this reason they do not meet current building codes either.

EDIT: To the OP have you checked the beep pattern against the model? There’s a chance the pattern of beeps is telling you what is wrong with the detector.
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ChicoQuente wrote: The unfortunate part of replacing hardwired detectors with Nest Protect is the fact you lose the hardwire interconnect of your old alarms. I love the idea of Nest Protects but the fact they leave out a hardwire interconnect is unacceptable. The safety of home owners in an emergency should not depend on a wifi signal to maintain communication. It’s a great feature for older homes with no hardwire interconnect but in my opinion a massive oversight to completely omit a hardwire interconnection. For this reason they do not meet current building codes either.

EDIT: To the OP have you checked the beep pattern against the model? There’s a chance the pattern of beeps is telling you what is wrong with the detector.
IIRC the nest protects interconnect independently of wifi. Similar to how if you bought interconnected batter power alarms now a days.

Edit: From google's page: All your Nest Protects will remain interconnected even if your Wi-Fi network goes down. Protects do not rely on Wi-Fi for interconnect, they use Thread instead. However, if your Wi-Fi goes down, you won’t be able to get notifications, view status, or update settings in the app.

https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/9232615
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SubjectivelyObjective wrote: IIRC the nest protects interconnect independently of wifi. Similar to how if you bought interconnected batter power alarms now a days.

Edit: From google's page: All your Nest Protects will remain interconnected even if your Wi-Fi network goes down. Protects do not rely on Wi-Fi for interconnect, they use Thread instead. However, if your Wi-Fi goes down, you won’t be able to get notifications, view status, or update settings in the app.

https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/9232615
Good to know. Though I still say it’s a large oversight to omit the hardwire interconnect. There’s no reason to do that.
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elpaso wrote: How much was it to supply & install ? 2-3$k to give them out ?
$1200 including changing out the exhaust pipe to the white one.
16'x11' Living Room 11' Cathedral Ceiling. Hisense 65Q8G. Denon AVR-S740H 7.2 setup. Jamo Classic 10 280W Towers - FR+FL; Polk S35 - Center; Klipsch R51M - RR+RL; Klipsch R14M - Dolby FHR+FHL; Polk HTS10 Subwoofer x2. Unlocked Android Boxes from Taiwan x2
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Had same issue with our 3 HW inter connected smoke alarms.

Vacuuming helped for a bit but finally replaced with 3 new HW interconnected combo alarms.

These new ones said to replace in 7 years so not all alarms have 10 year usage.
2022/3: BOC raised 10 times and MCAP raised its prime next day.
2017,2018: BOC raised rates 5 times and MCAP raised its prime next day each time.
2020: BOC dropped rates 3 times and MCAP waited to drop its prime to include all 3 drops.
[OP]
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Jun 24, 2015
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ChicoQuente wrote: EDIT: To the OP have you checked the beep pattern against the model? There’s a chance the pattern of beeps is telling you what is wrong with the detector.
There is no specific pattern, it beeps one minute, then it can beep another 10 mins later ,then nothing for like hours, then the next day it beeps once, and it will beep again 20 mins later, and then maybe 5 mins later it beeps again then nothing for like days. its totally random ya know? so frustrating, I wanted to disconnect it, but i rather have annoying beeps and be safe from a potential fire than burn to death and have silence

what brands do you guys recommend? first alert, brk. or Kiddie? or any other specialty non standard brand like nest or echobee?
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So everytime the stupid alarm goes off (low battery) it's at 330am. You would think with all the technology they could figure out how to configure it better
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Dec 9, 2013
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hierophant wrote: So everytime the stupid alarm goes off (low battery) it's at 330am. You would think with all the technology they could figure out how to configure it better
That's because it's coldest at night. Change your battery and it will stop chirping at night.
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They are usually good for about 7 years, some less and some more, don't sweat it.

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