Smokies... and CO Detectors

If your smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) detectors have replaceable alkaline batteries, it is recommended by organizations, like the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), to replace them on an annual basis. Usually the recommendation is to replace the batteries when Daylight Saving Time ends, as you are also probably changing the time on your clocks and that acts as a good reminder. It is also recommended that you replace your detectors every ten years and some detectors have a built in end of life feature that will cause the detector to chirp when the end of life has arrived. Even if you replace the batteries, the chirp will not go away... just your sanity.

In our home, two of our detectors had failed a few months ago and I had not gotten around to changing them out; but I was recently motivated by the failure of one at our rental property. Ten years ago, I had installed all new detectors at both properties and it was time to change them all. What is interesting is that the technology in the detectors had changed. The detectors that I was removing relied on ionization, which senses the smoke particles between two radioactive plates disrupting an electrical current, in turn triggering the detector. Whereas the newer photoelectric technology uses a light beam, which if broken like the sensors on your garage door, triggers the detector.

[If you are interested in learning more about the differences, I have included a pretty good article on the subject. I also included a link to a class action lawsuit regarding the ionization technology and possible misleading labeling and advertising.]

Whenever I replace a hardwired detector, I always replace the wiring harness. Sure, you can buy adapters, but what I have found is that the plugs often become brittle over time and the tabs can break off. With the tabs broken, the new connection is less secure and to me, it is worth the extra time to start fresh. One other design change that I noticed is that Kidde redesigned the plugs to force the end user to unplug the detector when replacing the batteries.

One other change that I had made in the setup in both properties is to make sure a carbon monoxide (CO) detector is on every floor, not just outside of each bedroom. My preference is for them to be smoke/CO combo units that are hardwired into the system. Yes, they are more expensive, but I want all of the detectors to be activated if either smoke or CO is detected in our home or in our rental property.

A good article about photoelectric versus ionization smoke detectors:
https://fireproofdepot.com/photoelectric-smoke-detector-vs-ionization/

Information about the class action lawsuit:
https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlements/consumer-products/household/kidde-first-alert-class-action-claims-ionization-only-smoke-alarms-cant-detect-all-fires/