Just wondering if anybody would know if they go bad with age ? I have 2 new ones that's been sitting in the garage for several years and would like to use them if possible. I had one go off last night for no reason, wife was fixing dinner but wasn't burning anything lol, so I was thinking about changing it out with one of the ones that's been in the garage, what do think ?
Check the manufacturer’s website to find out the life expectancies. Also change the battery every year. Sometimes they go off because of dust so check that as well.
I had a kidde in the house i bought two years ago to go off not knowing how old it was change batteries still went off. Read on it if it does go off after replacing batteries replace detector.
Should be a date stamped on detector. From time to time run vacuum hose over them to get dust bunnies out. May set it off but it will be clean. I have seen some nasty ones in my time in fire dept
2018 Phoenix 920 Pro XP
They're normally good for 10 years; there should be a sticker on them with the recommended replacement date.
They use a little light sensor to look for particulates in the air. Dust build up can trigger and alarm but it can be cleaned with a vacuum.
If the ones in the garage are not that old they will still be good to use. You could test them by blowing out a candle and holding it up to the sensor.
If they have a built in 10 year battery a low battery sensor will make it chirp.
My wife burns food often enough to test them. I left a 25 year old unit up and it still works. I installed a new one with a 10 year battery. The old 1 is hard wired and the power plug has changed so not a straight swap.
10 years we have 12 , this house is 17 years old I had to replace them all last December 1 would start beeping and I would replace it then another would start. I replaced 3 with co2 detectors
Actually, most to if not all of the residential smoke detector/alarms use a radioactive isotope in the detection process. This type of detector is called an "ionizing" type. The derogation of the isotope is what gives it a 10 year life span. There are some photo sensing units out there most likely found in a specialized type of environment, think clean room labs and such.
2014 X19
2014 200 SHO
Smoke detectors are cheap!! If the ones you have are out of date per the sticker, replace them. Also you said it went off when wife was cooking. So this indicates you have one near the kitchen. A smoke detectors primary function is to wake you up, not to let you know the kitchen is on fire when you're in it. One down the hall, and one in each occupied bedroom.
2018 Ranger 521C, 2023 Merc 250 Pro XS 4S (3B261295), 36V Ultrex, 10" Atlas, Power Poles, Lowrance 12 Carbon, and 2-12 Lives.
Don't forget to replace the heat sensor detector in your garage if you have one.
What he said^^^ I have 8, hardwired ones I need to replace. And a couple of co2 detectors also.Originally Posted by Al from Canada
Your smoke and CO2 detectors are cheap life Ins for you and your family. If you think it has an issue or not working properly replace it. I bought the Masterguard smoke/CO2 detectors for the bedrooms and living areas and use their heat detectors for the kitchen, garage and furnace rooms.
New law requires detectors to be replaced every ten years.
The detectors you will buy now have a 10 year sealed battery, so no need to change the battery 2x a year. But it will automatically alert you once it has reached its life span.
CO detectors should be on every level of the home.
I just picked up a 2 pack of Kiddie "worry free" smoke detectors. You don't change the batteries(they have a sealed lithium battery) but when they are bad you replace the detector. The package says they are good for ten years.
The problem we ran into with our older detectors was they went off due to moisture when my son would take a shower. Even with the door closed and the fan on when he would open the door after the one would go off.
Just an off topic smoke detector story. A couple years ago I went to a house to give an estimate for some work. The work was to "patch" a bunch of holes in a basement ceiling. The guy had his basement finished and the contractors sub drywalled over a smoke detector which installed on the side of a floor joist no one noticed. The battery wore down a year later and the chirping got so annoying because they couldn't figure out where the detector was until he pinpointed it to somewhere in the basement. Then the guy proceeded to just about destroy the whole ceiling until he found it.
1996 ProCraft 185 DC Pro, Mercury EFI 150
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If they have been stored in a moist environment such as a garage, I think I would trash them and purchase new. They aren't that expensive and I wouldn't trust my life to something that may or may not work when needed. Moisture has a way of causing the boards to rust and fail to work properly.
Thanks to everybody, I guess I'll just go buy some new ones and not have to worry about it.
I had 2 hard wired ones that kept beeping even after replacing the back up batteries. Both were less than 5 years old according to the manufacture date. In my previous house I bought one of those 10 year alarms, what a waste of money, it lasted maybe 4 years before it beeped in the middle of night for no reason. Long story short they don't last very long so you might of well just replace them now or you'll be doing it in a couple of years anyways.
Brandon
1996 Ranger 362XT
Johnson Faststrike 150
I change mine out every 3 years, my family's life is worth the 25.00 bucks
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