green-foam

Andrew, I notice you said Did you know that you are supposed to change smoke alarms every 10 years? Perhaps its time you changed yours? Safelincs can supply new ones Click here

I googled and found THIS

Just a thought. Why don't you ask the BCO to see what he wants? My reasoning is that if a reply said get sign "A" and the BCO said he wants sign "B" the BCO will not be happy and you will have wasted money on a sign the BCO does not want.

Only asking. What do YOU think is wrong with having ball catches and door closers on fire doors.

As Harry said, if you really want to test a smoke alarm use the spray he suggests, a match does not create enough smoke to activate a smoke alarm, and burning anything is very dangerous and also smelly. If you do use the spray, do follow the instructions.

I would say its vaguely possible for it to go off because of the heat, but more than likely because you put it above the woodburner. Put it back in the same place (for a short while) and see does it go off, if it does your woodburner is probably leaking CO

Fire extinguishers should be checked annually. Every 5 years, all but CO2 extinguishers should be discharged tested, checked and refilled, CO2 it is 10 years at which time it should also be stretch tested. I should also point out that as an extinguisher gets older, it will become more expensive to service and may be un-economical to do so, since a new extinguisher from safelincs CLICK HERE is cheaper.

There are a couple of problems with any type of adhesive fixing. 1) When you have to take the fixed item down, you find it is still stuck to the surface and will not move without damaging the surface to which it is fixed. 2) Any self adhesive tape etc will after time "dry out" and have no adhesion. I would suggest that you use "hollow wall" fixings, which you can get at any D.I.Y, store. I personally like these, Click here In your case, when its time to change the detectors you can undo the bolts (With a screwdriver) take the detector down, put the bolts through the new detector and tighten the bolts up, securing the new detector. No damage caused to anything.

All mains devices require an earth / earth termination point, UNLESS it is double insulated, which I doubt the smoke detectors are. It has to be there, but you don't use it, it is if some one should sever the cable, instead of the electricity flowing through the person who cut the cable, with possible lethal results, it flows to earth. (yes it will go bang, but its better that than to be............. Also as I first said, you should You do not know what damage may occur.

A second opinion is always a good idea. I would suggest you ask before you commit yourself "Are you familiar with mains interlinked smoke alarms" Although it may sound a bit condescending, I have found that some companies will say yes, but the bod who turns up at your place says otherwise. Emphasise the point you want some one who has worked on them before.

I would suggest that there being "no obvious connection in the fuse box" is because they are connected to a light / light circuit. This is considered a good idea, since if there is a problem with your smoke alarms you can not turn them off at the "fuse box" By connecting them to a lighting circuit you will not deliberately turn your lights off at "the fuse box" so the smoke alarms are always powered up. I would guess that if as you say the first two devices have a green light lit then as they are interlinked, the first place to check would be the 2nd of the two smoke alarms. _________________________________________________________ If it helps, Interlinked smoke alarms are wired as follows. Mains to first smoke alarm. Mains and interlink from first smoke alarm to second smoke alarm Mains and interlink from second smoke alarm to third smoke alarm (etc) The last smoke alarm only has the mains and interlink. So if a number of interlinked smoke alarms do not indicate they have mains, but some do indicate they have mains, the first place to check is the last smoke alarm that has mains. I personally have a "feeling" it is to do with the fact you have 2 different makes of smoke alarm.

On line surveys such as yours do not give good results, since you can "adjust" the way you look at the figures to give the results you want. I wish you luck with your project, but ask yourself this. At the end of the day, can you really make a better smoke detector that is affordable? If its not affordable it will be a "gimmick"

NEVER interlink mains smoke detectors that are from different makers. Change them ALL to the same make, even the the first two you already had. When a mains interlinked smoke alarm fails, you should only replace it with one from the same maker.

To add to what Tom said, if the fire brigade were called (and it was a genuine fire) who is to tell them that there are people still sitting in the building (not to mention the residents) it can't be you because you are still sitting in the building waiting for....... Yes, it can be a "pain" if you have to evacuate a building, but, is it not better to get out and find its a false alarm or would you rather stay inside and find out that one day its a real fire.

There is no regulation as to which circuit it is connected to, however if it is connected to its own MCB there is the possibility that some one will turn it off. They will not do that if it is connected to the lighting circuit.

As Tom said, sprinklers are to protect against fire when the building is un-ocupied. By the time sprinklers activate the fire has to be "reasonably big*" where as if a member of staff sees the fire first, they can use an extinguisher which in turn will stop a small fire becoming a big fire, saving both time and money. I would suggest that staff should also be given basic training on how to use portable fire extinguishers. * Depending on location of sprinklers.

The air temperature at the sprinkler will have to be above 56 degrees centigrade. If your steamer and hot plate can do this then yes it will set it off. Being as its steam, I would suggest when in use you keep a couple of windows open to prevent mould growth.

As Harry says, and you (Yer ma) have said, it is not possible for a smoke alarm to make any noise for any reasonable length of time with out some sort of power supply. I have to agree with Harry, you have another detector somewhere nearby (may not be a CO detector) that has a low battery. My personal favourite is one put in a drawer and never fitted, but still with battery installed. I have also heard of them being "put down" on the top of a cupboard, and forgotten until..............

You may also like to see video clips of complete discharge of some portable fire extinguishers, Click here However, do bear in mind the video's show just the duration of the discharge, when fighting a fire, often it can be extinguished in 10 - 20 seconds of actual discharge. (Most "modern" fire extinguishers have a lever which stops discharge when released.)

Only new builds must have a mains operated smoke alarm, a battery operated smoke alarm is acceptable. I should also point out that being a maisonette you do not have a communal stair way, so a fire alarm Is NOT required. You could ask your landlord to fit a mains operated smoke alarm, but even if he does, it would be up to YOU to test it on a regular basis. You would not want your landlord coming round once a week just to press the smoke alarm test button would you? If you do wish to ask your landlord, I should point out that you should ask for a "mains smoke alarm" NOT a "mains fire alarm" as the they are very different. Safelincs can supply mains smoke alarms from only £17.75 Click here

Alex, what country are you based in?

I would guess that it is an incompatibility between the two detectors. From what you have said you have two different brands of device. I would suggest you change either one or both so that they are the same make / model As they are due to expire in 2016 you could change them both now. Safelincs do supply mains (with battery back up) smoke alarms for around £20 Click here

Sorry, and your question is .............

If they are "nearer to the ground" they would be more likely to be damaged. Also would it not "be the norm" that everyone gets out before the smoke reduces visibility, and the natural reaction of Joe public would be to run, so again, a sign low down would be of no use.

I have to agree with Harry. The "Bit on the ceiling" is just a connection / mounting plate, it has no other function. Below is a video from Safelincs, showing how to remove the detector from the base. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AQvjqhnHTE