Safelincs

While the British Standards recommends annual servicing for all extinguishers, this is not legally binding. You must, however, have a way of maintaining your extinguishers in an operational state. You could, for example, replace your extinguisher every year or, in the case of small extinguishers, you could have regular visual and other self-inspection (is the pressure gauge showing green, can you hear the powder flowing freely inside, is the tamper tag still present, is there any damage visible) and just replace every 5 years. Or you can go for a small service-free extinguisher that only requires visual inspection and replacement after ten years. Harry

No green light means that there is no power supply. Have you flicked the fuse back on after changing the battery? Harry

As a first step try to clean out the alarm by using a vacuum attachment around the openings of the alarm. If this does not help you will need to replace the unit. If it is less than ten years old you can claim on the warranty. If it is older you can get an Easichange Ei141 replacement head that can be fitted without electrician. Harry

Hi, if the alarm has been removed (see instructions) and you still hear a beeping in the room, it comes from a different source (eg a carbon monoxide alarm with low battery in a drawer). Harry

Hi Susie In line with BSI standard BS EN 50291-1:2018 a CO detector must not alarm at low CO levels for a specific period of time. So, for example at a relatively low CO concentration of 30 to 50ppm the alarm must not go off for 120 minutes and in actual fact it does not have to go off at all! At just over 50ppm it is not allowed to sound alarm for 60 minutes but will have to sound alarm within 90 minutes. Odd, I know! If you have low level carbon monoxide presence in your building (let's say 40ppm), your CO detector will take at least two hours before alarming! So when you disable the alarm this clock starts ticking again and you will not hear the alarm sounding for quite a while. It is therefore not a great idea to disable a CO alarm. The CO alarm probably did what it is supposed to do and warned you about CO presence. If you would like to see the actual CO concentrations, especially at low level exposure, I would recommend getting a digital CO alarm. The Fireangel CO9D has both a display for readings over 10ppm as well as peak reading display, so you can see what the highest reading was in the last few days. Harry

Hi, yes, this Kidde CO alarm has a six year warranty. However, you need to make sure that the power supply to the CO alarm is actually working, otherwise the alarm will indeed drain and start beeping. Harry

Hi, what model is this alarm?

Hi TO SET THE PERSONAL CODE 1. Press the # button. 2. Press the green code change button located on the back of the safe door 3. Enter your personal 3 to 6 digit code and press # button to set. 4. The lock will emit a tone and the LCD will display IN. to confirm the new code. 5. To change the code follow the same procedure with the door and lock in the open position. This lock can be programmed with an 8 digit master code; which cannot be removed, but can be edited. Consider carefully if you require this function before entering a second code. TO SET THE MASTER CODE 1. Press the # button 2. Enter 0,0 3. Press the green code change button. 4. Enter the selected 8 digit master code. 5. The lock will emit a tone and the LCD will display IN. to confirm the master code. test before you close the door Harry

Hi, that seems like a reasonable compromise to me, although I would ideally like to see it closer to the flue and further away from the door. Harry

Hi, with carbon monoxide at room temperature having approximately the same density as air, CO spreads fairly evenly across the room. Just avoid areas with draft (windows and doors). Personally, I would place it half way up on the wall with the flue behind. Harry

It is certainly worth to get a second reading from a different CO alarm. The Fireangel CO9D will give you an actual reading and will record peak levels, so if there is an intermittent leak this will identify this. Harry

If the fire door does not close due to the resistance of the latch/air pressure you need a fire door closer with "latching action". The Geze TS4000 for example has the latching action as well as plenty of power to close even heavier doors reliably. However, there are many other makes and models as well. Harry

Hi Graham Yes, fresh screed seems to have an impact on CO alarms. This is something I only picked up quite recently. Harry

Hi Jennie The Ei141 smoke alarms are interconnected, which explains why this error signal will have triggered both alarms. Once the alarms are older than ten years, the alarms become a bit fragile and prone to go off. I am glad you found the replacement units and that the problem is now resolved for you. Harry

Hi, I am puzzled, as the combined smoke and CO detector from Kidde is free-standing and not connected! Which would make me think that you have a carbon monoxide problem at your house. Is the link showing teh correct alarm? Harry

Hi Emma, Safelincs itself offers fire doors made to measure for existing apertures. You can also select panelled fire door leaves to match existing older doors. Harry

Hi John Please make sure there is no other alarm in the vicinity. It would be unusual for the alarm to beep every 5 minutes. It is only beeping every 40 seconds when eg the battery is low, so there is probably a different alarm with low battery nearby. Maybe a carbon monoxide alarm. Harry

Hi John see https://www.safelincs.co.uk/replacement-smoke-alarms/ the 14th product down. The KF10 smoke alarm replaces the PAR230C Harry

Hi, I am afraid, the only way to stop the low battery warning is to replace the batteries. For this the alarm's head needs to be twisted off the base to get to the battery. Harry

Hi If this carbon monoxide alarm is a Fireangel CO9D alarm with digital display, it records peak carbon monoxide (also shortened to 'CO') levels which can be queried by pressing the Test button. It displays the highest recording and then resets itself. Your alarm is telling you that it recorded 227ppm which is high. I would avoid using the gas dryer until you have found out whether it is leaking any CO gas into the building. Harry

Hi Daniel A distressing situation! I am glad for you that no serious damage was caused. One solution are anti-arson letterboxes which will safely hold burning materials and liquids coming through the letterbox. These are made from non-flammable materials and some of them have integrated extinguishers to extinguish the fire. Kind Regards Harry

Hi Andy Do you know the model or can you send a photo, please, and I will try to help. Harry

Hi Rob, how old are the units, please? What does the sticker on the say re replacement date? Harry

Hi Elisa I assume this is in a domestic property. I would expect either the alarms being too old (please check the replacement date on them) or there being a tiny spider or a bit of dust in the alarm. It helps sometimes to use the vacuum around the openings of the alarm to resolve this. If you let me know the model of the alarm or send a photo via this platform I might be able to help better. Harry

Hi, Maybe it was a short term spike. If it was a Fireangel digital CO alarm you can get a peak reading by pressing the test/mode button. This should hopefully also show zero. Certain chemicals can also set off a CO alarm (new floor screed, vented car/boat batteries being charged etc). Check the replacement date as well to make sure the alarm is not overdue for replacement. What model alarm do you have? Harry