DETA 1151 smoke alarm, interconnected. Beeping and light confusion!

[Guest Nick]

Hi all, 

Firstly I have since contacted Safelincs and have a replacement unit on the way- thank you so much to the assistance on the phone, it was excellent.

I do have a follow up question about our alarms to help me understand what the issue might have been..?

Last night our upstairs DETA 1151 IONISATION (manufacture date Nov 2015- house is a new build complete August 2016) smoke alarm went off for the first time, but only the 3 test beeps. This occured intermittently for the following 4 hours, starting at 1am ish. In a household with two under 5s this was worrying of course. There had been no classic chirping regarding low 9v battery at all etc, just these 3 beeps for this period, intermittently. At 5 am I turned off the mains and disconnected the offending unit until I could source a 9v battery this morning. I was assuming low battery was the issue at this point. 

Upon replacing the batteries in both units this morning the mains green light on both units was on, as it had been before and during the incident- and a quick test confirmed all was well. After about 10 minutes, the problem alarm (one of only two interlinked) recommenced it's '3 chirps' and now the Red LED remained constantly on. The green LED was now off, suggesting somehow I now had no mains to the unit when I had 15 mins before. RCD breaker checked and all other domestic circuits seem normal.

 

The Safelincs assistant recommend the easichange replacement for my model which I have ordered, but can anyone shed any light on what the issue may be? Any help appreciated! Eagerly awaiting the new unit.. 

[Guest Mike]

Just had the same problem with downstairs unit. I had another one upstairs so I took it out and brought it downstairs and this one did not make any noise so the fault seems to be with the alarm unit itself and not the mains or battery

[green-foam]

If the smoke alarm has been proven to have a problem, then there is only one thing you can do, change it, as there are no user serviceable parts inside.

[Guest Guest Doreen]

I have the same issue. We've purchased equivalent replacements (Deta 1151 discontinued) from safelincs but still have the same problem, does this mean we have a wiring issue and need to call an electrician ?

[Guest Lee]

I am having same issue,3.30 in morning,jumped out of bed,found top floor unit beeping 3 times,red light comes on every 15 secs.is this the same problem

[green-foam]

Without having the unit to test, unfortunately it is not possible to give you a definitive answer.

But I can say if your smoke alarm is 10 years old then you should change it.

[Guest peter new]

i have same problem 2 alarm one bleeps only 3 years old, seems like something wrong with alarm manufacture 

[Guest Hp reading]

Similar issue, was installed in a new build 2016. The unit only goes off when it is connected to the mains. If I disconnect it from the main with battery installed it stays quite. Now that I want to order a replacement it says the item has been discontinued and cannot be sourced from anywhere. What a bummer looks like I will have to order a brand new Alarm and rewired the whole house ?

[Guest Hp reading]

On 09/04/2021 at 17:53, Guest Guest Doreen said:

I have the same issue. We've purchased equivalent replacements (Deta 1151 discontinued) from safelincs but still have the same problem, does this mean we have a wiring issue and need to call an electrician ?

Where did you order the replacement from?

[green-foam]

On 07/06/2021 at 18:36, Guest Hp reading said:

Where did you order the replacement from?

Hi, "Doreen" has only made the one post so you are unlikely to get a reply from her, but if you read her post again, it does answer your question

 

On 09/04/2021 at 17:53, Guest Guest Doreen said:

I have the same issue. We've purchased equivalent replacements (Deta 1151 discontinued) from safelincs but still have the same problem, does this mean we have a wiring issue and need to call an electrician ?

That said, even the replacement is now obsolete.

You will have to buy a different brand of smoke detector, the downside to this is that as yet no two different brands of smoke detector will work with each other, so that means you will have to change all of them at the same time. Looking on the bright side all non radio interlinked smoke alarms use a 3 core and earth cable, this means no rewiring to do, but you will need to change each smoke alarms plug.

[Guest Deta 1153 smoke alarm]

Why the red light comes on when I put new replacement battery in? 

[Guest Red Smoke]

[green-foam]

I can only suggest you take it down, remove the battery, hold the test button in for 20 seconds, then reverse the process.

I would also ask, how old is your deta 1153 ? as they are obsolete and it maybe near the end of its life.

[Guest Red light on]

Am having the same problem as Guest Red Smoke since the power outage.  Have replaced the battery but the solid red light stays on...it is 5 yrs old from a new build too.  Tried the pressing down test button for 30s but no luck.

 

[green-foam]

Did you take it down, remove the battery then press and hold the test button?

If yours is a Deta 1153 they are obsolete, and if the suggestion does not work, then you will have to change it.

[Guest Same problem]

Had the same problem with one of the larms - house built 2017. Contacted manufacturer who recommend I get a new alarm installed as the Delta 1151 is now absolete. Question is, can the hardwired base still be used with a new and different brand and model?  How long do these alarms last? And, will we need to to keep buying new ones and rewiring after 'x' number of years or as soon as the alarm becomes absolete?  If this is the case one might have to consider using wall mounted alarms.

[green-foam]

Each brand of smoke alarm has its own unique parts, so no, you can not use a "Brand G" smoke alarm on a "Brand K" base.

If you read through this forum, Deta smoke alarms did seem to be more troublesome than most. 7 years for a smoke alarm is a bit short. I can only suggest that you change all of your smoke alarms, I would suggest the Aico Ei146e These have a sturdy base, and room to connect the existing cables (No connector block required) The cheapest I have found them is £31 inc delivery  Click here