Is Your Smoke Detector Beeping and Chirping with New Batteries?

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A constantly beeping smoke detector outside my bedroom recently taught me a little bit about battery-operated smoke detectors that I didn’t realize: In addition to replacing the smoke detector batteries every six months or so, you should also consider replacing the entire smoke detector every so often.

This battery powered voice smoke detector is my smoke detector of choice because it detects smoke and carbon monoxide and it is reasonably priced. As usual, the chirping of my smoke detector started around 3AM on a weeknight so I groggily stumbled out of bed, reached up and pulled the smoke detector down and took out the batteries before it woke my toddler son. I stumbled back to bed to deal with the issue in the morning.

My smoke detector of choice!

When I woke up the next day I checked the batteries by trying them in a little flashlight and they all appeared to be good. No, this isn’t a scientific test and I wouldn’t rely it. I had just put new batteries into the detector around October of last year, so I figured they would still be okay. I shrugged and grabbed a new set of alkaline batteries and put those into the smoke detector. The smoke detector beeped once (as it always does initially) and that was it. I put it back up on the ceiling and it seemed to be okay. But as I was walking away the smoke detector chirped again.

Again, I took it down, got another pack of batteries, put them in and put the smoke detector back up. Again, the smoke detector beeped as though it was ready to go and then, once again, the smoke detector started chirping every 30 seconds as though the batteries were bad.

As I was taking the smoke detector down a third time I noticed a sticker on the side that said, “Installed February 2002.” I thought that was an odd thing to place on a smoke detector unless, of course, there was a need to know the install date. My smoke detectors came with the house when I bought it, so any manuals for these things were long gone. However, a quick search on the manufacturer’s website revealed that my particular brand of smoke detector was supposed to be replaced every seven years. The manual also warned that the “smoke detector would chirp every 30 seconds” when the time to replace it had arrived.

Here are some deals for smoke detectors online.

I checked the smoke detector at my basement stairs and sure enough, it was the same brand of smoke detector and had the same “expiration” date. That day I went out and bought two new smoke detectors, saved the smoke detector manual, and noticed that each of these new smoke detectors would also beep or chirp not just when they needed a new battery but also when the smoke detector needed to be replaced.

My house had two smoke detectors made by Kidde and I stuck with them simply because I could use the same brackets that were already installed on my ceiling and they seemed to work exactly as advertised. I would imagine that it’s probably a good idea to replace any brand of battery-powered smoke detector every five to ten years.

Smoke Detectors

So, let’s go through a quick checklist of things you can do to try to figure out why your smoke detector is chirping regularly:

1. Is there Smoke? If there is smoke, get out of the house. If there is no smoke, go to step 2!

2. Check the Batteries: Obviously this is the first thing to check and replace. Don’t use rechargeable or “cheapy” batteries here. All the smoke detectors I’ve ever seen want alkaline batteries. I don’t usually splurge for “name brand” batteries, but I do for my smoke detectors. Use a new, fresh pack from the store. Really. It does make a difference.

3. Check the Expiration Date: As you just read, smoke detectors and other devices like them usually have expiration dates. Even if you’re off by a year or so, you’re probably better off replacing the whole unit ahead of schedule.

4. Clean It Out: Yes, smoke detectors usually mount on the ceiling or in high places, but that doesn’t mean they are immune from dust collection, cobwebs or even nesting bugs and spiders. When you have your smoke detector down you can try blowing it out with a can of compressed air.

5. Read the Manual: Don’t still have the manual? You can find most online now if you use Google and search for the brand of the smoke detector as well as the model. Still can’t find it? Go to step 6.

6. Call the Manufacturer: This is sort of a last resort and they will likely tell you to do some of the same things that are listed here. That being said, they might have some other tricks or they might know if a particular batch of smoke detectors had any issues or recalls.

Carbon Monoxide Detectors

Carbon monoxide (CO) detectors are different than smoke detectors, though some units have both functions built into them now. Carbon monoxide is a silent, odorless gas and it’s not something you should take any chances with. If your carbon monoxide detector starts beeping you don’t want to do what I did with my smoke detector. You need to get you and your family out of your home and into fresh air quickly and call your emergency service or dial 911.

With smoke detectors you can usually tell pretty quickly if there is smoke or fire or not, but with carbon monoxide detectors there’s no easy indication that there is a problem. Common effects of carbon monoxide poisoning are headaches, nausea and dizziness. Like most smoke detectors, many carbon monoxide detectors have a unique beep for a low battery versus an alarm, but at 3 AM in the morning it’s sometimes difficult to tell.

Carbon Monoxide Detectors vs Smoke Detectors

Though they’re both small plastic units that release high-pitched sounds when they detect something in the air that shouldn’t be there, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are fundamentally different devices and really should be treated differently. Some basic differences in how you use the two devices:

• Again, if a smoke detector goes off in the middle of the night then you need to access the situation. If a carbon monoxide detector goes off you should get to fresh air quickly.
• Smoke detectors measure air particles and smoke that might be found in the air, while carbon monoxide detectors actually monitor the concentration one specific gas in the environment. For this reason the two units are often mounted or installed in different locations. Smoke detectors are usually installed on ceilings or high up on the wall because smoke rises and collects in those places while CO detectors should really be mounted at about 5 or 6 feet off the ground on a wall. Carbon monoxide weighs about the same as the other components in air and will not rise or sink significantly.
• Smoke detectors do have expiration dates and most are now designed to last about seven years. Carbon monoxide detectors also have expiration dates, though they will often expire after five years.
• Smoke detectors are required in almost all new homes and are often a requirement for the sale of older homes as well. CO detectors are not required in all states and all municipalities yet, though more and more communities are adopting standards for these devices.

I might try replacing the smoke detectors before they start beeping and chirping next time because you have to figure smoke detector technology probably gets better after five years… and it’s really no fun being startled out of bed by a beeping smoke detector at 3 o’clock in the morning.

This entry was posted on January 30, 2009 at 4:42 am and is filed under Home Improvement Tricks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.