Smoke alarm heat detector interconnectivity

[bluetof]

Hi All

First post on here so go easy.

I replaced an optical Firex smoke alarm today with an ionisation Firex smoke alarm. ( the optical alarm was activated constantly, only had ionisation in van ). However the heat alarm in the kitchen now is not interconnected. I am going tomorrow to pick up an ionisation alarm to see if the interconnection works properly.

Can't understand why the different type of alarm would not interlink. The interlink circuit is defo working as both heat alarm and smoke alarm where both activated during fault. Any of you guys had this before ?

 

[green-hornet]

hello bluetof and welcome to the forum.

All the firex alarms should interconnect, they only use a single interconnecting wire.

The only thing I can suggest is to make a continuity check from alarm to alarm, making sure it is a complete circuit.

Below is a link to the website where FAQ are mentioned.

http://www.firexsafety.com/homedir/en/ProductsServices/Firex/OnlineServices/FAQ/frequently+asked+questions.htm

 

[bluetof]

Thanks for that Green-Hornet

Customer explained that she had been spraying deoderant upstairs when the smoke alarm activated. So I assumed that the optical sensor had been contaminated. When i replaced with a new alarm the heat alarm wouldn't interconnect. Both ways - the heat alarm when tested wouldn't activate the smoke alarm upstairs etc. When I entered the house under fault conditions the smoke and heat alarm where blaring ( assume the interlink connection is ok then ). Starting to think that the heat alarm may in fact be dodgy. Thanks for the advice and site reference though.

 

[bluetof]

Also tried another smoke alarm (same type) and no difference.

 

[green-hornet]

I was just looking through the data on those alarms, and one suggestion was to replace any that are over 9 or 10 years old.

Another suggestion was regular cleaning, but I do not like cleaning heads as there is so much damage you can cause doing it.

I would do a R1+R2 check from each unit to make sure the circuit is good.

 

[bluetof]

Replaced heat alarm - all working fine. Strange one.

Thanks for the replies.