Smoke Alarm Recommendations Please

jasmin10

I am wanting to replace the two smoke alarms that are in our house. They were ones that were already installed when we bought it over a year ago and would like to have peace of mind that they are fully working, as everything else in the house seems to have been bodged.

I would appreciated any recommendations, preferabably from Amazon as I have some vouchers to use and if there is such a thing as a one that will give less false alarms from cooking etc. We have one at the bottom of the stairs and is always going off. If there is no such thing or if it would hinder the quality then I will just open back doors when cooking (although it may be a bit chilly in winter).

Thanks for any suggestions

taffj

Your local fire station will supply and fit smoke alarms for nothing. They do in Cheshire anyway. Just get in touch with them.

Mutton_Geoff

You're looking for alarms that don't go off when smoke comes out of your kitchen? :rotfl:

Seriously, are they battery or mains powered? They should have a test button. Make sure batteries fresh every six months or so.

keef83

Ditto taffj, the local fire brigade will supply and fit for free, a few of my mates work in the fire brigade as I understand they will survey your house and then supply and fit all of the alarms for you.

Check this link to the Kent Service.

http://www.kent.fire-uk.org/Your_Safety/Home_safety_visits/homesafetyvisits.html

jasmin10

Thank you for the replies, Andy, those were the types that I was thinking of, the ones that detect the heat instead of smoke. Are these ones not as good as the basic (ionisation and photoelectric), I seem swayed to photo electric.

I know that the fire brigade fit them for free but like has been said, they are paid for somewhere along the line. Plus as also said I doubt they would replace what is already there.

These ones that are already in I think are very v. cheap. They don't have a test or slience button which is why I keep disconnecting the battery. At present I don't shut the kitchen door when cooking as I can see directly into the lounge to keep an eye on dd, hence the alarm goes off when using the grill, frying etc.

I would be interest to hear about the heat only and photoelectric comparisons.

Mojisola

jasmin10 wrote: »

I know that the fire brigade fit them for free but like has been said, they are paid for somewhere along the line. Plus as also said I doubt they would replace what is already there.

The firemen have just fitted a new alarm for my parents. They said they have targets to reach and to get anyone else we know to contact them. They will replace an existing alarm because they are fitting a good quality one with a ten year battery in it. It also has a big button for testing and silencing when it is set off by cooking.

It might be that your ones are not positioned right if they go off a lot. The firemen will give you advice about that. They also do a short survey of fire risks in the house and give useful advice to make the house safer.

Tim_Deegan

Mojisola wrote: »

The firemen have just fitted a new alarm for my parents. They said they have targets to reach and to get anyone else we know to contact them. They will replace an existing alarm because they are fitting a good quality one with a ten year battery in it. It also has a big button for testing and silencing when it is set off by cooking.

It might be that your ones are not positioned right if they go off a lot. The firemen will give you advice about that. They also do a short survey of fire risks in the house and give useful advice to make the house safer.

The new ones being fitted on home fire safety checks are mostly optical ones now. These operate differently from the old ionising ones, and don't go off as easily when you burn your toast. They are also tamper proof, so people can't take the battery out for the kids toys. And most have a 10 year battery life.