Mains fire alarm keeps going off in the night

danielle2022x

Hi we have moved into a new house recently and a few times now the fire alarm system has been going off in the middle of the night, last night at 3am. Previously at other times. It lasts for a few seconds and then stops.
Other issues are it is extremely loud, we have 4 Kidde Fyrnetics detectors around the house and it's mains powered with batteries as back up.
When it goes off, all 4 make the loudest noise, I actually think it's dangerously loud and it's making us seriously uncomfortable to sleep for fear of it going off, and also we can't have the windows open at night because it will definitely wake others up. 
When we press the "hush" button, nothing happens either.

We don't want this system - as safe as it may be, as it's affecting us. Please can someone advise what we need to do in order to have them replaced with something that is not as loud, and that will stop beeping ifyou press it. Are mains connected ones the best ones? Thank you.

Alderbank

Are you in Scotland?
Interlinked alarms are compulsory here. The reason is to ensure that even in a large house with thick walls everyone hears the alarm.

Do you rent or own your home?

danielle2022x

Alderbank said:

Are you in Scotland?
Interlinked alarms are compulsory here. The reason is to ensure that even in a large house with thick walls everyone hears the alarm.

Do you rent or own your home?

Hi thanks  for replying. We're in England and we own the house, moved in May. Thank you.

DullGreyGuy

Other than going off wrongly its working as it should do... all the alarms should go off as a fire downstairs would trigger the down stairs alarm first and that may not wake you sleeping upstairs depending on the size of the property. It should be very loud else those with poor hearing wouldnt hear it even if it goes off on all floors.

There should be an expiry date on the alarms, based on how coloured they are it seems fairly likely they are out of date. Our fire alarms when we bought our places were all 6 years past their expiry date. Whilst only one of them was playing up we replaced all three as it was better to be safe than have one that has failed such that it wont go off at all

Alderbank

If it was rented it would be your landlord's problem.

Your picture shows a Kidde Fyrnetics 123/9HI which was obsolete 10 years ago so it is well past its sell-by date! As all smoke alarms grow older they collect dust inside and become more sensitive.

Kidde say the replacement for 123/9HI is Kidde Firex KF20. The good news is that all the wiring is compatible. The bad news is that the old connectors are not compatible with the new detectors so will have to be replaced.
Obviously you will change all the obsolete detectors for new ones (about £20-25 each) and will then enjoy peaceful nights knowing that you are well protected.

kdotdotdotdot

The alarms are meant to be loud.  Your best bet is to get an alarms company in to check what's causing them to keep going off and/or replace them for you.  Mains wired is the best because that way you never have to worry about batteries running down.

It may be a nuisance now, but it's literally a life saver. Get an expert in to fix them and you'll sleep well at night. As will your neighbours!

[Deleted User]

kdotdotdotdot said:

Your best bet is to get an alarms company in to check what's causing them to keep going off and/or replace them for you.  Mains wired is the best because that way you never have to worry about batteries running down.

Other then regularly replacing the backup batteries. 

GDB2222

Any electrician can replace these, or, indeed, a competent handyman. You don't need an alarm expert. Once replaced, the fact the alarms are too loud for you won't matter, as they won't go off. 

Eldi_Dos

[Deleted User] said:

kdotdotdotdot said:

Your best bet is to get an alarms company in to check what's causing them to keep going off and/or replace them for you.  Mains wired is the best because that way you never have to worry about batteries running down.

Other then regularly replacing the backup batteries. 

Only if you skimp and use cheapo batteries.

grumbler

Eldi_Dos said:

[Deleted User] said:

kdotdotdotdot said:

Your best bet is to get an alarms company in to check what's causing them to keep going off and/or replace them for you.  Mains wired is the best because that way you never have to worry about batteries running down.

Other then regularly replacing the backup batteries. 

Only if you skimp and use cheapo batteries.

Are you saying that expensive batteries don't have to be replaced regularly? 

Eldi_Dos

grumbler said:

Eldi_Dos said:

[Deleted User] said:

kdotdotdotdot said:

Your best bet is to get an alarms company in to check what's causing them to keep going off and/or replace them for you.  Mains wired is the best because that way you never have to worry about batteries running down.

Other then regularly replacing the backup batteries. 

Only if you skimp and use cheapo batteries.

Are you saying that expensive batteries don't have to be replaced regularly? 

In my experience reputable batteries used in this application do not need to be changed very often.