9V batteries

I had a problem about a week back with our smoke/co2 detectors. They would go off, not beep, for 2 minutes every 15 minutes. It was 3am and I wasn't about to get out of bed. I pulled the covers over my head and went back to sleep. The wife on the other hand didn't put up with it long. My wife being pissed got me out of bed.

First I changed the batteries in every detector but that didn't help. I thought I had a faulty unit so I did a google search and after a bit I figured out I needed to clean them. The one that kept going off was full of cobwebs and dust. I ended up cleaning them all out with the air compressor and they work just fine now, I hope.

-Destin
 
After so many years you need to replace the detector as the sensor in it will degrade and possible fail just from existing.
 
Buster said:
Thanks for asking...In about 4 more years, I hope to be driving a club-car (styled like a Hummer) around gated communities in Las Cruces...I have been in touch of the local unversity there, and have a promised position whenever I get there (don't know if I want to work too much once I get there, after all, that ain't what retirement is all about)...I ain't moving till I get my 40 quarters for SS eligibility at my civilian job here..I have only 32 now.. (damn CSRS)
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Buster, I'm sure that you are aware that OPM will cut your SSA by 60% because you are CSRS. I had 52 quarters, should be getting $750 a month only get $334,then they take out Medicare. copy_of_dancinman4.gif
 
Buster said:
Thanks for asking...In about 4 more years, I hope to be driving a club-car (styled like a Hummer) around gated communities in Las Cruces...I have been in touch of the local unversity there, and have a promised position whenever I get there (don't know if I want to work too much once I get there, after all, that ain't what retirement is all about)...I ain't moving till I get my 40 quarters for SS eligibility at my civilian job here..I have only 32 now.. (damn CSRS)
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Damn, you should have had a "real" job more. All my military time counts toward SS. Time and place.

What will you be teaching at NMSU? How to destroy a foreign made SUV without scratching your paint or hurting your tires? YUKYUK.

Good luck and stay in touch.
 
PessOptimist said:
Nice talking to you and how's that move to NM going? If that is you, I get confused about who is planning what.
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Thanks for asking...In about 4 more years, I hope to be driving a club-car (styled like a Hummer) around gated communities in Las Cruces...I have been in touch of the local unversity there, and have a promised position whenever I get there (don't know if I want to work too much once I get there, after all, that ain't what retirement is all about)...I ain't moving till I get my 40 quarters for SS eligibility at my civilian job here..I have only 32 now.. (damn CSRS)
 
Buster said:
You crack me up PO...ever think of writing short stories?..Anywho, my smoke/heat detectors are on a central system gaurded by an UPS in case of a power failure...incidentally, my detector head's LEDs blink once every 11.76 seconds and also live on a 4" steel re-enforced slab, we have earthquakes you know....but all the HVAC ducts are in the attic.

another thing, you should also check/replace your HVAC filters once every 3 months..Just did mine today...we must be in sync or something..that is all.
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Thanks for the compliment on the short stories thing but I am not quite ready to quit the day job yet, even if I get an involuntary PCS with 30 days notice.

http://www.tsptalk.com/mb/showthread.php?10199-Forced-PCS&p=341019#post341019

Did the HVAC filter thing last weekend and I do write the date on the filter where it can be seen from the ground. That way when I am accused of not fulfilling that duty I can either humbly do it and thank the person who mentioned it for the reminder or not quite so humbly mention the date on the filter.

Along the line of HVAC maintenance, over the years I have had several companies come in to do the annual maintenance. All of them except one have ignored the evaporator/gas furnace unit in the attic. Some have claimed it was sealed, some have claimed insurance problems, some have said "huh".

The last time I drug myself up there and removed the six screws on this "sealed unit" the squirrel cage fan and evaporator coils had about 1/4 inch of dust on them.

Point is that if the vendor only wants to look at what is on the ground, you are not getting a "system check and tune up". The other question is has any "qualified technician" ever looked at my 14 year old gas furnace?

Nice talking to you and how's that move to NM going? If that is you, I get confused about who is planning what.
 
Hey nnuut.

Mine beep like crazy when the batteries are low, I have 3 of those that are hooked up to 120 AC and have a battery, probably for backup power?
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The batteries are for backup power. Just replace those batteries. The batteries you pull out will run other devices for a long time before they die. If you are as cheap as I am and want to "use them up"
I have one close to the kitchen that goes off every time we cook, I removed the power from it and we are much happier now at least until we have a fire in the kitchen. There should be some way to adjust the sensitivity of those things.
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Not to worry about disabling that one. (IMHO) NFPA or whatever suggests not having a detector near a cooking appliance. I have known many people over the years who had a detector in a location where every time they broiled something in the oven beeping occurred. This led to disabling or ignoring the beeps. No way I know of to adjust anything. Based on the little I think I know about fires and smoke and gasses, the way the detectors in my house are laid out, the kitchen/family room will be toast before the detectors go off. These things are not meant to mitigate damage. They are to alert the critters to get out. NOW.

Amongst the other things mentioned by bystanders, I remembered that a bulb needed to be replaced in a bathroom. It was a CFL which I am sure was less than 5 years old but had no date on it. I started writing a date on the "green" bulbs to track how long they last. Results are mixed but I believe this one did not fulfill the promise about long life. Plus now I have a small piece of toxic waste on my hands that the EPA and my local government suggest I dispose of as ordinary trash. It's not easy being green. I bring this up because I believe you "went green" with CFLs a while ago. Results, as they say are mixed. I replaced the defective CFL with a very expensive LCD bulb. Marked with today's date. I hope this will save a Polar Bear cub from wet discomfort. At the least it will increase some CEO's salary and if some on this board are to be believed, create about 100 jobs somewhere.

Nice BSing with you nnuut.
 
You crack me up PO...ever think of writing short stories?..Anywho, my smoke/heat detectors are on a central system gaurded by an UPS in case of a power failure...incidentally, my detector head's LEDs blink once every 11.76 seconds and also live on a 4" steel re-enforced slab, we have earthquakes you know....but all the HVAC ducts are in the attic.

another thing, you should also check/replace your HVAC filters once every 3 months..Just did mine today...we must be in sync or something..that is all.
 
Mine beep like crazy when the batteries are low, I have 3 of those that are hooked up to 120 AC and have a battery, probably for backup power? I have one close to the kitchen that goes off every time we cook, I removed the power from it and we are much happier now at least until we have a fire in the kitchen. There should be some way to adjust the sensitivity of those things.
 
PessOptimist

PessOptimist

Well-known member
I just got done changing the batteries in my smoke/CO detectors. Yeah I know I was supposed to do it last month while the rest of the US was wasting time and energy setting clocks. I have my reasons for my schedule.

I am posting this as a public service to remind everyone that may have forgotten to change the smoke detector batteries.

If you have an interconnected system that runs off AC power grid voltage this can be fun. I have a 15 amp breaker dedicated to these things. After you change the batteries, which may or may not cause the detector to beep once, several times or forever, you have to watch the LEDs to make sure all is well. Some flash once every 60 seconds or maybe 40 seconds or maybe 3 times a minute or every 7.325 seconds or 10 seconds depending on what hemisphere you are in and if you actually changed the batteries on DST day or not. Since you are doing this home maintenance task, others in the house will think of more important things they want done and accuse you of ignoring them while staring at the detectors to see how often the LEDs blink. Especially if you are drinking a beer to give you the courage you need to get to up to that one 15 feet off the floor in the middle of the room. A few years ago I spent several hundred dollars on a ladder (OSHA approved of course) capable of safely reaching that one. In earlier times I used to stand on the top step of a wobbly wooden 6ft step ladder. The foolishness of youth. (relative, I was in my mid 40s then)

Back to that watching LEDs thing, better to make sure they all went back to "armed and ready" mode than "set all detectors off at 2AM mode".

Among the other more important things mentioned that need doing were painting the outside of the house, replacing outside light fixtures because "they're dirty and I never liked them because they're ugly" and fixing the cracks in the foundation. The foundation is actually a 4" slab that was poured over a layer of sand and rocks dumped over the water/waste pipes and allowed to settle for, say 25 minutes, before the extremely wet soupy crete was poured and left to cure in the hot desert sun uncovered.

In the words of the craftsmen building the structures, "lo suficientemente bueno, ¿Dónde están las chelas?

I love being a home owner. I am beginning to think I would love it better if I were the owner of a one bedroom condo or a 12x60 trailer on blocks with "natural desert landscaping".

Back on topic, if you haven't replaced your smoke/CO detector batteries this year, do it.
 
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