Smoke alarm

[timber]

Hi All
I have two smoke alarms in my house both fitted 7 years ago
For the past three weeks the one downstairs goes off at midnight every night.
However last night it went off again at midnight, so it took notice of the end of BST
Smoke alarm model is:- BRK 670 MBX.
How the hell does this happen????
Timber

 

[finneyb]

Is it low battery - because it gets cold at night and the battery gets less efficient - we have had it with others bloody annoying at that time of night.

Brian

 

[sunnybob]

According to screwfix that is a mains powered alarm. youre obviously getting a time signal through the wiring.
Are you near to a big radio transmitter? or have a clock that auto updates nearby?
I suspect fitting a new battery will overpower the signal.

Unless of course it as simple as youre burning the midnight oil?

 

[novocaine]

service life is 10 years, chuck it and replace it, not worth worrying about for 10 quid (a new battery is 2 quid anyway)

note : whilst I detest the nature of a throw away society, safety devices are important and don't really seem worth trying to keep going.

also note: finneyb makes a reasonable point that its most likely the battery but I'm not convinced it gets cold enough over night in most peoples homes to drop the efficiency of an alkaline battery.

 

[stuartpaul]

There's a difference between a smoke alarm 'going off' and the low battery 'chirp' (usually at 3 o'clock in the morning!). Which is it?

If it's chirping then a battery change should do the trick. If it's going into full alarm at the same time every night then clearly something is wrong. Like others have said I'd replace for the low cost and the peace of mind.

 

[dc_ni]

http://brk.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/700-Series-Manual.pdf

Manual says dust can have an adverse effect and to try vacuuming the vents

 

[Sheffield Tony]

Hi All
I have two smoke alarms in my house both fitted 7 years ago
For the past three weeks the one downstairs goes off at midnight every night.
However last night it went off again at midnight, so it took notice of the end of BST
Smoke alarm model is:- BRK 670 MBX.
How the hell does this happen????
Timber

Do you use E7 with a radio teleswitch to turn on storage heaters or something ? Just thinking the switching might be triggering something spuriously. I have noticed pump overrun timers in gas boilers trigger when I turn the kettle on in the past.

 

[timber]

Hi All
I have two smoke alarms in my house both fitted 7 years ago
For the past three weeks the one downstairs goes off at midnight every night.
However last night it went off again at midnight, so it took notice of the end of BST
Smoke alarm model is:- BRK 670 MBX.
How the hell does this happen????
Timber

Do you use E7 with a radio teleswitch to turn on storage heaters or something ? Just thinking the switching might be triggering something spuriously. I have noticed pump overrun timers in gas boilers trigger when I turn the kettle on in the past.

Thanks for the replies ,yes it must be either the lock or boiler controls,
Will just buy a new one and see how it goes, not worth fiddling with the battery or vac. cleaner
Timber

 

[Marineboy]

My 4 linked smoke alarms have gone off twice in the last week with no apparent reason. I took one down to see when it was made - 2005! So I have ordered 4 Kidde units from Aldi, £7.99 a pair, which looks to be excellent value, particularly with free delivery. Not linked but I’m not sure if this is a necessary feature in our house.

 

[Chris152]

I recently had the fire brigade knock on the door offering to check my alarms - apparently they weren't up to scratch so they fitted a few battery operated ones (supposed to last 10 years) for free. They're not linked so won't suit everyone.

 

[novocaine]

I replaced one of ours yesterday. 4 quid in morrisons for a new one. it's daft how cheap they are these days. (good daft)

 

[Robbo3]

I noticed that they had a few in the local £1 shop, complete with a 9v battery.

 

[Lons]

I have 5 around the house and fitted 2 linked mains units when I built the extensions, I dumped those two after repeated false alarms and changed to battery type which are no problem as long as you fit decent batteries.

I noticed that they had a few in the local £1 shop, complete with a 9v battery.

Wouldn't trust a pound shop unit with my family safety Robbo

I recently had the fire brigade knock on the door offering to check my alarms - apparently they weren't up to scratch so they fitted a few battery operated ones (supposed to last 10 years) for free. They're not linked so won't suit everyone.

Several of my neighbours had these fitted and only last 2 to 3 years so 10 years is not accurate. They just ring the fire guys and they send out a replacement. they assessed ours and said they were fine so I didn't get any freebies

 

[timber]

I have 5 around the house and fitted 2 linked mains units when I built the extensions, I dumped those two after repeated false alarms and changed to battery type which are no problem as long as you fit decent batteries.

I noticed that they had a few in the local £1 shop, complete with a 9v battery.

Wouldn't trust a pound shop unit with my family safety Robbo

I recently had the fire brigade knock on the door offering to check my alarms - apparently they weren't up to scratch so they fitted a few battery operated ones (supposed to last 10 years) for free. They're not linked so won't suit everyone.

Several of my neighbours had these fitted and only last 2 to 3 years so 10 years is not accurate. They just ring the fire guys and they send out a replacement. they assessed ours and said they were fine so I didn't get any freebies

I assessed mine by just holding a piece of burning paper a few feet away. Both work o.k. and one of them still goes off at midnight on the dot. very strange I did write to BRK Electronics about it and received instructions how to clean them. However they Did not explain why one goes off at midnight,--- I don't suppose they know.

 

[Lons]

I assessed mine by just holding a piece of burning paper a few feet away. Both work o.k. and one of them still goes off at midnight on the dot. very strange I did write to BRK Electronics about it and received instructions how to clean them. However they Did not explain why one goes off at midnight,--- I don't suppose they know.

The fire guys assess the whole building and do a fire risk assessment which include how many alarms and whether located correctly so not just whether existing ones work.

A regularly timed false alarm is definitely linked to one of your other electronic circuits. I think mine was interference from the heating thermostat but replacing with battery ones solved the problem and apart from the link you save nothing as mains alarms need a battery back up anyway.
I've gone ott and fitted more than I need around the house.