|
I found out a couple of weeks ago that smoke
alarms have a life expectancy of 8 to 10 years. I just got through
replacing mine - hopefully they'll never get used. Just a few words more as there is a lot on the web, here is a good generic article. There are two basic kinds of smoke sensors - ionization and photoelectric. The ionization kind are cheaper and detect fast burning fires. The photoelectric ones are for smoldering fires, such as a burning bed or sofa. Some alarms have both types of sensors. There are also alarms that have built-in batteries that last the life of the alarm, which is great if you have one that is hard to reach. If you have a security alarm you may have a smoke detector that is monitored and is separate from the smoke alarms. These detectors, as far as I know, are photoelectric. These do not have a design life from what I've been able to find out. As long as they detect smoke they don't need to be replaced. Regarding carbon monoxide alarms; these have design lives that vary greatly (three to 10 years). Contact the manufacturer with the model number to determine their lifespan. /Ed -- Shoptalk ** Sponsored by the new Aldila Voodoo. Learn more at http://aldilavoodoo.com/ |
