So it's 10 minutes to 11 pm and...

[GTM]

every GD smoke alarm in my 7 year old house starts screaming. I was watching TV in the basement when they went off. I sprint my rather robust booty up the stairs and start looking for a fire....nothing. Back to the basement and I shut the breaker off. Five minutes of peace and then the screaming begins once more.

Its ten after now, my house is smoke detector-less, but it's quiet

Anyone have any experience with this?

This can happen in our house when the electric heat bank for the heat pump kicks on for the first time of the season and burns off some of the accumulated dust.

 

[singlestacksig]

if just one goes off, it might be a defect.. if more than one.. get out and have someone with a CO & gas detector check your house..
it could be something like dust burning off furnace .. or it could be methane from sewer...
or CO .. better safe than dead..

 

[AZ Hunter]

This happens from time to time in my house built in 05. All the detectors are hooked to the electricity in the house all with back up 9v. Its almost always the detector in my hallway between my kids rooms. Imagine just that one going off at 4am! SUCKS From time to time it will trip them all. Or in most cases I go to unplug just the one and it sets them all off. As stated earlier, the one blinking is the one that triggered the alarm. I know my alarm company was out recently and sprayed their tester stuff in the house one (not theirs) and it set the whole house off. Luckily I was at work and my wife had to deal with the sound for several minutes while they called the smoke detector company for instructions. Needless to say all were taken down and cleaned with air. (Which is really good to do from time to time) Most often i remove the one that started it. Reset it by holding in the button and plug back in. Normally does the trick. And for clarification they are not carbon monoxide ones.

Also, I have the best avatar! Bacon in a skillet....what could be better?

 

[iamaclone45]

"Canned air" is great for cleaning smoke detectors. You can find it at Walmart, typically in the computer section.

 

[target64]

@
all supplied by 110V service. The batteries are backups. They are only supposed to all go off if one is triggered.

My hard wired detectors will trigger, if the 9v battery dies. Had this happen a couple of months ago. just replaced the battery and all is fine

 

[wolfman]

Ours did this a couple of years ago. Seems like they are designed so that when the back up batteries die, it sets the whole system off. Replace the battery in the unit that is blinking, and it should solve the problem, then replace all of the rest.

 

[public servant]

Also, I have the best avatar! Bacon in a skillet....what could be better?

Just one thing...

 

[Dead Duck]

I think that Puss in the Pot just beat you Bacon in a skillet.

That could of set the detectors off.

 

[AZ Hunter]

Crap....you win!