[Geordie Jester]

Hi people,

We have two smoke detectors in the house (top and bottom of the stairs) and Im not sure they are working properly. We recently had a pan burn dry and the smell was all thru house but no alarm went off. House bought new,3 yrs ago.

Alarms are mains and battery backup. Last night I vacuumed them and did the test button. That seems to work fine, but I tried a candle just blown out and the smoke does not seem to set it off. Surely this is a fair test ?

Took them off to look at closely and noticed that there is a plastic tab around the siren. Anyone seen that before and know whether you are supposed to pull it out/off ? It does kinda remind me of those tabs you pull out of a device to start the battery going......but like I say it doesnt say anything.

I know you can buy a can of smoke to test them, but is anything else worth trying first ?

[ufitsy]

Could try the candle test with a peice of paper or a , not sure I could ever trust them after what you say.

[breszh]

Call your local fire station and ask them to come and check them out.

I did this when I wasn't sure about the flashing red light remaining even after changing the battery. They were round within a couple of hours and put my mind at rest.

[Toasty]

I've had burning toast set off our alarm and have tested with a burnt out match before now. Sounds like something's not right.

[Geordie Jester]

thanks for replies guys.

better try and sort it.

Anyone head of this plastic tab thing I found ?

I think I will phone manufacturer in the morning and have a chat.

[geeWcee]

A simple blown out match should set them off. If not, sounds like they're faulty.
Smoke alarms are so cheap these days you should just replace them to put your mind at rest. Ive got one in every single room in the house except the kitchen.

[oxygenuk]

try replacing the batteries?

[Astaroth]

What sort of alarm is it though? Some fire alarms are heat sensitive rather than smoke.

If concerned you can contact the local fire service and they will be able to advise but which ever sort it is it will need a relatively significant amount of heat or smoke (and actual smoke rather than just a burnt smell) to set it off. Most fire alarms these days are not as sensitive such that you burn one slice of toast and every alarm in the house trips.