# Smoke alarms for seniors



## gthomson (Nov 13, 2016)

How do you handle smoke detectors in houses with seniors?
Mom is 80, so going up on a small step ladder is more a hazard for falling and breaking a hip, but the battery on the smoke detector chirping all the time is causing her stress.
Hour and a half drive, which I'm fine doing. But I want to get her setup in a better way with smoke alarms so that she doesn't feel the need to go up a step ladder to change a battery on a smoke alarm on the ceiling, and I don't have to take an hour and a half drive to do it. I'll do it, but I'm looking for better options to make it easier to deal with.

Best options for smoke detectors in a house where the person is 80+ so they don't have to deal with changing backup batteries at the ceiling level for hard-wired smoke alarms?


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## joed (Mar 13, 2005)

10 year battery powered alarm. Here is one example









Kidde 10 Year Worry-Free Smoke Detector, Lithium Battery Powered, Smoke Alarm, 2-Pack 21030134 - The Home Depot


Protect your family with the Kidde 10 Year Worry-Free Smoke Detector, Lithium Battery Powered, Fire Alarm. The Kidde 10 Year Worry-Free Smoke Detector, Lithium Battery Powered, Fire Alarm operates on a 10-year, sealed, tamper-resistant, lithium battery. Using ionization sensor technology, the 10...



www.homedepot.com


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## Jim Port (Sep 21, 2007)

There are smoke alarms with a 10 year battery. Some areas are mandating them.

Also, if the smoke alarm is 10 years old or approaching that it is time for replacement anyway.


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## chandler48 (Jun 5, 2017)

The more modern smoke detectors come with 10 year batteries, so less changing of batteries. I believe at the end of 10 years the smoke detector is just replaced.

Edit: Jim and Joed type faster than I do.


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## rjniles (Feb 5, 2007)

Deleted

Sent from my Lenovo TB-X606F using Tapatalk


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## de-nagorg (Feb 23, 2014)

What you do, is to make it a point every time change I. E. Fall back , spring forward, you go there and change the batteries, irregardless if they are getting low or not. 

That way they never get to chirp, she stays off the ladder, you feel better taking care of mom, she gets to visit her child, everyone wins. 

ED


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## Kevin T. Day (Nov 3, 2021)

What type of smoke detectors do I need?


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## chandler48 (Jun 5, 2017)

Round ones  What have you shopped for, and what are your needs?


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## de-nagorg (Feb 23, 2014)

chandler48 said:


> Round ones  What have you shopped for, and what are your needs?


🤣🤣😁

ED


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## gthomson (Nov 13, 2016)

I got three of the 10 year battery powered First Alerts, and went out to put them up yesterday.
Reading the install instructions, yeah, I do that sometimes , it mentioned they are not designed to replace wired units.
I was just planning to cap off the wires, and put these up instead.
Then I got to thinking... that's almost like hiding junctions of wires behind walls in a way that could be bad.
I'm not sure if that's right.
So I replaced the batteries, and all chirpings, lights, etc... seemed good for at least an hour.
Then it started chirping at 11:30pm.
It drives her pooch crazy, and that's her priority.

It sounds like detectors should be replaced every 10 years anyway, and hers are past that point.
I'll do the DIY replacement myself at my place, but not so comfortable doing it for others.
Better to have a local electrician do that on this one, get it done right with somebody that knows codes and knows what they're doing, and a new AC-powered one with battery backup.
And then I'll go up the ladder to replace batteries every 6 months.

I know my limits, and when it comes to electrical things, up on a ladder, and I'm an hour and a half away in case of problems after - that's beyond my limits.


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## de-nagorg (Feb 23, 2014)

There are programs that do this for the MATURE citizens free. 

Check into that locally, before paying someone a HIGH rate to do simple things. 

Keep us apprised as to the outcome. 

Curious why a new battery did not stop the racket.

ED


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## gthomson (Nov 13, 2016)

de-nagorg said:


> Curious why a new battery did not stop the racket.


It stopped the chirping for about 8 hours.
So my best guess is that the detector sensor was degraded in some way.
It's a Firex Hardwired Smoke Alarm - Firex I4618
detector. And she moved in there about 5-6 years ago, so it could be it's 10+ years old.

I'll ask her to keep it after replaced, and maybe I can test a bit to learn more about it's state.
Batteries she had to put in to replace had a date of Mar 2022, so it could also be they didn't have enough life left in them.


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## gthomson (Nov 13, 2016)

She wanted it fixed today because of the stress to the pooch. I understand that... Her pooch was digging a hole in the back yard to try to get away from the noise of just the chirping.
Home Tech electrician service to replace all four, and they were 3 different brands/models.Previous owner was a DIY person 
DIY is good for current owner, but is it good for future owners?


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## gthomson (Nov 13, 2016)

She had all four replaced by a local electric company - not a one-man business, or a large org - somewhere in between that is mostly local.
They replaced with USI brand - two hallways with smoke/fire/CO, and two in the bedrooms with smoke/fire versions.
AC with 10 year battery backup.
A bit more expensive than wanted at about $1200. But they did it same day, and made her feel really comfortable in what they were doing, and helping her understand it all. And obviously licensed electricians doing the work.

She liked to get local handymen to do some things (ceiling fans, etc...), which bothered me for insurance reasons, liability, knowledge of codes, etc... So I'm glad she now has this place to call instead for future needs in the electrical side of things.
Better peace of mind for her and me.

I asked her to have them leave the old detectors. But that didn't happen.

Pricing seemed high at about $1200. But part of that is that she wanted them out that day, which I think bumped it up about $200.
But the indirect benefits I think were worth it - more peace of mind it was done right, and to current codes in the area, a better option for who to call for future problems rather than local handymen, and the whole insurance, liability, etc...side of things.

So, now while there over the holidays we can focus on the Hallmark Channel movies, Ninja Warriors, etc... (her favorites), and less on dealing with fixing of detector chirps


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## CaptTom (Dec 31, 2017)

For the record, some of the old-style smoke detectors will "chirp" once their 10-year (or whatever) rated lifespan is reached, regardless of battery level.

And since the original issue is now resolved, allow me a bit of thread drift...

Does anyone actually fall for that "change the batteries twice a year" stuff?

Just to confirm my suspicion, I started writing the date on the batteries as I replaced them. When they finally started getting low enough to "chirp" I'd replace the batteries and check the dates. I never had any one less than about 3 years old. My conclusion: changing once a year was plenty. That crap about changing every time the clocks change must have been the idea of the battery manufacturers!

Rant over. Carry on.


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## gthomson (Nov 13, 2016)

Wow - what's next? Jiffy Lube telling us we need to change our oil every 3000 miles?
Oh wait, they're already doing that.

I did like de-nagorg's reason for the changing of batteries every 6 months, though - I need to visit more, and not that I need a reason to, but it adds a bit of scheduling/structure to just do it, which may not be there otherwise.


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## chandler48 (Jun 5, 2017)

To add to the never ending list, beer doesn't expire in 90 days. Neither do soft drinks. Buttermilk will last 2 months past it's expiration date.


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## de-nagorg (Feb 23, 2014)

gthomson said:


> Wow - what's next? Jiffy Lube telling us we need to change our oil every 3000 miles?
> Oh wait, they're already doing that.
> 
> I did like de-nagorg's reason for the changing of batteries every 6 months, though - I need to visit more, and not that I need a reason to, but it adds a bit of scheduling/structure to just do it, which may not be there otherwise.


 Besides all that MOM needs the attention.

And you need to actually SEE how she is doing, not get a monthly phone report that all is well.

Take it from an experienced hand on that.

ED


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

I friend of mine had the same problem with the chirping detector, not bright enough to ask for help, he just beat it to death with his cane.


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## de-nagorg (Feb 23, 2014)

Nealtw said:


> I friend of mine had the same problem with the chirping detector, not bright enough to ask for help, he just beat it to death with his cane.



I saw one shoot across the room, prompted by a 4 wood.

ED


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