Hi everyone.
I in the middle of doing an addition, and i need to wire in a hard wire smoke detectoe to the existing smoke detectors in the house. I know my way around most wiring, but never wired in smoke detectors. I know i need to use a piece of 14-3 wire to hook into the existing system, but I don’t know the wire connections to make. If anyone knows, I would appreciate it. Thanks Bryan.
Replies
You have a hot and neutral which are the black and white. They are for power.
The red is a signal line in connected to the 3rd wire on each unit.
You need to use the same brand as what you have (or replace the existing ones). There is stanard about how the signal line works.
You can think of each smoke detector unit as containing a switch in series with a noisemaker. You give it hot and neutral, and the third wire is basically a switch leg. Wire them all in parallel, and when any one turns on its switch, it turns on all the noisemakers.
-- J.S.
The first thing to understand is that the smoke detectors are there to notify the occupants of a fire and get them out of the house to save them from dying in the fire - which will kill them with the smoke/super heated toxic gases - not the actual fire - interconnected devices let you know basement is burning when you're on the second floor
DISABLING SMOKE DETECTORS IS STUPID AND POTENTIALLY LIFE-THREATING !!!!! - now, about the smoke detector going off with steam (either from cooking or showers) - what is the source of the steam - why isn't the steam vented? if you can't solve the problem with venting - then think about relocating the device or.... the easy answer - keep a newspaper around to fan the device and it will stop being in alarm. a hard wired smoke detector is typically required to be wired into a light circuit in a "habitable" area - this is to notify the occupant that device may not have power and the occupant is at risk hard wired devices with battery backups are typically code required - it allows for notification even during a power outagethere are two basic devices as mentioned previously - photo-electric and ionization - each device detects a different type of smoke with different time frame - the "best" device will have both sensors to detect either the slow smoldering fire or the fast free burning fire if any of you are having "real" problems with your smoke detectors - contact your local fire department - usually the fire prevention bureau or the fire marshal - and have them check the locations/systemsagain DISABLING SMOKE DETECTORS IS STUPID AND POTENTIALLY LIFE-THREATING I realize there are more issues here to discuss,but I thought I stop at this point to be "brief"
I had wired in smoke detectors when I built my house. They were so sensitive that boiling water would set the one in the dining room off, 11 ft. from the stove. Steam from the upstairs bathroom would set the one in the balcony off. I replaced them with the ole' battery type after a year of 'fanning' the detectors. Hopefully, yours will be fine.
GB
Hi GB,
Your problem where the steam would set off a smoke detector really doesn't have anything to do with battery vs hard wired. There are different types of smoke detectors available. Some have heat sensors but most of them are ionization or photoelectric technology. ionization is probably the most common one.
I used to have a problem where smoke from the kitchen would set off the detectors nearby. I replaced all of mine with hard-wired (they were battery operated before). I put photoelectric ones on the first floor and in hallways. I put ionization in the bedrooms. Haven't had a false alarm since.
For the difference between ionization & photoelectric, check out the FAQ at: http://www.firstalert.com/index.asp?pageid=59 (See item #7).
So if you're having a problem with steam, I suspect that your detector was a photoelectric one and if you replaced it with an ionization one, your problem with steam will probably go away. However, don't take my word for it. I would suggest sending an email to the company that makes your detector and see what they have to say about it.
Thanks GT, I believe the detectors are photo that I have now. The boxes are still wired but the breaker is turned off. I'll use the battery one for now, when I replace it,( they are about 3 years old) I'll go with the electric again. Thanks for the info. on this, Oh yeah, when is the disposal date on detectors, I've heard anywhere from 2 to 5 years...
GB
RTFI is the start.
The plug on the back of the Maple chase brand is pretty straight forward. I think there is a lable that describes the wiring scheme. Mine have a battery backup as well as a 120 volt link. Yours may as well.
Use a std hex box 2 inch depth is best for ease of wiring connections. Interwire all of the "red" wires but obviously don't land it in the load center as it is a signal wire that transmits a low current signal to light up all of the dectectors if one goes off. Maple chase (Firex) will thankfully give a low battery indication at one unit without lighting up all of the others in the house.
A separate (single pole) 15 amp C/B in the load center will protect the circuit. !4 GA shouldn't be seeing a 20 A breaker unless it is the end of the line stub to a fixture. Read the NEC if in doubt.
"A separate (single pole) 15 amp C/B in the load center will protect the circuit. !4 GA shouldn't be seeing a 20 A breaker unless it is the end of the line stub to a fixture. Read the NEC if in doubt."If it is #14 ANYPLACE in the circuit it should be limited to 15 amp breaker, PERIOD!Also I don't suggest a SEPARATE breaker. But rather that it be on the same circuit with a light that is always used, such hall light, bathroom light, or MBR light. That way you know if the breaker has tripped.Some local codes agree with my idea. Other prohibit it.
Bill Hartman got it right on.
My only suggestion is to NOT use the ones with battery backups. We had a rental house with hard wired detectors. When one of them malfunctioned, they all went off. And there was no way to shut them off - Turning off the breaker didn't do anything.
The tenant called me, and was none to happy. I drove over there to find them standing out in the yard - The din inside the house was unbearable.
I pulled them all, figured out which one was bad, then put in non-battery models.
Now if we get a false alarm the breaker kills them.
Your story is a perfect example of why the battery backup is so important. If there's a problem or an AC failure, they make a bunch of noise and you have to fix them. There's no off switch, and you can't run the without the batteries. Now you've probably created a major legal liability for yourself by creating a non-code situation in a rental unit. Your tenants can simply turn them off and leave them off.
There's a small private school here in a converted house. The fire marshal went on his inspection and found that the batteries in the smokies had all been removed by the kids, who used them in their digital devices...
Well, that's your opinion, but it's not mine. I'm happy with the situation as it is.
No amount of planning will ever replace dumb luck.
>> If there's ... an AC failure, they make a bunch of noise ...You mean the alarm sounds when the power goes off, even in the absence of a fire? How is that a feature? What do you fix if the power goes out?
Depends on the maker of the smoke detector how they behave, it seems.
My Firex brand don't make a sound until the battery almost dies. W/O Ac but with a good battery they don't make a sound, maybe a chirp, but it isn't a "stop the show" the AC is gone.
Jack of all trades and master of none - you got a problem with that?
Batteries but no AC = occasional chirping
AC but no batteries = same
Either way they let you know that you need to do something.
If there's smoke and one goes off, they all go off, and you press the reset button on any and they all stop. They continue to chirp until the smoke is gone.
Never had one fail, and I don't know what they do if that happens, but I like the fact that they let me know what's going on.
Well if they where wired on the same circuit as an commonly used light that will stop them from doing it for more than a day or to.But the other thing is that I would like the certification changed to require an indicator to which one is the one that has gone off.
Edited 2/10/2005 11:31 am ET by Bill Hartmann
...I would like the certification changed to require a to which one is the one that has gone off.
Didn't proof read that one, did ya ??
(-:
Do you mean the series of detectors should let you know which one has gone off? Sounds like a good idea to me.
I'd also like the "silence" button on one detector to shut down the whole series.
Q: What's the difference between a girlfriend and a wife?
A: About 45 pounds.
Q: What's the difference between a boyfriend and a husband?
A: About 45 minutes.
The indicator would be fairly easier to do.The Silance ALL would be difficult to add design in and specially make it so that automatically resets after the problem is over.There are ones avaiable that will silance an individual unit for a short period of time (15-30 minutes).