green-foam

I would say its vaguely possible for it to go off because of the heat, but more than likely because you put it above the woodburner. Put it back in the same place (for a short while) and see does it go off, if it does your woodburner is probably leaking CO

Fire extinguishers should be checked annually. Every 5 years, all but CO2 extinguishers should be discharged tested, checked and refilled, CO2 it is 10 years at which time it should also be stretch tested. I should also point out that as an extinguisher gets older, it will become more expensive to service and may be un-economical to do so, since a new extinguisher from safelincs CLICK HERE is cheaper.

There are a couple of problems with any type of adhesive fixing. 1) When you have to take the fixed item down, you find it is still stuck to the surface and will not move without damaging the surface to which it is fixed. 2) Any self adhesive tape etc will after time "dry out" and have no adhesion. I would suggest that you use "hollow wall" fixings, which you can get at any D.I.Y, store. I personally like these, Click here In your case, when its time to change the detectors you can undo the bolts (With a screwdriver) take the detector down, put the bolts through the new detector and tighten the bolts up, securing the new detector. No damage caused to anything.

All mains devices require an earth / earth termination point, UNLESS it is double insulated, which I doubt the smoke detectors are. It has to be there, but you don't use it, it is if some one should sever the cable, instead of the electricity flowing through the person who cut the cable, with possible lethal results, it flows to earth. (yes it will go bang, but its better that than to be............. Also as I first said, you should You do not know what damage may occur.

A second opinion is always a good idea. I would suggest you ask before you commit yourself "Are you familiar with mains interlinked smoke alarms" Although it may sound a bit condescending, I have found that some companies will say yes, but the bod who turns up at your place says otherwise. Emphasise the point you want some one who has worked on them before.

I would suggest that there being "no obvious connection in the fuse box" is because they are connected to a light / light circuit. This is considered a good idea, since if there is a problem with your smoke alarms you can not turn them off at the "fuse box" By connecting them to a lighting circuit you will not deliberately turn your lights off at "the fuse box" so the smoke alarms are always powered up. I would guess that if as you say the first two devices have a green light lit then as they are interlinked, the first place to check would be the 2nd of the two smoke alarms. _________________________________________________________ If it helps, Interlinked smoke alarms are wired as follows. Mains to first smoke alarm. Mains and interlink from first smoke alarm to second smoke alarm Mains and interlink from second smoke alarm to third smoke alarm (etc) The last smoke alarm only has the mains and interlink. So if a number of interlinked smoke alarms do not indicate they have mains, but some do indicate they have mains, the first place to check is the last smoke alarm that has mains. I personally have a "feeling" it is to do with the fact you have 2 different makes of smoke alarm.

On line surveys such as yours do not give good results, since you can "adjust" the way you look at the figures to give the results you want. I wish you luck with your project, but ask yourself this. At the end of the day, can you really make a better smoke detector that is affordable? If its not affordable it will be a "gimmick"

NEVER interlink mains smoke detectors that are from different makers. Change them ALL to the same make, even the the first two you already had. When a mains interlinked smoke alarm fails, you should only replace it with one from the same maker.

To add to what Tom said, if the fire brigade were called (and it was a genuine fire) who is to tell them that there are people still sitting in the building (not to mention the residents) it can't be you because you are still sitting in the building waiting for....... Yes, it can be a "pain" if you have to evacuate a building, but, is it not better to get out and find its a false alarm or would you rather stay inside and find out that one day its a real fire.

There is no regulation as to which circuit it is connected to, however if it is connected to its own MCB there is the possibility that some one will turn it off. They will not do that if it is connected to the lighting circuit.

As Tom said, sprinklers are to protect against fire when the building is un-ocupied. By the time sprinklers activate the fire has to be "reasonably big*" where as if a member of staff sees the fire first, they can use an extinguisher which in turn will stop a small fire becoming a big fire, saving both time and money. I would suggest that staff should also be given basic training on how to use portable fire extinguishers. * Depending on location of sprinklers.

The air temperature at the sprinkler will have to be above 56 degrees centigrade. If your steamer and hot plate can do this then yes it will set it off. Being as its steam, I would suggest when in use you keep a couple of windows open to prevent mould growth.

As Harry says, and you (Yer ma) have said, it is not possible for a smoke alarm to make any noise for any reasonable length of time with out some sort of power supply. I have to agree with Harry, you have another detector somewhere nearby (may not be a CO detector) that has a low battery. My personal favourite is one put in a drawer and never fitted, but still with battery installed. I have also heard of them being "put down" on the top of a cupboard, and forgotten until..............

You may also like to see video clips of complete discharge of some portable fire extinguishers, Click here However, do bear in mind the video's show just the duration of the discharge, when fighting a fire, often it can be extinguished in 10 - 20 seconds of actual discharge. (Most "modern" fire extinguishers have a lever which stops discharge when released.)

Only new builds must have a mains operated smoke alarm, a battery operated smoke alarm is acceptable. I should also point out that being a maisonette you do not have a communal stair way, so a fire alarm Is NOT required. You could ask your landlord to fit a mains operated smoke alarm, but even if he does, it would be up to YOU to test it on a regular basis. You would not want your landlord coming round once a week just to press the smoke alarm test button would you? If you do wish to ask your landlord, I should point out that you should ask for a "mains smoke alarm" NOT a "mains fire alarm" as the they are very different. Safelincs can supply mains smoke alarms from only £17.75 Click here

Alex, what country are you based in?

I would guess that it is an incompatibility between the two detectors. From what you have said you have two different brands of device. I would suggest you change either one or both so that they are the same make / model As they are due to expire in 2016 you could change them both now. Safelincs do supply mains (with battery back up) smoke alarms for around £20 Click here

Sorry, and your question is .............

If they are "nearer to the ground" they would be more likely to be damaged. Also would it not "be the norm" that everyone gets out before the smoke reduces visibility, and the natural reaction of Joe public would be to run, so again, a sign low down would be of no use.

I have to agree with Harry. The "Bit on the ceiling" is just a connection / mounting plate, it has no other function. Below is a video from Safelincs, showing how to remove the detector from the base. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AQvjqhnHTE

I have just looked on said auction site, most sofas that came up are less than 1 year old, I did search again for very old sofas, one was going for 99p another for £10, and no bids on either, my point being (sorry to say this) I don't think they will sell even if you had a label.

I would suggest you ask the local council what they specify. Most EM lights are fed from the nearest normal lighting circuit in twin and earth. Its pointless wiring non-maintained, standalone EM lights in fire resistant cable as this is self defeating, in that if there is a fire the cable will not melt, so the supply to the light is still maintained, so the light will not illuminate. Since the idea of a test switch is to remove the supply from the EM light it would be advisable to have a test switch near each EM light, other wise you could have a large lighting load going through one EM test switch You could have all the EM lights on the same circuit all connected via twin and earth back to the consumers unit and have one test switch, but this means the CU would have to loose power for all the lights to illuminate. (It would also cost more due to the added expense of more cable) where as if each EM light is connected to the "local light" if this fails then the EM light will illuminate.

Just curious Tom. How can an item of furniture made in the 70's have a label for a regulation that came into being in 1988? ______________________________ Peter The charity shops are just "covering all bases" by refusing to take the furniture. It could be a piece of furniture had a label which has since been damaged, but as it can not be read, it will be deemed to have no valid label. Yes it is a shame that they will not take the furniture, but as a private individual you can dispose of it privately. So you could advertise it in your local paper as a "free to collector" item.

I believe that as they are in your flat (not the communal area) it is up to you to test them. Ideally you should test them once a week. You test them by pressing the test button. Once every 6 months you should clean them (Run a vacuum cleaner around each one) Once a year change the battery unless it has a sealed in X year life battery. Most "mains supplied" smoke alarms have a back up battery.

Get a CO detector and install it near the boiler. I would suggest you do not get an interlinked CO detector as if CO is detected any other interlinked smoke alarms will NOT sound, how ever if smoke is detected by a smoke alarm the interlinked CO alarm will sound. This is so that you can distinguish between smoke and CO You can get one from Safelincs Click here I would suggest you also consider an Emergency light, as there is a boiler in the loft and you are looking at it and the lights fail, how will you see to get out to investigate why the lights went out? You can get one for less than £20 from Here