Smoke detector problem

[Lucid Moments]

My current house was built in 2019 and it had hard wired smoke detectors installed at that time. They started chirping in the middle of the night last night so I looked at them today and found batteries. I assumed since they were hard wired they didn't have batteries that needed replacing anytime soon but these were just regular 9 volt batteries. I went and bought some new ones and put them in today. But this evening they have starting chirping again starting about 11:15pm.

These are First Alert branded smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. I ate dinner out tonight so no cooking smoke. The only source of CO I can think of is my furnace and water heater. The water heater is a tankless unit and shouldn't be running, and the thermostat is off due to the good weather we have here.

I have unplugged the alarms and removed the batteries but what can I look at tomorrow to resolve this issue? Any suggestions are welcome.

 

[kaymccampbell]

You could disable them one at a time until you find the bleeper. Then replace that one or find the source of its concern.

 

[neophyte]

Carbon Monoxide testers “wear out” over time. (Ie. Limited lifespan)
Usually, they will start “randomly chirping” when the supposed lifespan is over.
The random chirping may have an interval length that indicates the potential issue, and whether the lifespan is over, but you may need to find the manufacturers manual to figure out.
Generally, if it’s Carbon monoxide, you could open some windows wide, and check if the chirping continues.
If the chirping continues, despite lots of fresh air, then it’s either the batteries, or the detector telling you to replace it.

 

[rlitman]

Since 1996 in the US, Smoke alarms always beep with a Temporal-3 signal that is three long beeps followed by a pause and repeat.
CO alarms always beep with a Temporal-4 code that is four short beeps followed by a longer pause and repeat. The codes allow for spoke voice messages during those pauses.

Any beeps that fit a different pattern (at least in the US) are not smoke or CO warnings. They could be low battery, error (potentially caused by another flammable gas interfering with the detector such as NG or a refrigerant leak), or end of life warnings. Depending on the technology used, detectors typically have a 7 to 10 year lifetime.

 

[Lucid Moments]

Carbon Monoxide testers “wear out” over time. (Ie. Limited lifespan)
Usually, they will start “randomly chirping” when the supposed lifespan is over.
The random chirping may have an interval length that indicates the potential issue, and whether the lifespan is over, but you may need to find the manufacturers manual to figure out.
Generally, if it’s Carbon monoxide, you could open some windows wide, and check if the chirping continues.
If the chirping continues, despite lots of fresh air, then it’s either the batteries, or the detector telling you to replace it.

The windows were already open.

 

[Drill Sergeant Arc]

My uncle Jimmy was a longshoreman who could put away a case of beer like no one else. At family get togethers, to get a big laugh, he would blow on the smoke detectors and set them off beeping . . . Just saying . . .

 

[rlitman]

The windows were already open.

And? That could be letting in CO from a running engine. Windows open does not guarantee fresh air.

The simplest answer around here would be to call the fire department. They'll usually send someone out before rolling a truck, and they have the equipment to guarantee that your air is safe to breathe. They should even have a type of pulse oximeter that can tell if you were RECENTLY exposed to CO in the PAST, even if they don't detect any CO presently.

The other answer is to read the label on the back of the detector. It should tell you what the trouble beep codes mean.

 

[Lucid Moments]

And? That could be letting in CO from a running engine. Windows open does not guarantee fresh air.

The simplest answer around here would be to call the fire department. They'll usually send someone out before rolling a truck, and they have the equipment to guarantee that your air is safe to breathe. They should even have a type of pulse oximeter that can tell if you were RECENTLY exposed to CO in the PAST, even if they don't detect any CO presently.

The other answer is to read the label on the back of the detector. It should tell you what the trouble beep codes mean.

I live in rural North Georgia and it was after 11pm. I can pretty well guarantee that there wasn't a car running within 100 yards of my house, and I wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't a running car within a quarter mile.

The detector was chirping at about 1 chirp per minute which according to the back of the detector means to replace the battery which I had already done.

 

[rlitman]

I live in rural North Georgia and it was after 11pm. I can pretty well guarantee that there wasn't a car running within 100 yards of my house, and I wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't a running car within a quarter mile.

The detector was chirping at about 1 chirp per minute which according to the back of the detector means to replace the battery which I had already done.

Well, that means that either your replacement battery is a dud, or the detector is EOL.

 

[minke]

My first thought is that you may not have hard-wired (AC) power for your smoke detectors.

 

[Aileron]

look for the date on the rear of the detcetor. Carbon monoxides only have a 5 year life span. the way moine went someone must have been watching them with a clock,.

 

[nadogail]

Replacing suspect Smoke and Carbon Monoxide detectors is not only cheap insurance, it covers your responsibility to exercise due caution to protect the occupants of your building.

 

[Tinkerer2]

Did you test the new battery before installing it? I bet it was a Duracell.

 

[ex-x-fire]

I've had issue like that too. It did it with the old one and the new one. It would go off a day or two after having the windows open on a nice day. Finally figured it was just dust on the inside, so I vacuum it once a month now and no issues yet.

 

[Lucid Moments]

Replacing suspect Smoke and Carbon Monoxide detectors is not only cheap insurance, it covers your responsibility to exercise due caution to protect the occupants of your building.

I am the only occupant of my building.

 

[Lucid Moments]

Did you test the new battery before installing it? I bet it was a Duracell.

Energizer Max. But no I didn't test the brand new battery I had just bought.

 

[Lucid Moments]

I have just ordered two replacement units and will install them asap. Still frustrating that these are less than 4 years old and having problems.

 

[toolmutt]

As others have said, check the new batteries. I recently replaced batteries in all my detectors with new ones from a package I had just purchased. Two began emitting the low battery chirp that night. Batteries tested low.

 

[AA/FC]

As for CO detectors.... I live in a small old house (roughly 1000 Sq ft) and I have 9 (nine) CO detectors in my house alone. lol. (none in the garage) These little cheap Chinese consumer grade electronic devices are designed to save lives. I will not put my life in the hands of only one or two of these cheap mass produced Chinese devices and HOPE they're working properly. When I replace a detector with a new one, I look inside the paperwork that comes with the device and it will always say the life expectancy, in the number of years from that date of it's first power up. It's usually 5 or 7 years. I write the date of first power up with a black sharpie on the device so down the road when it starts chirping, I will know if it's because it's at the end of it's life, or if there is indeed a high CO condition..... and if there is a high CO condition, there should be more than one (of the 9) going off at the same time. My house has a gas furnace, gas water heater, and gas dryer..... so, plenty of chances for something to go bad and cause high CO levels.

Even new batteries will not stop the chirping when a CO alarm is at the end of it's life. The only way to stop the chirping is to pull the battery and replace the device with a new one..... and write the date of the first power-up on the new device with a sharpie to prevent any question down the road.

 

[Modern Garage]

I have a smoke/CO detector that I installed about two years ago. It has no replaceable battery and is meant to be replaced when the permanently installed battery fails because the sensing cell of these things fails with age.
It started random four-beeps. Remember no replaceable battery. I was a little miffed at first but after some experimentation discovered that it wasn't faulty, it wanted to be removed and dusted out and reinstalled. It's done it about every six months since installation and it's not dirty, but apparently programmed to force me to check it.
Not the OP's problem but I thought I'd leave it here in case my experience helps anyone else down the road who might end up here after a web search.
Joe

 

[rlitman]

I have a smoke/CO detector that I installed about two years ago. It has no replaceable battery and is meant to be replaced when the permanently installed battery fails because the sensing cell of these things fails with age.
It started random four-beeps. Remember no replaceable battery. I was a little miffed at first but after some experimentation discovered that it wasn't faulty, it wanted to be removed and dusted out and reinstalled. It's done it about every six months since installation and it's not dirty, but apparently programmed to force me to check it.
Not the OP's problem but I thought I'd leave it here in case my experience helps anyone else down the road who might end up here after a web search.
Joe

Four beeps means CO detected. CALL YOUR FIRE DEPARTMENT AND HAVE SOMEONE STOP BY WITH PROPER TESTING GEAR!

 

[engineer2]

The quality of smoke/CO alarms is not very good. I've had them fail in 5 years, but most last around 10. The CO detector is an electrochemical cell and only lasts 10 years.

Smoke detector standards have been updated in recent years. See what applies to your area. Next time around, I'll be forced to buy units with a built-in 10 year non-removable battery.

For peace of mind, a CO detector with a digital ppm readout and alarm is inexpensive insurance.

 

[P0234]

I mean this is GJ, so the answer is a new house with a pole barn. Personally, I'd just try another brand battery first.