4 ms·

What is wrong with the $7.50 Kidde? http://www.amazon.com/Kidde-Sentry-Battery-Operated-Ionization-Compact/dp/B00002N865 http://www.amazon.com/Kidde-Sentry-Bat

by jeanjq 13y ago

What is wrong with the $7.50 Kidde? http://www.amazon.com/Kidde-Sentry-Battery-Operated-Ionization-Compact/dp/B00002N865 http://www.amazon.com/Kidde-Sentry-Battery-Operated-Ionizati... Reviews seem good.

uptown 13y ago
The Nest is a photoelectric smoke sensor. The Kidde is an ionization sensor. "Kidde strongly recommends that both ionization and photoelectric smoke alarms be installed to help insure maximum detection of the various types of fires that can occur within the home." More info: http://consumerist.com/2010/08/25/fire-chief-most-smoke-alarms-are-useless-endanger-users/ http://consumerist.com/2010/08/25/fire-chief-most-smoke-alar...
- jeanjq 13y ago
  Interesting. It's sad, then, that Nest does not emphasise that fact.
raldi 13y ago
We have this exact brand in our apartment. They (like almost all ionization-based smoke detectors) go off at the drop of a hat. And they're ear-splittingly loud. The kill switch is hard to press, and needs to be pressed every few minutes if you're, say, burning incense. And one day, when the battery gets low, they'll start chirping in the middle of the night, leading to a game of "Which one is it?!" as they somehow manage to make noise frequently enough to prevent sleep but infrequently enough to thwart identification of the dying one. (Smoke detectors' low battery alerts always go off at night because battery output sags when the temperature goes down.)
- danparsonson 13y ago
  A smoke alarm being very loud and very sensitive is a feature to me, not a bug - I'd rather be annoyed from time to time than die of smoke inhalation in my sleep. As for 'hunt the low battery' - how many smoke alarms do you need in one area?
  - raldi 13y ago
    False dichotomy. With an extra ten cents' worth of technology, the smoke detector could do its initial chirping quietly and during daylight hours. If you ignore them, then later it can escalate to around-the-clock 85-decibel alerts. Ditto sensitivity. At the first wisps of a problem, give a gentle sound. If it gets worse, or 60 seconds pass, then get shrill. Re: "how many do you need in one area?" the last three words do not apply. The low-battery chirp is loud enough that a dying battery anywhere in the house can wake you up. For the record, though, we were required to put one in every bedroom and two in our small hallway -- and that's just on our upper level.
    - danparsonson 13y ago
      Have you seen how quickly an actual house fire takes hold? There are videos of fire department demonstrations on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUh4rCjuYDA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUh4rCjuYDA for example). In sixty (or even ten) seconds of gentle sounds, you'd probably be dead. Not to mention that smoke can take time to rise up to smoke detector level - crucial seconds that you could be using to escape rather than comfortably waking up. As for the low battery chirp, it should be annoying - that way you attend to it rather than leaving it until later. And chirping only during the daylight hours - how is that helpful if you're out at work? The battery will be dead before you even know about it. Smoke alarms should be intrusive when they need your attention. That's how they save lives. P.S. as for the last point - I was actually referring to how difficult it is to work out which smoke detector is chirping. Thus my question - I can't see how it's difficult unless you have lots of smoke alarms. Badly explained on my part, sorry.
      - raldi 13y ago
        > In sixty (or even ten) seconds of gentle sounds, you'd probably be dead. Which is why I also said that, if the problem gets worse that just a few wisps, the detector should immediately escalate to full alarm. > And chirping only during the daylight hours - how is that helpful if you're out at work? The battery will be dead before you even know about it. Again, it can start quiet and polite, and then escalate to more aggressive notifications if you ignore it.
berberous 13y ago
From a safety only perspective: 1) This doesn't detect carbon monoxide 2) One of the 1-star reviews states that Ionization alarms are old technology and unsafe compared to newer piezoelectric alarms.
- raldi 13y ago
  Photoelectric.

by jeanjq 13y ago

uptown 13y ago

The Nest is a photoelectric smoke sensor. The Kidde is an ionization sensor. "Kidde strongly recommends that both ionization and photoelectric smoke alarms be installed to help insure maximum detection of the various types of fires that can occur within the home." More info: http://consumerist.com/2010/08/25/fire-chief-most-smoke-alarms-are-useless-endanger-users/ http://consumerist.com/2010/08/25/fire-chief-most-smoke-alar...

jeanjq 13y ago
Interesting. It's sad, then, that Nest does not emphasise that fact.

raldi 13y ago

We have this exact brand in our apartment. They (like almost all ionization-based smoke detectors) go off at the drop of a hat. And they're ear-splittingly loud. The kill switch is hard to press, and needs to be pressed every few minutes if you're, say, burning incense. And one day, when the battery gets low, they'll start chirping in the middle of the night, leading to a game of "Which one is it?!" as they somehow manage to make noise frequently enough to prevent sleep but infrequently enough to thwart identification of the dying one. (Smoke detectors' low battery alerts always go off at night because battery output sags when the temperature goes down.)

danparsonson 13y ago
A smoke alarm being very loud and very sensitive is a feature to me, not a bug - I'd rather be annoyed from time to time than die of smoke inhalation in my sleep. As for 'hunt the low battery' - how many smoke alarms do you need in one area?
- raldi 13y ago
  False dichotomy. With an extra ten cents' worth of technology, the smoke detector could do its initial chirping quietly and during daylight hours. If you ignore them, then later it can escalate to around-the-clock 85-decibel alerts. Ditto sensitivity. At the first wisps of a problem, give a gentle sound. If it gets worse, or 60 seconds pass, then get shrill. Re: "how many do you need in one area?" the last three words do not apply. The low-battery chirp is loud enough that a dying battery anywhere in the house can wake you up. For the record, though, we were required to put one in every bedroom and two in our small hallway -- and that's just on our upper level.
  - danparsonson 13y ago
    Have you seen how quickly an actual house fire takes hold? There are videos of fire department demonstrations on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUh4rCjuYDA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUh4rCjuYDA for example). In sixty (or even ten) seconds of gentle sounds, you'd probably be dead. Not to mention that smoke can take time to rise up to smoke detector level - crucial seconds that you could be using to escape rather than comfortably waking up. As for the low battery chirp, it should be annoying - that way you attend to it rather than leaving it until later. And chirping only during the daylight hours - how is that helpful if you're out at work? The battery will be dead before you even know about it. Smoke alarms should be intrusive when they need your attention. That's how they save lives. P.S. as for the last point - I was actually referring to how difficult it is to work out which smoke detector is chirping. Thus my question - I can't see how it's difficult unless you have lots of smoke alarms. Badly explained on my part, sorry.
    - raldi 13y ago
      > In sixty (or even ten) seconds of gentle sounds, you'd probably be dead. Which is why I also said that, if the problem gets worse that just a few wisps, the detector should immediately escalate to full alarm. > And chirping only during the daylight hours - how is that helpful if you're out at work? The battery will be dead before you even know about it. Again, it can start quiet and polite, and then escalate to more aggressive notifications if you ignore it.

berberous 13y ago

From a safety only perspective: 1) This doesn't detect carbon monoxide 2) One of the 1-star reviews states that Ionization alarms are old technology and unsafe compared to newer piezoelectric alarms.

raldi 13y ago
Photoelectric.