hard-wired fire alarm problems

[Rockport24]

I have these damn hard-wired fire alarms throughout the house and the damn one in my bedroom of all places keeps going off for no reason in the middle of the night!!

does anybody have any experience with these things? I've heard spiders can get up in there or maybe dust is causing it? If so, I have a lot of dust and spiders because this has happened at least 4 times over the course of the past month of so!

could it be something wacky with the wiring?

[fishbones]

Is there a battery back-up in case of power loss? If so, the battery probably needs to be replaced. That happened with my hard-wired security system a few months ago.

[buckman]

Could be the battery thats used as a back up. FYI if you replace the unit you will have to replace it with the same brand and model. If it's no longer made then you have to replace them all.

[Rockport24]

thanks dudes, are you kidding me buckman? these goddam things are killin' me!

[ktugboat42]

It's most likely just the backup battery. It happened to me a few months ago.

[nightfighter]

Agree with all the above, so change battery. Also blow it out with a can of compressed air (used on computers, get it at Staples) They work on photoelectron eye and go off when enough particles are detected in the field. Pollen is known to set them off.....

[2na]

I hate those f'n things. My family biz that I run is apartments, and we had 170, so I deal with these all of the time.

Is it going off, or does it occasionally chirp? A chirp means a battery replacement.

If it is going off, the 1st thing I would do is swap it with another one and see if the problem follows the smoke. If it does, just replace it, but what Buckman says is almost always true (and if you have to replace them all, be sure to buy a couple of replacements). If the problem continues in your bedroom even though a different smoke is now there, dust/pollen/spiders may be getting into it. The hole made in the ceiling for the smoke may actually be venting your room, carrying the dust through the smoke, so you have to end that. Either attack that problem from attic space above, or grab a can of the spray foam insulation and tighten it up from below.

You may also open the smoke up and clean the reflective plate inside. These photo eye style smokes shoot a light beam inside the smoke, and if the beam is broken the interpretation is smoke (even though it may be dust/pollen/spiders). The test button on the smoke manipulates a small panel that the beam bounces off, so when you push the button the beam does not make contact with the receiving end. That panel can dust up. This is a relatively simple fix.

My experience is that if it only happens at night it is a spider inside the smoke doing its thing at night.

[Rockport24]

thanks for all the help guys