Smoke alarm chirping - battery problem?

mokorusmania on 05/11/2014 - 19:59

Hi everyone,

So the smoke alarm at my unit has been happily chirping since yesterday morning and last night. I think the problem lies in the battery running low. I have only been living in the unit for 10 months, shouldn't the battery last at least a year? In my previous place, I have never had this problem, not even until the end of my four years stay there. I was reading this article http://www.realestate.com.au/blog/the-what-why-how-for-smoke… and it is mentioned that with hard-wired unit, it is not tenant's responsibility to change the battery. My rental agent, being the helpful body they are, said it is not their issue.

My question is, considering that it has been less than a year since my residency in the unit, and as the smoke alarm looked like a hard-wired unit, is it my responsibility to change the battery?

I tried to open the cover of the smoke alarm, it said on it to turn to remove, I did as follow and it got stuck. Even pushing or pulling the unit while turning the unit did nothing. The alarm looked really old, so may be it is just rusty. I have asked my agent for instruction manual but, as usual, I got nothing. Is there other way to open the cover of a smoke alarm? I have attached the picture (http://imgur.com/sqkYSIC) if anyone can help me :)).

Home & Garden

Comments

  • dcuksuop on 05/11/2014 - 20:18
    +3

    Rotate/turn the whole thing counter clockwise a little, and it should come off the base plate. The chirping could be the battery (just put a new one in and see if it stops). But it could also mean that the alarm needs to be replaced. Smoke alarms usually expire between 5-10 years. If it still chirps with a new battery, the unit needs to be replaced.

    • tds on 05/11/2014 - 20:43

      this guy ^^
      If in doubt replace

    • mokorusmania on 05/11/2014 - 22:09

      I tried to rotate it, but it wont budge after that :(. This frequent beeping at night is driving me nuts, I had 2 nights lack of sleep already!!

  • eatwell365 on 05/11/2014 - 20:58

    Agreed with above re alarm.

    Read this

    "The NSW Environmental Planning & Assessment Regulation 2000 requires that "the owner of a building, to which an essential fire safety measure is applicable, is required to maintain each essential fire safety measure in the building". 

    A Fire Safety Installation Certificate must be provided to the local council and Fire Brigade each year and a copy displayed in a prominent location within the strata building. "

    Our Strata pays the fire safety inspection once a year. Fire alarms of all units are inspected, so to obtain the required cert. Tenants do not have to pay.

    Consider to email the property manager and notify that the alarm does not work as your responsibility. It is up to the owner to comply with the regulation. If no response, contact Strata and check how the building meets with the requirement for annual cert.

  • Colombian on 05/11/2014 - 21:02
    +1

    I have a disposable smoke detector in the unit I live in. 4 months ago or so it started beeping and it was the battery. I reported that to the agent and he sent a guy to replace the smoke detector for a new one.

  • skyva on 05/11/2014 - 21:24

    can also be spider web in the detectorm so you can try blowing air through it as a last resort. Most likely battery though. They have a fail safe feature where if for any reason the signal drops it chirps or alarms. For some reason it seems that 3am is the most common time for this to happen.

    • mokorusmania on 05/11/2014 - 22:28

      Mine started beeping yesterday morning at 6am, and last night a couple of times, starting at 1am and then every hour. I am lacking sleep, need more sleep..

  • Davo1111 on 06/11/2014 - 03:18

    call them tomorrow and ask them to fix it straight away. If they're going to be dicks about it, ask for a rent reduction and see how quickly it gets fixed.

  • onetrickpony on 06/11/2014 - 09:20
    +1

    Most likely the battery. All batteries, not just car batteries, put out slightly less power as they get colder. That's why the smoke alarm always chirps at the coldest part of the night. Annoying by design!!

  • HeWhoKnows on 06/11/2014 - 10:08
    +2

    In a nutshell your answer is YES!
    The lines of distinction are:
    Owner provides and maintains the smoke alarm - responsible for installing, testing, repairs, unit replacement etc.
    Tenant is responsible for changing the battery just like you are responsile for changing all light globes.
    If the unit is battery powered it should have a new battery at the start of the tenancy,
    If hard wired there are no rules about battery.
    Anyway. the Battery in battery powered smoke alarms should last 12 months (std) to 24 months (alkaline). Not the owners or agents fault if battery requires replace before 12 months as they cant and dont warrant the life expectancy of the battery or power consumption of the unit.
    In summary: Just change the battery and stop complaining! Its a 30sec job.
    If you call and complain and its just a battery change YOU WILL BE CHARGED FOR THE SERVICE CALL!

    • shadowarrior on 06/11/2014 - 15:00

      You have to be careful though. Most of the standard fire alarms are connected to the electrical grid of the house with a battery as a back up power source.

      You should turn mains off before opening the fire alarm unit.

    • mokorusmania on 06/11/2014 - 18:22

      This is what I am planning, the agent is being such a d**k about it and not replying to my question anymore. I cant seem to open the cover, I have turned it, pushed it, pulled it you name it, the cover wont budge. Looking at the picture, can anyone suggest any way to open the cover?

  • lysp on 06/11/2014 - 10:39

    I had similar issue - changed the battery with brand new one and it was still beeping.

    What I found was I had to reset the alarm, changing the battery didn't do that. It still held on to the flat battery error code.

    To reset the alarm, after replacing the battery, I needed to hold down the test button for 20ish seconds and after that it was fine.

  • shadowarrior on 06/11/2014 - 14:56

    There's a bird inside your smoke alarm. :|

    On a serious note, yep battery. Have had the same thing for mine and it needed new battery.

  • Fizzgig on 06/11/2014 - 18:11

    Def the battery! Its chirps because its telling you its low and needs a new one!

  • WaterMark on 20/11/2014 - 05:09

    You probably already solved this or died from lack of sleep, but maybe see if there is a pin that locks it from rotating. My smoke alarm says rotate but only after removing a locking pin on the side.

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join