Smoke vs Heat Alarm

Soldato
Joined
29 Jul 2013
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8,565
So my smoke alarm is caput in my flat (that I've just moved into), looking closer it should have been replaced in Oct 2017 so it's long overdue.

I have one smoke alarm in the hallway, off of this hallway is the kitchen, maybe 3 metres away. As I don't have a proper extractor, it goes off quite often due to stir frys etc.

Would you recommend a smoke or heat alarm here? I see that heat alarms are recommended in kitchens but seeing my alarm is very close to the kitchen would this be more suitable?

Thanks in advance :)
 
Soldato
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Lincoln, Uk
Hallways should be covered by smokes as they are escape routes, as the above poster says, an optical smoke is likely to be more resiliant against false activations here.

Opticals rely on the clouds of smoke interfering with a light beam in the detector, they are rigged by big clouds of visible 'stuff' smoke, steam, dust etc.

Ionisations are triggered by fine particles given off by fast burning fires that don't make much smoke etc, and are more likely to be triggered by small amounts of smoke from cooking, soldering, etc

https://www.aico.co.uk/technical-support/choosing-alarm-sensor-types/
 
Soldato
OP
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An optical (rather than ionising) smoke alarm would be suitable for use near a kitchen.
Hallways should be covered by smokes as they are escape routes, as the above poster says, an optical smoke is likely to be more resiliant against false activations here.

Opticals rely on the clouds of smoke interfering with a light beam in the detector, they are rigged by big clouds of visible 'stuff' smoke, steam, dust etc.

Ionisations are triggered by fine particles given off by fast burning fires that don't make much smoke etc, and are more likely to be triggered by small amounts of smoke from cooking, soldering, etc

https://www.aico.co.uk/technical-support/choosing-alarm-sensor-types/
Thanks guys.

My worry is that when cooking it can cause quite a lot of smoke (depending on what I'm cooking), this would no doubt set off the ionising smoke detector. I suppose an easy fix would be to just take the battery out (assuming it's a battery one).

I think a battery ionising one is probably the best bet, thank for your help :)
 
Soldato
OP
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8,565
Given the replies you received how did you come to that conclusion?

Many smoke alarms can be temporarily silenced by pressing the test button.
Funnily enough, I was searching amazon for ages for an ionising alarm when I realised that it was an optical one I meant to look for the whole time. Doh!

Got this (https://www.amazon.co.uk/FireAngel-...040&s=gateway&sprefix=heat+ala,aps,157&sr=8-5) turning up this evening :)

I'm hoping that the button is quick to silence it as I went for a sealed unit.

Thanks for your help, even if I did write the wrong thing in my initial reply!
 
Man of Honour
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Hampshire
Smoke alarm in our hall is ridiculously sensitive (probably not a bad thing), the cooker isn't even that close round the corner (perhaps around 6m away with no direct line of sight) and if I use the grill or fry anything with the kitchen door open it will go off. Even just opening the grill to take something out and then closing the door straight away can set it off, burnt toast/bagels in the toaster can do the same.
 
Associate
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30 Sep 2011
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Over the hills and.......
So my smoke alarm is caput in my flat (that I've just moved into), looking closer it should have been replaced in Oct 2017 so it's long overdue.

I have one smoke alarm in the hallway, off of this hallway is the kitchen, maybe 3 metres away. As I don't have a proper extractor, it goes off quite often due to stir frys etc.

Would you recommend a smoke or heat alarm here? I see that heat alarms are recommended in kitchens but seeing my alarm is very close to the kitchen would this be more suitable?

Thanks in advance :)
Heat in kitchen and smoke everywhere else
 
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