Today at 2:26 pm PDT my fire heat alarm went off. Luckily it was false. Fire depart was dispatched
Was it the heat? What is the temp before it sends an alarm? Can it be adjusted? I don think my garage has reached over 98 degrees.
First time this has ever happened and no one was home and trying to figure out what went wrong
Fire department showed up and almost broke down doors but I got them on the phone in the Nick of time
This is a 2Gig SMKT-8. Under sensor type it used to say smoke but I just changed it to “heat” per the picture. I have three smoke detectors that have had the heat alarm set to smoke for months without issue. But, could this have been the problem
The garage smoke / heat detector was purchased in nov 2021
The spec sheet describing how the detector works is found here:
Either a fixed 135 degrees or a 15 degree rate of rise increase and a temp of 104 or higher. Yes, that zone is programmed as a heat detector zone using the heat loop.
In general though you may be outside of the operating temp range quite often in a garage depending on your location. The SMKT8 should not be installed in locations where the ambient temperature can reach and remain at 100 degrees. Ceiling temp may be a bit higher.
Would keeping the smoke (loop 1) and disabling loop 2 (heat) be ok for a garage?
While this would help to avoid future alarm events based on heat, the Operating Temperature listed on the SMKT8 is -40° to 100°F. If the installation area will routinely reach that threshold, installation in that location would not be advised.
Additionally exhaust from cars, or other debris present in the garage may dirty the sensing chamber and/or cause nuisance alarms.
Its not that a device is meant for the garage or not, but devices have an operating temperature that the must operate within. It ambient temperatures reach outside those thresholds, often or for prolonged periods of time, this can cause damage to the device.
Most smokes, like the, the PowerG Smoke PG9936, have a temperature rating of 40F - 100F.
It is not just the Heat zone reporting malfunction, it is both the Heat and Smoke zones for the “Family Room” labeled detector. Both trouble alerts show in Alarm.com history at the same time, which is expected.
Offline is a supervision trouble condition. There are many potential causes, lower battery levels often contribute. Troubleshooting and a description can be found below:
We changed the batteries (alkaline batteries) and not clearing.
This is not a new installation. Its been there for years so that should rule out interference issues as we have not constructed or placed anything new by this sensor.
This is not a z wave sensor so I would think rediscovery would not be applicable here.
I an hoping you can help resolve. My wife changed batteries and such at home as the panel is beeping every 30 minutes or so and driving her nuts (especially when trying to sleep). I am away so this is difficult to address with me being away
When changing the batteries, try leaving the batteries out of the detector with it powered off for 2 minutes. After 2 minutes, put the batteries back in and tamper the sensor. Does the supervision error resolve?
If not, what is the expiration date of that sensor?
Yes, if you see the yellow LED flash every 4 seconds then that indicates a general hardware trouble. That device is malfunctioning and typically that’s not a condition that can be resolved. If an extended power off does not resolve, I would replace that sensor given the condition and its age.
