Against your advice I installed a 2GIG SMKT8 in my garage. For about 2 years, no issues. The garage got to 97 degrees inside and it triggered. Not sure what happened here. The heat detector triggered and not the smoke. I think it may have had something to do with the rise in temp but not sure. Again, it wasn’t the smoke detector that triggered. Is it common for the heat detector to false when my garage was only 97 degrees?
Has a device been created yet that just monitors a static temp been created that doesn’t need to be put together?
I understand that I run two wires from the output of the sensor in the link to the PG transmitter. What I am not understanding is how the 5603 is powered. I think its not powered but the alloy on the trigger melts and then the circuit closes? Trying to wrap my head around this. Where do you recommend I purchase that as I would get the transmitter from you.
Since you cant test these, how do you know its intact when you get it. For example, could it get to 135 degrees in a box in a hot UPS warehouse or truck on its way to me and how would I know that it works when I get it?
How do you know it was never 104 degrees or higher where the smoke detector was installed? The temperature isn’t necessarily uniform and steady. There can be currents and hot spots. Yes, it’s common for them the false alarm in garages.
Yes, this is still the most reliable way to monitor for fire in garages and attics.
System Sensor 5600 series heat detectors are not powered. They are purely mechanical.
The rate-of-rise elements in them can be tested with a hair dryer or heat gun and are self-restoring.
The fixed temperature elements are 1-time use and can not be tested. But there are couple ways to check that it hasn’t already been tripped.
They have a a post-activation indicator in the form of a collector. When the
detector is activated, the collector drops from the unit, making it easy
to identify the unit in alarm. (I can’t seem to find a picture of this to share)
You can check the output terminals with a multimeter or continuity tester. If the fixed temperature element hasn’t been tripped then you should see infinity ohms or overload (no continuity) on the meter.
If you test the rate-of-rise element you must be careful not to come close to the fixed temperature element’s threshold. If you trip the fixed temperature element then you have to replace the detector.
Why are you ok recommending the Honeywell units that are mechanical but still measure rate of rise for garages? Or are you saying just get the version without rate of rise ? Because if you are ok with rate of rise, it would seem easier to get PGP9979? It’s limit is 135 degrees
I’m not sure rate-of-rise is what triggered your false alarm. It’s common to use rate-of-rise heat detectors in garages. But it would depend on your specific garage.
You can use a fixed-temperature-only model if you think your garage might rise by 15 degrees/minute. But keep in mind the fixed-only sensors like the 5604 take longer to detect a fire, rate-of-rise typically detects faster.
I would normally recommend the 194°F models over the 135°F models for garages and attics though.
I’m not sure about the PGP9979. It’s brand new and we’ll have to look into it. But the manual says it’s only 135°F fixed temp and its operating temperature range is 40°F to 120°F so that may be an issue in garages where it gets cold. I’ll follow up when I know more.
If I only want to monitor temp limit, could I use this as a garage fire detector. ? 135 seems a little low and 194 seems a little high. You could set this at 155 with the optional probe and have it trigger a fire alarm to be dispatched ?
No, the PG9905 ambient temp sensor cannot be used as a fire detection device. The panel will not allow it to be programmed as a fire zone (sensor group 26), it can only be used as an environmental temperature zone.