Reddit mentions: The best smoke detectors & fire alarms

> Speaking as an electrician

Thanks very much! That is good to hear coming from a professional. I was proud of my little workaround hack, but I have never read about it anywhere else so I wondered if I was missing something important... but it really does work (I've used it during a couple of outages now). One useful thing to do is to use a little label maker to label the relevant outlets inside the house with "GENERATOR", just to make clear that they aren't usually going to be working. It's also good to make sure that whatever extension cords you get for coming from the generator to the house inlets has a round end for where it's going into the inlet. Some extension cords have the additional tab sticking up which makes it hard or impossible to fit into the inlet socket. Kind of hard to describe, but you'd know exactly what I mean if you see the inlet. Unfortunately the ones I got don't seem to be available any more on Amazon, the product page has gone away, but they looked a lot like these:

https://www.amazon.com/ParkPower-Marinco-150BBI-RV-Charger-125-Volt/dp/B000NV0V8C/

And the extension cords for generator to inlet are these:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009IAXSW/

Notice the female end of the extension cord is round, so it'll fit inside the inlet socket. I think I have the 100 foot and another 50 foot of the 10 ga, for getting from the generator on the rear deck to the two different inlets on the house. The garage one is a bit further away, toward the front of the house, so I need the 100' for that. Usually I'd try not to run so long, but when running the generator in an emergency I'd much prefer for it to be hidden in the rear of the house, not visible to the road. Being 10 ga gives me a bit more room to play with 100' length without losing too much power to the cord.

Other than those, it's a pretty standard job that anybody who's a little bit handy can do - you might also need a 1 7/8" hole saw for the inlet, assuming you have wood walls (we have cedar siding). I used something like 10 or 12 ga house wiring between the wall - I think it might be 10 ga since I remember hemming and hawing on which to use, I believe I went heavier just to be on the safe side. It's a bit intimidating for a non-professional to work with wiring stuff up, but since it's not connected to the actual house wiring, that takes some of the fear out. Just have to make sure you get all the right wires in the right places (not too difficult) and tighten everything up. Also a little bit stressful hacking holes in your exterior house wall, but once it's all sealed up again it's pretty cool knowing you can now get power inside without having to leave the window or door open.

I also have a Kryptonite Stronghold anchor in the back yard next to the deck, for chaining the generators up while they are running, so nobody can just pick them up and run off (a downside of having portable generators is that they are, well, portable):

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000LF903M/

I dug a hole and then filled it with high stress concrete, then left it to dry for a week or two, then drilled the holes for the bolts and installed the anchor. For chain, I used the strongest stuff I could find at Home Depot. The padlock likewise - just the most beefy, secure one I could find. On the generators themselves, I have installed the security addition to the handle:

https://www.amazon.com/Honda-63230-Z07-010AH-EU2000i-Generator-Deterrent/dp/B004DQY6B6/

This doesn't make it 100% secure, but it's better than just having the plastic handle which is easily broken. Security is a matter of layers - you don't depend on anything being 100%, but you hope that everything will serve to either deter or else slow the thieves down enough so that either they don't try, or else you will be alerted in time to stop them.

Finally, I have a couple of failed circuit alarms, which go off when power is lost:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0077Q9NC6/

I figure these could be on the extension bar inside the house while the generator is in use, then if it goes off or is being stolen then I will get an alert when they unplug the extension cord. I am using one of these alarms in the garage now, for the chest freezer so I'll know if that circuit trips out for whatever reason (avoid thawed out freezer, never fun).

Anyway, hope that helps anyone else who might be thinking about a similar setup - the Honda EU2000i is a great little generator (I also have the Companion), and with a little forethought you can make it much easier to use in your house in emergencies. Oh, and one last thing - I also have a large folding plastic table, which can be used to put over the generator if it's raining outside when you need to use it. Obviously the generator can't be too near the house, because of risk of carbon monoxide, so being outside puts the generator at risk of exposure to the elements. One of those folding tables, you can get from any department store, is useful for putting the generator under something. If the rain is especially heavy, I can put an additional tarp over the table, which can also cover two sides, and a couple of cinder blocks makes it ok in the wind.

Incidentally, this is a good battery powered CO detector, great for emergencies if you need to run a Buddy heater inside the house, or make sure the generator exhaust isn't blowing inside:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004Y6V5CI/

This is the polar opposite of SMD, but I thought I'd share my solution...

While I love DIY, smoke detectors are important. I wanted to interface with my home system but without compromising the integrity of the system.

Get a 120v first alert.
First Alert SA521CN Wireless Interconnected Hardwired Photoelectric Smoke Alarm with Battery Backup https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000EVO9D4

Get the smart relay interconnect.
BRK RM4 Smart Relay for First Alert https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0039PF21U
This includes schematic for wiring to the detector and the color codes for NO/NC relay connection.

~~Get an optocoupler or isolation relay. Mains Voltage! The output of the RM4 is 120V.
Enclosed AC/DC Power Relay with Protection & De-Bounce. Screw Terminals. 120V Trigger Input. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017743I7S
The RM4 output powers the relay. The screw terminals connect to the 8266.~~

Get a Esp8266; Flash tasmota firmware. Configure for switch and mqtt. Wire it up.
First Alert is now part of the matrix.

Quick update: Did not need the second relay/optocoupler. The BRK RM4 is an isolated relay. Their docs did not make that perfectly clear so I assumed worst case w/o testing it.

I'm excited about the Philips Hue integration! That's news to me, as the only thing I heard about was possible LiFX integration after I had already bought quite a few Hue Bulbs.

The streaming camera looks nice. I hope it pivots to look up and down because that's a limitation I've dealt with on the current versions.

I wonder if the slim door strip is similar to the Sensative strips. Lots of people have mentioned them here, but I haven't heard of anyone who actually tried them out to see if they'd pair and work.

One downside that I can foresee with the smoke alarm listener is that it will need to placed within 6 inches of your current smoke alarm, so you'd need one listener for every smoke alarm. However, it will be nice to have for the garage because a lot of smart smoke alarms are smoke and CO, and you don't really want to put a CO alarm in your garage. I use the First Alert SMOKE1000 Atom Micro Photoelectric Smoke Alarm (If you're wondering if you need one of those, go read the reviews on Amazon!).

I could only find support articles for the:

Abode Smoke Alarm Monitor

Abode Recessed Door Sensor

Outdoor Siren (Edit: Seems to have been removed)

Overall, awesome update! What's the opposite of buyer's remorse? Because I have it. So glad I went with abode!

I bought a combination of these two:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000YC535Q/
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000EVO7C2/

I like how they interconnect with each other so that if any of them alert, they all alert. It also has voice alert to tell you where and what type of hazard there is.

I installed 1 combo Carbon Monoxide on each floor of my house, and then the straight smoke detectors in almost every other room.

There are no other hubs with a Kidde radio. However, using an Ecolink FireFighter, you can make your existing Kidde smoke detectors work well with Hubitat.

The EcoLink FF is a $35-40 z-wave device that listens to smoke and CO alarms. It pairs to Hubitat (or any other z-wave hub) as a z-wave smoke detector, and is triggered when it hears a smoke or CO alarm. Works really well, and lets you continue to use your investment in Kidde connected smoke/CO alarms with any z-wave hub.

I have three kidde connected smoke/co detectors and one Ecolink FF. Because the kidde detectors are connected to each other wirelessly, the ecolink FF is triggered when any of them enters an alarm state. Works really well.

https://www.thesmartesthouse.com/products/ecolink-z-wave-plus-firefighter-ff-zwave5-smoke-and-co-audio-detector

https://www.amazon.com/Ecolink-Wireless-Detector-existing-FF-ZWAVE5-ECO/dp/B071Z8NM8N

The most direct same-brand replacement for what you have is the First Alert 9120b -- it looks like a 12-pack is $110 with shipping.

Many locales now want you to have photoelectric or dual-detection photoelectric & ionization detectors, so you may wish to pick up one or more of that sort in the same brand for each floor.

Thanks! Is BRK somehow related with First Alert now?
https://www.amazon.com/First-Alert-9120LBL-Hardwire-Battery/dp/B01F8POAAW/

I see a BRK9120LB* that's branded alternatively as BRK or First Alert with a BRK product code.

Depending upon proximity, and a dozen other factors, something like this might work: Wireless Audio Detector

I have one for my HomeSeer system, and it seems to be effective in detecting the sound of fire alarms. My house has several wired alarms that have no automation capabilities. Using this enables me to receive alerts when away from home.

You would need to have a system compatible with Z-Wave devices to use (HomeSeer, SmartThings, Vera, etc)

You would need permission of the neighbors to put one in their home, but it would certainly be to their advantage to allow you to do so. Also, it would need to be within Z-Wave range (330 ft, 100 meters)

I may be mistaken, but I believe you can buy a sensor which detects heat or fire but not smoke. This would likely be ideal for your garage.

Normal household smoke detectors pick up particulate matter which is the by-product of combustion, such as vehicle exhaust. They also will pick up dust, like sawdust, and trigger. You'd likely get a few false alarms if you used one of them.

Edit: Yeah, I found some, just as an FYI.

https://www.amazon.com/Kidde-HD135F-Fyrnetics-Hardwire-Detector/dp/B000P4YY8K?ref_=fsclp_pl_dp_5

https://www.amazon.com/System-Sensor-5602-Single-Circuit-Mechanical/dp/B0015Q7SZS?ref_=fsclp_pl_dp_4

https://www.amazon.com/BRK-Brands-HD6135FB-Hardwire-Battery/dp/B000Q6LXW2?ref_=fsclp_pl_dp_1

I did quite a bit of research looking for the same thing. In the end I decided it was important to keep this safety system separate, using reliable names such as First Alert -- you can interconnect them via. existing home wiring or wireless ... just buy the same brand. I bought these: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000EVO9D4?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

But I want the benefits of notifications when smoke alarm trigger (lights turn on, text messages, etc) so I installed this zwave device beside one of them that listens for the sound of an alarm. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071Z8NM8N?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

So far, no false alarms, but testing any one of the smoke detectors will reliably trigger this zwave device. Plus, it costs far less than Nest Protect or even Roost, and doesn't rely on a third party cloud.

Might I recommend this if you really hate having to replace the battery? I picked one up for my grandma who had a panic attack every time her old one chirped because the battery was dying.

They're pricy at retail but I got hers pretty cheaply at a car convention because one of the local hospitals were selling safety products at-cost (for them). Also, it seems you're supposed to replace your smoke detectors every 10 years anyway (or so said the nice lady from the hospital).


On a side note: my school was once evacuated because a spider web set off a smoke detector. Took the Fire Department hours to find the reason.

Do yourself a favor, and pick up a smoke alarm too.


I don't think i've ever seen a Prusa catch fire, but 3d printers have been known to catch fire, and for $7 it's better to be safe than sorry. I grabbed one of those when I was building my lack enclosure a few years ago, and it's cheap and extremely simple to install (you can just stick it somewhere near/above the printer, and you like twist it into the base and it activates the non-replaceable battery).

Wish I saw this thread before buying the status indicator. This thing's going to give me epilepsy!

Thinking this might be worth a try:

https://www.amazon.com/LightDims-White-Dims-Electronics-Appliances/dp/B00OOA7Q3G/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1521675023&sr=8-11&keywords=light+dims

Sure. I mean (cheap) ones that aren't hooked to the mains - something like this.

Yes, I’ve looked at the Insteon smoke bridge. But as you say, the selection of compatible products isn’t great, and the features and compatibility are confusing and poorly documented.

For example, First Alert seems to offer only a single hardwired device with ONELINK, the First Alert SA521CN. But the SA521CN is only a smoke detector, it doesn’t detect CO. I could pair this with a unit which does do smoke+CO like the First Alert SCO501CN-3ST -- but that unit isn’t hardwired so it does me no good.

Then there are First Alert devices which are “interconnected” but lack ONELINK. For example the BRK SC9120B is a hardwired smoke+CO detector which is “interconnected” but lacks ONELINK. Maybe I could buy one of these and pair it with a SA521CA to give ONELINK capability? :(

Dude, seriously. Buy a new one. They're stupid cheap and easy to install. It'll take you a grand total of like 10 minutes to order a new one, pick up the box from your front porch, and set it up.

I hacked one of those dual-sensor ion/photoelectric combination alarms. It now has a telephone jack coming out the side, and a telephone wire connects it to a Raspberry Pi. This supplies dedicated power and communicates with the alarm to text me/email me/play an alarm on my phone when the detector goes off (sounds like a school siren). I can then pull up my camera feed and see what set it off. It also sends out a heartbeat signal to a central server, which will alert me if it hasn't received anything from the detector in a while.

It actually works pretty well. It's sitting right above the stove and has very very few false alarms. I could probably eliminate them entirely if I tweaked my programming a bit.

The smoke detector I used as a basis for my mods: First Alert Smoke Alarm

so it looks like the ADT Command is fully wireless?

wonder if ademco wireless smokes would be compatible?

https://www.amazon.com/Honeywell-Ademco-5806W3-Wireless-Detector/dp/B003U4NBF4/

You may be able to salvage this with him. Ask him if he will accept intumescent paint:

https://www.amazon.com/INSL-X-Products-FR110099-01-INS-LX-Retardant/dp/B01B346SCK

Should allow you to use the product you want, and the fume protection he wants.

Really, any fire alarm with a strobe light attached would work. I have one similar to this that I've used when living alone. She'd be able to plug it in wherever, and it has a backup battery if the power goes out. Good luck. :)

Something like this then?

I had the exact same issue, I lost about $200 worth of stuff. After searching for a project to make, I found these and just took the easy way out.
I bought 3: freezer, refrigerator, sump pump.

Hardwired smoke detector: $11
https://www.amazon.com/First-Alert-9120B-Hardwired-Battery/dp/B00O8MVW3U/ref=sr_1_7?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1468794096&sr=1-7&keywords=smoke+detector

Cut-off relay that trips when smoke detector goes off: $15.52
https://www.amazon.com/BRK-Brands-RM4-Smart-Relay/dp/B0039PF21U/ref=sr_1_10?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1468794161&sr=1-10&keywords=smoke+detector+relay

For less than $30 you can have a printer mounted smoke detector that will kick the printer power off in the event of smoke. While pretty far from UL compliant, I used an old serial cable for power and relay connections to the smoke detector then wired the relay to the mains going to the power supply. If you don't want to hard wire it into the power supply, optionally build it into a junction box or whatever. In the majority of cases there's more than enough smoke to set off the detector well before actual flames. Once the smoke detector stops sensing smoke the relay will kick the power back on but the printer will have been power cycled so all should be good other than the damage caused by the runaway to your heater element.

They have a wired version as well: http://www.amazon.com/First-Alert-SA521CN-Interconnected-Hardwire/dp/B000EVO9D4/ref=pd_sim_60_1?ie=UTF8&dpID=41uKzhkqyXL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&refRID=058RS7TT7CC15YB6G704

This is pretty weird. If you've already told him you feel unsafe without them and he won't budge, that's a pretty big red flag. You could look into installing these: https://www.amazon.com/First-Alert-P1010-Photoelectric-10-Year/dp/B01A0M4EYU They're tiny and don't require batteries, so he probably won't notice them around the house.

Or just pick up some of these and don't worry about running a bunch of wires: https://www.amazon.com/First-Alert-SA511CN2-3ST-Smoke-Alarm/dp/B000YC535Q/ref=sr_1_6?keywords=wireless+smoke+detector&qid=1562997929&s=gateway&sr=8-6

I used something like this Failed Circuit Alarm (New Style) by CSH Incorporated https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0077Q9NC6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_ALhBDbEJNK43W

It isn't a smart setup but you'll definitely hear when the freezer loses power

You need a heat detector rather than a smoke detector.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000Q6LXW2/

Carbon monoxide detector is an interesting choice. We know there will be exhaust fumes, it's a garage. I wonder if it might alert too frequently and become annoying.

If I was going to put a Carbon Monoxide detector in a garage I'd want it to be one with a digital readout so that I can see the levels.

Update. I'm trying this one. It claims it has an adaptor.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00PC5TJJQ?vs=1

Replace it with this.

https://www.amazon.com/BRK-Brands-HD6135FB-Hardwire-Battery/dp/B000Q6LXW2/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1541321139&sr=8-3&keywords=Heat+Detectors&dpID=41MPAs%252Bv5rL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

get a heat detector, not a smoke detector.

It's one of these.

I was able to connect my hardwired smoke detectors to my SmartThings system with a BRK RM4 Relay. I installed it in the junction box behind the detector in my basement. When the alarm sounds it will open its switch. By connecting this switch to the auxiliary contact terminals on a door sensor mounted nearby, my HA system knows that the alarms are sounding. This should also work with any other hub that supports a zwave door switch (read: all of them.)

Here's the magic:
BRK RM4 Smoke Alarm Accessory Relay https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0039PF21U/ref=cm_sw_r_other_awd_-HVLwb9C5KFTY

And the door switch I'm using:
Ecolink Z-Wave Door/Window Sensor (DWZWAVE2-ECO) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HPIYJWU/ref=cm_sw_r_other_awd_qKVLwbPRVRM5Y

$10 gets you a smoke alarm with a silence button.

Here is the one I got https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B071Z8NM8N

I recently replaced my smoke detector and I wanted a hardwired Z-Wave one, but apparently that doesn't exist. So I got a dumb one with this detector-detector.