At the Annual meeting someone brought up that the fire/smoke alarms in our units have reached their end of life, so being a maintenance type of guy, I did a little checking. The alarms in our condo were manufactured in May 2006 and I assume were part of the original construction. Additionally, the backup batteries were mostly dead. Obviously it is in everyone’s best interest for us all to keep our alarms up to date.

 Quote from the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA):

“A smoke alarm’s age can be determined by looking on the back or side of the smoke alarm, where the date of manufacture can be found. Smoke alarms should be replaced 10 years from that date (not the date of purchase or installation). In addition, smoke alarms should be tested monthly, and batteries should be replaced when they begin to chirp, signaling that they’re running low.”

I looked for a replacement but found the units we have are obsolete and no longer available. They are a “FireX 120-1072C” which is apparently owned by Kidde. I looked for a replacement in the Kidde product list and talked to Customer Service for any options. There are no direct replacements for our old unit.

I ordered Kidde units through Amazon based on my conversation with Kidde Customer Service. They recommended that we replace the one type with two different types to give us better protections from different types of fires. We installed two “ion” and two “photo” detectors. The models I ordered were i12040 (ion) $10.52 and p12040 (photo) for $19.97 so so basically $60 I had new detectors.

Copied from the Kidde website:

 Ionization sensing alarms may detect invisible fire particles (associated with fast flaming fires) sooner than photoelectric alarms.

• Photoelectric sensing alarms may detect visible fire particles (associated with slow smoldering fires) sooner than ionization alarms.

Studies show both types will effectively detect either type of fire. For optimal protection, install both smoke alarm technologies in your home to maximize the chances of escape.

Kidde offers both photoelectric and ionization smoke alarms, as well as a dual-sensor model, which incorporates both technologies.

We elected to do the single mode because we have four detectors in our 2-bedroom unit. The installation did require rewiring the plug and installing new mounting bases which isn’t very difficult if you are comfortable with electricity and working on ladders. Our detectors are powered by 120 volts with a battery backup with an interconnection wire that connects all the alarms together. I found the circuit that powers the detectors was labeled “Master Bedroom” in the breaker box. Using an electric meter insures the circuit is dead before working on the wires. The job took a ladder , an electric meter, a screwdriver and about an hour and 15 minutes. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact me: Bob Scidmore, Unit I-301.

 Note: I was elected to the Owner’s Association Board at the annual meeting where I shared that I have worked for over 40 years in maintenance and instructor positions and have a good background in many of the systems we have in our units. I hope to periodically write articles such as this one as I work around our place in the hopes it will help others on their projects or at least be informative to you as a consumer about the systems in your condo.