A few months ago, I put a carbon monoxide detector on a stand in the living room.
I already had a smoke alarm on the hallway ceiling, just a few feet away.
Several days ago, the smoke alarm was chirping for a battery…or it might have been the detector. Now I’m not sure. I replaced the s.a. battery.
A few days later, the chirping sound started up again but I could not tell where it was coming from. I took the smoke alarm off the ceiling and removed the battery. Chirps continued every five minutes. I put ear plugs in and had a restless night.
The next day, my neighbor/handyman came over and was equally puzzled for a while until he finally realized that the chirping was coming from the c.m. detector, which might have been in need of a battery all along. A consultant said it’s best not to keep them near each other, as they make exactly the same kind of sound.
We’re still not sure if one set off the other.
Anyway, FYI, in case it ever happens to you.
Problems resolved.
Ah, blessed silence. Quiet house without ear-piercing shrieks. O Happy Day.
Common smoke detectors are normally one of two types. Ionization detectors detect non-visible particles of combustion. Photoelectric detectors detect visible smoke. The best option is a combination detector that uses both methods. Relying on an Ionization detector alone is a very poor option.
The C0 detector does not give off anything that could trip either style of smoke detector.
you can solve the issue with a battery tester (an ordinary voltage meter or a battery tester which shows a simple good/bad indication). also an annual battery change, most current detectors will go for at least a year before showing low voltage.
placement of the detectors should be where they do the most good to save lives. smoke detectors on each level (in a hallway) and in each bedroom. carbon monoxide detectors in the basement (or where the heating plant for the house is) and in bedrooms. combination smoke/carbon monoxide detectors are not much more in cost than a single detector.
carbon monoxide is extremely deadly. you want to detect it in locations where it might be produced before it might spread. having one in a hallway near bedrooms detects it before you might be exposed to it for hours in your sleep.
We have just one CO detector for our whole house. It’s a single-room detector that resides in our living room, but one peep from that alarm sends our entire household of dogs into a yowling cacophony, so it’s basically a whole-house alarm.