Headbanger's reminder in the "Fall Back" thread to check the smoke detector batteries reminded me of something that happened to me a couple weeks ago.
After a late night of coffee roasting I was diligently oversleeping the next morning when I realized my alarm clock was going off. As I was coming to I realized that not only was I late for work, but the sound wasn't my alarm clock and was instead the smoke detector at the top of the stairs. A quick check around the house revealed no smoke, no fire. I figure the battery must be dead causing it to flip over to the hardwire electric mode to warn me. So I pull the hallway chair over, climb up and proceed to take the cover off to replace the battery. Or try to anyway. It wouldn't come off no matter what I tried. By now the dog is circling the chair 'cause he needs to go out and pee, the parrot is sick of the noise so he's screaming at the top of his lungs and I'm standing naked on a chair at the top of the stairs losing my mind from the chinese-water-torture-like sound of the alarm.
Naturally, I did what any normal person would do. I busted the damn cover off the thing. Really muffed it up! There's no way that thing is going back together. Anyway, that was when I saw the apparent cause of the noise. No battery. No problem. I go downstairs and get a brand new 9v go back up and install it. No good, battery must be dead. Down the stairs, get another, up the stairs, still no good. OK, so now I knew the detector was malfunctioning and I'd have to disconnect the wiring. I seriously hate electric shock so I put some sweats on and go down into the dirtfloor dungeon under my house to turn the breaker off. Make my way through the spider webs and creak open the breaker panel. Aha! The breaker is clearly marked "smoke detector". Peice of cake. I switch it off. What? The blasted alarm is still screeching. So I work my way down the row of breakers, none seem to do the trick. I do it again....and again, and then finally one works and the alarm stops. Ahhhhhh, blessed silence.
I go back upstairs and then up to the 2nd floor and back on the chair to unwire it. WTF? The little red light is still on. Damn! It must've taken 20 trips up and down both sets of stairs, throwing breakers, before the wretched little light went off. Guess which breaker? The one marked "smoke detector" of course. I'm guessing there was some kind of capacitor or something holding enough juice to sound the alarm. I don't care at this point. I'm late as hell. I get back on the chair, disconnect the alarm, put the chair back in the corner, throw the busted up alarm on the chair and go down to call the office with this cockamamie late story and get ready for a shower. As I'm stepping into the rainlocker, I hear it. Low, but distinct. Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep. Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep. Man, that's some kind of capacitor! Like a ghost alarm, it keeps doing that the whole time I'm getting ready for work. Screw it, I'm outta here.
When I get home that evening and walk in the door, the freakin' alarm is going off full blast! The bird is screaming. The dog is walking circles around me 'cause he has to go out and pee. I run upstairs to try to figure out how an alarm with no battery and that's 10 feet away from a disconnected power source is possibly going off. Surely it's posessed by wicked forces. I approach it warily, pick it up and put the banshee to my ear. No sound is coming out of it. It's a phantom sireeeen! Wait, the sound is coming from lower down, coming from behind the chair! Evil spirits begone with ye! Although I'm a little nervous at this point I pull the chair out and there it is............................................................the carbon monoxide detector. The obviously malfunctioning carbon monoxide detector. Unplug it and the spirits have been exorcised. The sound is gone. And I am sooooo embarrassed!
Anybody know where I can get a deal on a good smoke detector? Mines broken.
After a late night of coffee roasting I was diligently oversleeping the next morning when I realized my alarm clock was going off. As I was coming to I realized that not only was I late for work, but the sound wasn't my alarm clock and was instead the smoke detector at the top of the stairs. A quick check around the house revealed no smoke, no fire. I figure the battery must be dead causing it to flip over to the hardwire electric mode to warn me. So I pull the hallway chair over, climb up and proceed to take the cover off to replace the battery. Or try to anyway. It wouldn't come off no matter what I tried. By now the dog is circling the chair 'cause he needs to go out and pee, the parrot is sick of the noise so he's screaming at the top of his lungs and I'm standing naked on a chair at the top of the stairs losing my mind from the chinese-water-torture-like sound of the alarm.
Naturally, I did what any normal person would do. I busted the damn cover off the thing. Really muffed it up! There's no way that thing is going back together. Anyway, that was when I saw the apparent cause of the noise. No battery. No problem. I go downstairs and get a brand new 9v go back up and install it. No good, battery must be dead. Down the stairs, get another, up the stairs, still no good. OK, so now I knew the detector was malfunctioning and I'd have to disconnect the wiring. I seriously hate electric shock so I put some sweats on and go down into the dirtfloor dungeon under my house to turn the breaker off. Make my way through the spider webs and creak open the breaker panel. Aha! The breaker is clearly marked "smoke detector". Peice of cake. I switch it off. What? The blasted alarm is still screeching. So I work my way down the row of breakers, none seem to do the trick. I do it again....and again, and then finally one works and the alarm stops. Ahhhhhh, blessed silence.
I go back upstairs and then up to the 2nd floor and back on the chair to unwire it. WTF? The little red light is still on. Damn! It must've taken 20 trips up and down both sets of stairs, throwing breakers, before the wretched little light went off. Guess which breaker? The one marked "smoke detector" of course. I'm guessing there was some kind of capacitor or something holding enough juice to sound the alarm. I don't care at this point. I'm late as hell. I get back on the chair, disconnect the alarm, put the chair back in the corner, throw the busted up alarm on the chair and go down to call the office with this cockamamie late story and get ready for a shower. As I'm stepping into the rainlocker, I hear it. Low, but distinct. Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep. Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep. Man, that's some kind of capacitor! Like a ghost alarm, it keeps doing that the whole time I'm getting ready for work. Screw it, I'm outta here.
When I get home that evening and walk in the door, the freakin' alarm is going off full blast! The bird is screaming. The dog is walking circles around me 'cause he has to go out and pee. I run upstairs to try to figure out how an alarm with no battery and that's 10 feet away from a disconnected power source is possibly going off. Surely it's posessed by wicked forces. I approach it warily, pick it up and put the banshee to my ear. No sound is coming out of it. It's a phantom sireeeen! Wait, the sound is coming from lower down, coming from behind the chair! Evil spirits begone with ye! Although I'm a little nervous at this point I pull the chair out and there it is............................................................the carbon monoxide detector. The obviously malfunctioning carbon monoxide detector. Unplug it and the spirits have been exorcised. The sound is gone. And I am sooooo embarrassed!
Anybody know where I can get a deal on a good smoke detector? Mines broken.
