# Hard-wired smoke detectors???



## 232323 (Mar 31, 2008)

Will the hard-wired smoke detectors work with a dead back-up battery or one that has been removed? My renter removes the batteries when they start beeping (low battery warning) to silence them. 
I'm assuming the only purpose of the back-up battery is to provide temporary power to the alarm if the electricity is off, temporarily. Is this correct? Thanks....


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## dtsinc (Jan 26, 2009)

The purpose of the battery is to provide power for the detector to work in case there is no (hard wired) electricity. It shoud be the tenents responsibility to replace the batteries when they get weak. Our rental contracts all state this.


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## 480sparky (Feb 1, 2009)

I'm no expert on the subject, but I would think the Fire Marshal's office, as well a local building & rental codes, would require the owner to maintain any life-safety systems.

And the purpose of the battery is to allow the smokes to continue to operate in a fire situation should said fire cause the loss of AC. They are not intended to be used as a permanent power supply.


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## dtsinc (Jan 26, 2009)

Acutally, here, the landlord (owner) must install the detector(s) but the tenant is responsible for the mainenance of. 

"The tenant must maintain the premises in a reasonably clean and safe condition, using appliances and facilities in a reasonable way. A tenant may not damage or remove any part of the premises and must maintain the smoke detector in good working order."


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## cleveman (Dec 28, 2007)

If you press the little button, you will know in short order if they work or not.


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## rselectric1 (Sep 20, 2009)

Regardless of whose responsibility it is to change the batteries on a regular basis, by removing the battery the tenant is disabling the smoke detector's back up feature.

If the power goes out, they have no smoke detector....PERIOD.


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## overanalyze (Dec 28, 2010)

Geez..enough already. Buy the damn batteries and setup a time once every six months to change them. It's cheap peace of mind and it gives you an opportunity to check on the condition of the place.


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## hdavis (Feb 14, 2012)

232323 said:


> Will the hard-wired smoke detectors work with a dead back-up battery or one that has been removed? My renter removes the batteries when they start beeping (low battery warning) to silence them.
> I'm assuming the only purpose of the back-up battery is to provide temporary power to the alarm if the electricity is off, temporarily. Is this correct? Thanks....


Removing the battery like this is considered tampering with them, and is against the law many places.

The owner is the person who gets the violation notice if the battery is removed the the building is inspected, not the renter. The owner also has liability if the battery is removed and a fire starts when the power is off unless it has been shuffled onto the renter.


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## greg24k (May 19, 2007)

232323 said:


> I'm assuming the only purpose of the back-up battery is to provide temporary power to the alarm if the electricity is off, temporarily. Is this correct? Thanks....


You assume wrong... That is the storage compartment for a 9v battery in case renters vibrator stops working. :laughing:

You gotta be kidding asking this question and list yourself as a remodeling contractor. My nephew is 7 years and he know what that battery is used for...


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## iDAHOchris (Feb 11, 2012)

Mine will still beep with the batteries out. It sounds like the tenant may have unplugged them completely to get it to shut up


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## MarkJames (Nov 25, 2012)

232323 said:


> Will the hard-wired smoke detectors work with a dead back-up battery or one that has been removed? .


Yes, ONLY IF there is power. One shouldn't even consider this as a short-term option...esp. for a renter. 

Now let's say there's a power outage and renter is using candles. Some idiot used a match, blew it out and tossed it in the trash. Guess what happens then? It won't look good after the fire marshal does their investigation and Action News get's a hold of it.

Or maybe the power is out, so they can't get their internet fix and instead decide to light up a smoke, chil out, then fall asleep. Same result.


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## cwatbay (Mar 16, 2010)

We put hardwire smokes/CO's in all the time. Local codes are that whenever you replace a sub or main service panel, you must install smokes and co's - hardwired. We use 14/3 romex primarily. 

So, in answer to to your question, the battery is a back up power source in case the power goes out. If you have First Alert smokes they may "chirp" regardless of the condition of the battery.....these are the smokes you buy from HD, Lowes, etc. We have replaced a lot of them due to the noise problem. 

We also own income property, and, like others have said: at least once a year, make an appointment, check the place out and replace the batteries. Also make a note if the renter has removed any of the batteries.


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## woodchuck2 (Feb 27, 2008)

Regardless of whom is responsible for replacing the batteries i would go in every time change and do it myself just to know it was done. This is how i personally do my home and i only use Duracell or Energizer batteries. Do they need batteries that often? No, but i do it for peace of mind. It is your property, is it worth the extra $50-$100 a yr for batteries for peace of mind? If the batteries are kept fresh there should be no worries of beeping. I caretake several rentals for customers and this is one thing i am anal about and i have no problem getting paid by my customers for this maintenance.


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## 480sparky (Feb 1, 2009)

120v AC smokes are designed to use the battery only for short terms when the power is out (like, during a storm). If the AC is permanently disconnected (as in a poor splice somewhere), then they will burn through batteries like nobody's business.

If that's the case, you have a larger issue than tenants removing batteries.


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## hdavis (Feb 14, 2012)

woodchuck2 said:


> If the batteries are kept fresh there should be no worries of beeping. I caretake several rentals for customers and this is one thing i am anal about and i have no problem getting paid by my customers for this maintenance.


Depends on the smoke manufacturer. Some of them are junk, and will beep with a brand new one and brand new battery, let alone a battery that's a month old.


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## Tinstaafl (Jan 6, 2008)

I've seen them chirp with just the wrong _brand_ of battery. Never did figure out how they could tell, with the batteries having exactly the same voltage. :blink:


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## 480sparky (Feb 1, 2009)

Tinstaafl said:


> I've seen them chirp with just the wrong _brand_ of battery. Never did figure out how they could tell, with the batteries having exactly the same voltage. :blink:


Disposable batteries at 9v.... rechargeables are as low as 7.2v.


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## woodchuck2 (Feb 27, 2008)

hdavis said:


> Depends on the smoke manufacturer. Some of them are junk, and will beep with a brand new one and brand new battery, let alone a battery that's a month old.


I agree, most often i have found how the unit was cared for before being mounted made a difference. I dropped one once in my own home in the basement and hung it anyway. That SOB was a thorn in my side with occasional beeping "at night of course" and it took me some time unhooking one at a time until i found it. I also found it would go off with the slightest bit of smoke too. My stepson and son tried smoking in that room " 26'X12.5' " with the window open only to have the detector go off. I ran downstairs to see what was going on and when i caught them there was no smoke in the room but them smell still lingered. I left it up for a while afterwards but it got to the point that it was too sensitive to leave up. 

Also, cheaper is not always better. I try to stick with 1st Alert brand, very few problems with them.


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## Tinstaafl (Jan 6, 2008)

480sparky said:


> Disposable batteries at 9v.... rechargeables are as low as 7.2v.


No rechargeables, open-circuit voltage measured with a DVM. I'm guessing there was a difference under load, but it shouldn't have been all that significant with new batteries from a source with pretty good stock rotation.


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## Electric_Light (Nov 25, 2007)

Ask the tenant to replace the batteries in all of the smoke detectors and offer them a rent discount in the amount of batteries + a bit more. Ask for the receipt to the batteries with next rent check.


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