Smoke Alarms - optical vs. ionisation

[AleisterCrowley]

I need to buy some smoke alarms for a relative who lives in a medium size apartment
What are the pros and cons of optical/ionisation alarms?

[Breelander]

Some sensible advice here...
http://www.fireservice.co.uk/safety/smoke-alarms/

[AleisterCrowley]

I just found that after some trawling -thanks
At the bottom it says "UK Fire Service Resources recommends Safelincs Safety Products" which I thought was odd. Can public services promote a single manufacturer/supplier (complete with link to their website)?

[Lootman]

I prefer the combined smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and, back when I was a landlord, used them exclusively in my housing units.

Also, and importantly, I used both mains power and battery backup. Some better ones even have a capacitor that provides power if both fail.

It's not something to economise on, in my opinion. The real test was when I was operating a petrol driven angle grinder to cut through a concrete floor to install a drain and the detector went off. No heat, no smoke and it still saw the danger. Impressive.

Of course, I just disconnected it and carried on . . .

[AleisterCrowley]

I'm looking at the combined ones for my mum, but aforementioned relative doesn't have any CO sources around -electric cooker and no central heating (it's very hot where she is...)

[PinkDalek]

I just found that after some trawling -thanks
At the bottom it says "UK Fire Service Resources recommends Safelincs Safety Products" which I thought was odd. Can public services promote a single manufacturer/supplier (complete with link to their website)?

That isn’t a fire brigade or fire and rescue service.

From elsewhere on the website:

We are an unofficial website set up by serving and retired members of the UK Fire and Rescue Service

They were incorporated as recently as 3 April 2017:

https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/comp ... ng-history

[AleisterCrowley]

Aha, that makes more sense - I would hope the advice therein is correct

[PinkDalek]

Further background here:

http://www.fireservice.co.uk/information/the-team/

[csearle]

I used to work on optical smoke detectors at Siemens in Muenchen, they had ceased production of all their ionization ones in favour of optical smoke detectors by the time I started there. Not sure why this was, maybe the undesirable-ness of having radioactive material in their products? Anyway, I suspect that optical ones are of a more modern design. They do need to be washed occasionally though! Yes, you heard it here first, We (i.e. Siemens) had a scheduled smoke detector washing cycle for larger customers where the labyrinth in them was washed of dust particles to minimize unwanted light reflections.

Cheers,
Chris

[AleisterCrowley]

Thanks Chris
From a brief trawl of various sites it looks like optical detectors are the preferred type currently
As you say, may be down to worries around the Americium-241m in the ionisation detctors

[didds]

I just found that after some trawling -thanks
At the bottom it says "UK Fire Service Resources recommends Safelincs Safety Products" which I thought was odd. Can public services promote a single manufacturer/supplier (complete with link to their website)?

I strongly suspect that "www.fireservice.co.uk" is not an official site from the UK fire service which I wold imagine would have a gov.uk domain.

A whois lookup shows the registrant as using a privacy service, and the address is in Slough. Its DNS is delegated to tsohost.co.uk which provdies domain etc services.

Doesn't sound at all official to me.

UPDATE: Sorry - everybody else beat me to it!

didds

[fuiseog]

I contacted my local fire service for advice. They said they provided smoke detectors free, and 2 firemen came out, looked over the house deciding we only needed 3, installed them and left.

I've forgotten what type they are, but they have 10 year batteries and when the batteries run out we replace the alarms.

[AleisterCrowley]

Sounds like the lithium ones - umming an aahing over these or the ones with replaceable alkaline bats.
My relative lives overseas (about 3500 miles east ) so local fire brigade not an option!!