Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 19
 Great smoke alarm January 24, 2010
Spiced Rum (USA)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
These units installed easily and I had no problems. No more irritating chirps for no apparent reason!
Several nice features:
1) No annoying chirps-
My old smoke alarms gave me chirps and intermittent alarm sounds for no obvious reason. Try explaining at 3AM to a house full of guests that everything is okay and "hopefully" it won't happen again. Worse yet, the old alarms (which were interconnected), didn't chirp alone, they all seemed to chirp. So even if one alarm has a problem, you couldn't tell which one.
These new alarms haven't given me this problem; this is a huge improvement from my old alarms. I did test these new alarms for low battery and they chirp individually even when interconnected and installed. Now at least IF I get chirps, I can isolate the unit.
Update 3-2010 on chirps:
I have noticed that one alarm, approximately 6ft from a bathroom door, is sometimes affected by steam from a shower and chirps occasionally. The minimal chirping is very infrequent and the obvious cause was steam. The cause was obvious because the shower was occurring right then and some condensate showing up on nearby windows. It does not chirp any other time.
2) Great back connector clip-
This new wiring connector on the back physically clips on to the unit, this is a great feature. Let me explain why: When wiring up any smoke alarm, there is a clip that connects the wires to the unit. This was a weak point on the old units, but has been improved on these new units. This new alarm's connector has 2 plastic teeth that clip into the alarm, making the electrical connection firm and solid. My old detectors had a connector that only stayed on by the force of the alarm in the ceiling, but did not mechanically secure to the alarm itself. This method was prone to having the alarm electrically disconnect and "go to battery" if the unit was jostled just a bit. This wore down the battery very fast. I have provided a picture in Customer Images to clarify what I mean about how this new clip attaches.
3) Easy access front battery door-
The front battery door is very nice; you can open it and quickly test for battery voltage without taking the battery out of the unit.
4) No kitchen nuisance alarms-
We have one of these installed near our kitchen and haven't had any cooking annoyance alarms (yet!).
Bottom line: A great smoke alarm.
Well made, easy to install. September 30, 2009
mikefeuer (FL)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
This is a good product with nice features including a 10 year limited warranty, quick connect harness, front loading battery door, one button operation to quiet and test. You might not think the drop-down battery door is a big deal until you see how nicely made it is and how logical the design. It's the way battery doors should have always been designed. The alarm memory flashes red to indicate which unit (if connected in series) caused an alarm. These are interconnect-able with up to 24 devices (18 can be initiating). They also interconnect with other Kidde, Fyrnetics, Lifesaver, Firex and Nighthawk alarms, strobe lights and relay modules with interconnect functionality. After considerable trouble with BRK/First Alert false alarms, these proved to be extremely reliable. This is a superior product, a very sound choice.
Easy to install and a easy to reach battery compartment May 26, 2009
M. W. (Vienna, VA United States)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
The First Alert smoke detectors in my house were about 12 years old and started to give out false alarms. I bought this Kidde unit about 6 months ago and installed it with no problem, no false alarm what so ever. So I bought two more last week to replace the rest. Assuming your house is already hardwired with 4 wires interconnecting the alarm outlets, when one alarm goes off, the cascade connection feature allows that alarm to trigger all connected alarms along the chain. The battery compartment is a very thoughtful design also. You no longer have to twist the alarm off the ceiling mount, disconnect the AC power cable just to reach the battery compartment; for this model, you just press on the battery housing from the outside, the battery housing drops down and you replace the battery, a 15 second task. That's it. Put in an alkaline battery and you are good to go for 3 to 4 years, forget about changing out batteries every year.
I can't say whether or not they detect smoke, but can say that they won't keep you up at night. August 4, 2009
S. Power (Detroit, Michigan, United States)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
My old (over 10 years at this point), smoke detectors were driving me crazy. They would frequently start chirping for no reason, and had a litany of annoyances. I replaced all 7 in my house with this product and am very pleased. I haven't had a fire or even burnt toast since we installed these, so I can't say whether or not they "work", but based on most smoke detector reviews that shouldn't be your principal concern. I think most are pretty good at detecting smoke. The problem is that most smoke detectors are prone to false alarms. Not these.
They installed very easily, "link" tested on the first try, and are very well designed. Battery access in the front and a big silence/test button is great. Most importantly, in two months we haven't had a single chirp or false alarm.
I am very happy with these and think you will be too.
Great replacements! October 7, 2009
A Reader (USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
My home was built with the BRK brand, which started going bad after just 5 years. I'm the second owner, so guess what? No warranty! I did the research and found out the Kidde alarms have great ratings, so called the company to ask a few questions. They were great, easy to contact, and friendly! That sealed the deal for me, so I ordered enough to replace all of the BRK brand. Replacement was really easy as each alarm came with the replacement pigtail. My system is all 3 wire interconnected, so I just shut off the breaker and replaced each harness (about 5 minutes each). Once installed I tested them and they worked perfect. So far I have not had a single false alarm! I really like these a lot and feel safer now.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 19
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