Kidde AC Wire-In with Battery Backup Smoke Alarm #i12060
These alarms are powered primarily by your house wiring, and if power fails, by a 9v battery. If you only have one alarm, you only need a hot & neutral (black & white wires, plus ground) in a ceiling box. To interconnect two or more alarms, you'll need 14/3 or 12/3 cable (black, white, red, and a ground wire) from the first alarm to the last. The included quick connect wiring harness's female jack has black, white, & red pigtails that connect to your house wiring. The pigtail's jack connects to the back of the alarm, so it's easy to remove or replace an alarm if needed. If an alarm in the "system" is activated, the red wire goes hot from that alarm, activating all interconnected alarms. There are 5 interconnected alarms in a house we're remodeling, and when set off (as a test), it's ear-splitting racket, designed to wake you from a deep sleep.
If your house has 14/2 or 12/2 wire (versus 3 conductor) to the alarm's ceiling box, this product will still work, except for the interconnecting feature. I.e., an activated alarm won't activate the other alarms.
The model i2060 needs only one 9v battery, and it couldn't be easier or faster to replace. I.e., without removing the alarm from it's base plate, press the battery cover door on the unit's front. A hinged door opens allowing you to slide the old battery out, replace it, and shut the door. Since I can reach 8' ceilings without a ladder, I can replace the i2060 battery in under 5 seconds!
110 v smoke alarms with a battery backup do NOT have to be replaced as a set. Their only "communication" with other alarms is, when one is activated its red wire goes hot to the other alarms. So, you only need to replace a problem alarm, not all of them.
This is an ionization alarm only. I.e., it's not also a photo-electric sensor. Ionization sensors are best at detecting fast, flaming fires. Photoelectric sensors are best at detecting smoldering fires. Kidde i12060 Hardwire with Front Load Battery Backup Smoke Alarm
Less than a year ago, I replaced all the smoke detectors in my home with the Kidde i12060. They go off for no reason- we dont smoke, and cooking doesnt set them off. They just go bad. I checked the batteries- they are still good. I am so tired of the false alarms that I am going to replace them all with a different brand. I see that these have good ratings from others, but I just wanted to share my bad experiance so that you are forewarned.
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.
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.
Last summer, my upstairs Kidde smoke detector started chirping, then going off--even after I replaced the battery. Nothing would make it stop the noise, so I removed it. I replaced it with a Kidde i12060.
Last month in the middle of the night, it chirped once. After a week or so, it started chirping every few minutes. I checked the battery--it was still good. I changed it anyway. A week later the alarm went off in the middle of the night. I stumbled out of bed, convinced of a fire. Nothing. I pushed "Hush," and that was that. Yesterday, it happened again. I took the battery out, put in a new battery, cleaned the unit with a can of compressed air.
This afternoon it went off again--a constant, "there's a fire!" beeping. Pushed "Hush," no hush. Also no fire, and I'm not cooking or grilling; I'm not even running the dryer; I don't smoke. I had to pull the thing off the ceiling to get it to stop. Very discouraging!
I'm not sure I would buy another Kidde brand. I don't want to replace my smoke detectors every year. - Smoke Detector - Kidde - Smoke Alarms - Home Safety'
Detail Products
Detail Reviews
Click here for more information
