I have owned this for 6 months or so. It works just fine, just like it should. I have it placed in my kitchen, so I was waiting for it to be going off all the time from steam, but it doesn't. It went off for the first time last night, a piece of popcorn dropped onto the burner and it smoked up and the alarm went off. Does the job! First Alert SA710CN Smoke Alarm with Photoelectric Sensor
This alarm, like other First Alert/BRK products works fine for about a year, and then the fun begins. Falses randomly, at all hours. We've been awaken at least FIVE times in the past month for false alarms. No other product has the track record First Alert Alarms do. They also have an unsatisfactory BBB record. No wonder, the thieves want to charge me $6 shipping to replace THEIR defective unit. Go with another brand, unless your alarm clock is broken
Our old smoke detectors used to go off every time we broil a steak - which can make the house a bit smoky. These don't false when cooking. We have two. There is a mute button. Mounting is easy with the removable mounting plate. A+. Uses one 9v battery. Off brand battery included.
Installation was quite easy and the unit comes with a battery, anchors, and two #6 3/4 inch screws. The anchors are a bit short so if you are installing into anything other than plain drywall you might need longer anchors and screws. This unit looks modern but when mounted on the ceiling it is a bit ungainly looking. The old detector was about 5 inches by an inch and a half (Kiddie) and the new First Alert is 5 inches by almost 2 and 1/4 inches. Then again it is on the ceiling so no one will notice. It functions well so far with no false alarms. I like the sounder because it uses temporal code-3 which is what modern fire alarm systems use, the sound is three pulses and then a pause, three pulses pause and this way you know what the sound is right away and the sound is totally different from an alarm clock. On a last note this kind of detector is photovoltaic which means it is less prone to false alarms from kitchen smoke or shower steam but are less sensitive to fast burning fires with flames. Ionization detectors which use a small amount of a radioactive isotope are better at detecting those fires but cause more false alarms. This detector is great for areas near or around a kitchen but you should have both types in the bedroom. On a plus, these units are easier to recycle because they have 100% electric components and lack the radioactive element americium (a very small amount of a very week substance) that is used in the ionization type (they need to be returned to a collection center).
Lastly, the price is great so you can afford to pick up a couple to replace older units and since they last 10 years it is a small price to pay for safety.
I've had no problems with false alarms from this smoke detector over the last year. Most ionization based alarms I have owned in years past generated lots of false alarms. This one hasn't produced a single false alarm, but I feel confident that it will work correctly when a real emergency occurs.
I have one of these smoke detectors installed in our bedroom hallway, and another in the garage. I have dual mode detectors (ionization and photoelectric) installed in each of the bedrooms.
i bought this for my parent's house which did not have AC hardwired smoke alarms. i also bought a long life lithium 9v battery from amazon so they would not need to replace the battery. they keep our son at their house frequently, so i wanted the benefits of the photoelectric smoke alarms and the lithium battery. i could not find a photoelectric smoke alarm and lithium power cell - so i made my own. it is placed just outside of their kitchen and they have not complained about any false alarms.
Put this up in my home and it simply works great. What price can you put on piece of mind? A must have for your home. I put one in every bedroom, one in the den, one in the kitchen area and one in the hallway. And this one has the photoelectric sensor which detects slow smoldering fires unlike the old ionic ones that won't.
Bought to replace an ionization type detector that was way too sensitive - kept going off when you opened the oven door or added wood to our fireplace. This new photoelctric type eliminated the false alarms. So far, so good. Moved the ionization detector to our basement, where it has done well.
I bought 4 of these and all lost battery power within 6 month of installing. No big deal, just replace with new batteries I though. I bought duracell, energizer, and even ever ready brands. All battery brands loose power after a month and the unit starts the low battery beep. This can't be a battery problem. Move on to another model. Though cheap, the unit will end up being a liability. - Sensitive - Photoelectric - Smoke Alarm - First Alert'
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