Americium 241 has a half life of 450 years, it is not the decay that makes these devices more sensitive it is the build up of dust within the ion chamber
good video...my element had fallen out as sell leaving the same "clean ring" spot. the people that moved in upstairs must be gymnasts because they are loud af. the hallway smoke detector started going off when their kids run around...all 5 detectors are linked, so that makes for some late night fun. so far so good...no alarming all day. thanks for the pointers.
i had a hard wired smoke alarm installed. But it was beeping all day and night for no reason...? So i removed it last week and installed a battery unit, that doesnt beep nonstop. Lol Merry Christmas, Dave
Bloody hell, a dinner plate piezo lol. I would imagine some units would automatically re calibrate the amplifier to keep it on the edge of tripping. it sounds like the old ones in my house must have been the radio active type. You only had to walk past and whisper ' smoke ' and the dam thing would go off ha ha :-D
We have a smoke detector in the hall way that is annoying, goes off every time the oven is used, it's very sensitive. The smoke detector in the living room, which is much closer to the kitchen however doesn't go off at all from the oven. I guess they are different types, not sure how you can tell how a smoke detector is which type and which type you should get? I should pull them down and see if it's labeled. Looking to replace the one in the hallway though with whatever type won't go off over the oven, which isn't something burning over on the stove, just when you open the oven door when the element is turned on.. happened with our old stove too, both electric stoves.
@@12voltvids Thanks! The one in the living room is the ionization type and dated 2008, time to check them all and replace them, thanks for this video I would of not known. Says "This device contains 0.9 micro curies of Americium." Just checked them all and they are all ionization but different brands and dates ranging from 2006 to 2019. Are ionization more popular than photoelectric?
@@victorcoss2600 Yes they are, and generally cheaper. Ionization respond faster to hot burning fires and photoelectric faster to smoldering type fires, so it is a good idea to have both. You can get combination detectors which are a little more expensive. I went with a combo smoke / CO detector even though I have a heat pump, the backup furnace is as and there are 2 gas fireplaces and a gas range here so a CO detector is important, and my old was was also expired.
No joke. It's not real smoke but sinulates smoke to test photo and ionization detectors. I have a can in my truck for testing smoke detectors on my security Jobs.
even if you dont dissasamble the americium radioactive material chamber, you are still exposed to alpha and gamma radiation, as the smoke detector does not isolate fully of the radiation, you should not get your hands so close to it as air can shield a lot of the alpha radiation
Americium 241 has a half life of 450 years, it is not the decay that makes these devices more sensitive it is the build up of dust within the ion chamber
good video...my element had fallen out as sell leaving the same "clean ring" spot. the people that moved in upstairs must be gymnasts because they are loud af. the hallway smoke detector started going off when their kids run around...all 5 detectors are linked, so that makes for some late night fun. so far so good...no alarming all day. thanks for the pointers.
Merry Christmas 2020 !
i had a hard wired smoke alarm installed. But it was beeping all day and night for no reason...? So i removed it last week and installed a battery unit, that doesnt beep nonstop. Lol
Merry Christmas, Dave
Bugs or dust in the sensing chamber
Bloody hell, a dinner plate piezo lol.
I would imagine some units would automatically re calibrate the amplifier to keep it on the edge of tripping.
it sounds like the old ones in my house must have been the radio active type.
You only had to walk past and whisper ' smoke ' and the dam thing would go off ha ha :-D
Oxides on the peizo element is the main culprit in the failure of these cheap devices
Odd; isn't it?
That the very thing it is sensing for, crept in a lower level over a prolonged period of time and undermined it own function.
It's different on fire alarm systems with panels
We have a smoke detector in the hall way that is annoying, goes off every time the oven is used, it's very sensitive. The smoke detector in the living room, which is much closer to the kitchen however doesn't go off at all from the oven. I guess they are different types, not sure how you can tell how a smoke detector is which type and which type you should get? I should pull them down and see if it's labeled. Looking to replace the one in the hallway though with whatever type won't go off over the oven, which isn't something burning over on the stove, just when you open the oven door when the element is turned on.. happened with our old stove too, both electric stoves.
They will be labeled. Photoelectric usually have a p on them and ionization unite have the radiation warning label on it.
@@12voltvids Thanks! The one in the living room is the ionization type and dated 2008, time to check them all and replace them, thanks for this video I would of not known. Says "This device contains 0.9 micro curies of Americium." Just checked them all and they are all ionization but different brands and dates ranging from 2006 to 2019. Are ionization more popular than photoelectric?
@@victorcoss2600 Yes they are, and generally cheaper. Ionization respond faster to hot burning fires and photoelectric faster to smoldering type fires, so it is a good idea to have both. You can get combination detectors which are a little more expensive. I went with a combo smoke / CO detector even though I have a heat pump, the backup furnace is as and there are 2 gas fireplaces and a gas range here so a CO detector is important, and my old was was also expired.
My detector reacts on smoke from the shower. Is that normal??
Yes steam will trigger them. Too close to the bathroom.
@@12voltvids Thanks
@@will89687 Yes, I know.
but only for ionization type smoke detectors, Photoelectric type units do not normally get activated by shower steam
One can buy fresh air in the can from the Alps.. I thought you were joking when you said "you can buy smoke in a can"
No joke. It's not real smoke but sinulates smoke to test photo and ionization detectors. I have a can in my truck for testing smoke detectors on my security Jobs.
You fix it maybe y'all keep the
even if you dont dissasamble the americium radioactive material chamber, you are still exposed to alpha and gamma radiation, as the smoke detector does not isolate fully of the radiation, you should not get your hands so close to it as air can shield a lot of the alpha radiation
Yep, Looks like they become even more sensitive as they age.
Yes. Then start falsing
another method could be ripping a big ass cloud from my vape and blowing it straight in to the sensor
1:55 they're alphas, so you really wouldn't want to get any of that material on your skin; e.g., where you could accidently contaminate food.
To be honest, The radiation from the source in these are really not that bad.
nuclear ones are much cooler than the new ones