Smoke alarms

[fireengineer]

Hi all, I am a Fire Alarm engineer, interesting thread. All new detectors must be tested with smoke or aerosol smoke. Smoke matches are good but do produce alot of smoke in confined spaces like a hallway, serious ventilation to clear the detector will be needed, post test. The primary use for these matches in my line of work is in testing aspirating systems, these will not activate with the canned stuff and so real smoke is required. The canned smoke it ideal but costs about 9 quid a can, however one squirt is all thats needed so a can should test hundreds of devices. If you are stuck, steam will do it as will any aerosol that produces a cloud, but as I say you would have to be really stuck to resort to those methods.

[Mr. P]

Trouble is with some some aerosols, a film of sticks on the important bits rendering the det less able or giving future faults.

[bolt]

Thats true if you over do it you cover the head in oily stuff and ruins it.  The right way is to use a difuser cap system and pole from someone like noclimb. In the old days some cigarette smoke blown on the head done the trick if you was desparate but smoking 300 ciggies a day testing a big system is not good and can't get away with it anymore in todays anti smoking climate.

Come to mention it how many bother testing heat alarms? Sometimes testing heats is quite difficult even with the correct hot air gun. I seen many with burnt plastic where some one tried testing them with a lighter. LOL Of course there are many occasions where you cant plug in the heat gun anyway as there is simply no mains power about in which case one needs to take the heat head out and test it elsewhere and pop it back after.