*L* and the same to you End Grain.. and the rest of you too.. well its only fair that you pick my brain, because in the course of writing my articles and trying to get the black walnut stains off my gazebo I have every intention of picking yours..L*..
so yes.. I do like firex.. but to be honest, I even think the first alert duals are fairly good..
http://www.consumersearch.com/www/house_and_home/smoke-detectors/
In the reviews, First Alert consistently takes top billing ..
" It runs on a replaceable nine-volt battery and features a combination ionization and photoelectric sensor that is by far the most accurate and effective detection method available. The SA302 has extra features that many detectors do not, such as remote-controlled alarm silence and test, Intelligent Sensing, which differentiates non-threatening conditions (i.e., kitchen smoke) from real emergencies, and automatic daily self-check test. and it has a ten-year warranty. the retail price runs about forty bucks a unit so they aren't cheapo, but my life is well worth forty bucks..LOL..
I think that everyone who has ever asked me why they need two kinds, , I've pointed them to an article on MSNBc that I truly think everyone needs to read about the two types of detectors and why I think each home should have some of each or have the dual models, regardless of the brand name..
There is whats called an ionization detector, and what it does is to detect little particles of combustion, and will based on that set off the alarm.. while the photocell has the small light beam and when the smoke blocks the beam that one goes off.. but .. both are good, in different kinds of fires..
"The NBC2 investigators put both smoke detectors to the test. We put one of each side by side in the living area of a fire training home. Then firefighters ignited a slow burning fire, the most deadly kind in Florida.
In just 3 minutes and 36 seconds, the photoelectric model rang through the home." To read the rest of the article..
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21760962/
several seconds later it seems the ionization technology triggered its alarm.
While a few seconds don’t seem like a lot...trust me when I say that they are..
HOWEVER.. in the other type fire.. the fast burner, the photo cell actually melted before the smoke hit it, because the fire was coming on faster than the smoke..
Take a look at this article and based on that, recommend that your customers purchase a few of each type for their home, in order to be really safe.. or the duals, .. So much is available now, and new technologies are coming in every minute.
In the past few years, technological advances in fire alarms, even the low cost battery only variety have been just hard and fast, and they include some sensitivity adjustments, compensation for drift factors and indicators for maintenance necessary, and all of those things have combined really to reduce the nuisance, or false alarms they emit while actually shortening the time they take to react to a real fire.
Where i go to get all the information that I have ever needed on fire detectors and fires, is the NFPA, National Fire Protection Association,
http://www.nfpa.org.
ALSO.. i would like to add that..
In 2005, cooking fires were involved in roughly 1,300 structure fires took place.. ALL OF THEM, on Thanksgiving day.
that is well above the daily average.. amost three times the average actually. Most of these fires start because cooking has been left unattended. Please please.. don't be a statistic during this season especially.. Don't leave things unwatched.. Thanksgiving and the Christmas holidays are really the start of the fire season due to all the extras we use out there at this time period...so.. take a few common sense steps and keep your holiday season safe.
Happy Thanksgiving..
and now.
How do you get the stupid walnut stains off your deck, short of sanding the whooooooooole thing.. LOOL..