Good price for a 240V photoelectric smoke alarm - $45 at Bunnings. Also battery only photoelectric for $14 and battery only ionizing for $8.60.
I'm taking advantage of the price to upgrade 2 old 240V alarms from ionizing to photoelectric, add a battery photo-electric in the roof space & add a battery ionizing elsewhere in the house (photo-electric is recommended but ionizing is better at detecting some types of fires).
Note 240V smoke alarms need to be installed by an electrician.
Yep. I've added a note above.
'Need'? Well 'no' but as it's part of our nanny-state laws it's unfortunately a 'yes' :(
Ironically the slack work performed by the qualified, self-regulating Electrician who wired up our new build a few years ago could've very easily started a house fire… that was until I investigated a few strange issues and rectified them myself… a non-qualified electrician. Unfortunately a qualification doesn't necessarily guarantee against a fatality.
I imagine the amount of unqualified know-it-alls pose a much greater risk than the few dodgy electricians who do poor quality work.
I would think there is some ombudsman you could contact about the crappy work which was done at your premises.
You're possibly right but it makes you wonder why we're the only country with such OTT laws. Even our friends across the ditch can do all sorts of DIY electrical work, check out the list about half way down this page, incredible: https://www.consumer.org.nz/articles/diy-legal-restrictions
+1 as this can save lives!
If you don't have one time to get a couple, especially in Winter most fires due to heaters and etc…
What is a good linked system for smoke detectors? I cannot hear the downstairs alarm very well from upstairs due to the thick floors. I would like something that sets them all off.
if im not mistaken Fire Brigade have advised shops that sell this that in the event of selling this to customers to notify them that each dwelling must have atleast one photoelectric smoke alarm - and the remaining can be ionisation smoke alarms because of the way a fire starts and that photoelectric is more 'sensitive' to these types of fires that start in the home.
I'd buy one if my local stores had any. :(
I bought a Q1300 last month at this price. Much better price than competitors and seems to be good quality, although hoping not to need it any time soon, or ever! Replaced an unreliable HPM ionisation unit.
Too bad 95% of its use will be telling me I'm a bad cook haha.
So instead of the usual alarm will it play pre-recorded messages of Gordon Ramsay's insults?
How many is enough?
Bought 2 combo ion/photo ones for cheap from DSE in a previous sale. One made strange (non-battery-flat type) noises randomly in the night (dust set it off maybe?). The other one doesn't seem to go off even with burnt toast wafting through the house (test alarm works fine). Will stick to individual photo and ion ones next time.
I bought the Q301H Photoelectric one at the last sale to bring with me travelling.
It now stays in my bed room. Good price!
Good deal. I bought the Q946 for $8.60, having paid about $13 at Coles last month. These come with a Duracell 9V battery.
i already have a 240v on the ceiling which has gone very yellow and ordinary looking, any idea if this is a possible diy changeover job?
Legally No. It's mains wired so its not a DIY Job. Thats not to say its not an easy job, but legally you can't change it.
Agree with Haxxa. It's a very simple job and could be done by anyone with half a brain and in only a minute or two… BUT it's unfortunately illegal to DIY this here in Australia.
I bought the Quell Q1300 weeks ago from bunnings, first unit had broken mains pin (metal had bent) which made wiring it impossible, second unit was false alarming for no reason after vacuum it was ok but really haven't had a good run with these annoyingly. Also the back of the unit doesn't have a nice independant insulating box unlike the HPM counter parts which I have not had any issues with.
I got a couple of these from Bunnings last week.
1. I wonder if they will price match (at the least)?
2. I wonder if I should just get better HPM ones based on the reviews?
Return them (if they are not installed), and then they should price match, just let the staff know and if possible grab a Coordinator (Manager). Otherwise if you do want to grab the HPM ones, they don't sell them directly to consumer stores and only to electrical outlets so you will have to go to a electrical store which may not be convenient, otherwise heaps of options are available online.
Bunnings took them back but would not price match as DSE was selling them as a special and they don't price match specials. At least I can get the HPM ones now anyway.
Thanks good timing, just needed one. can't complain with this good price
Anyone know what difference there is between the Quell kitchen smoke alarm Q301H and the Quell Bedroom/Hallway smoke alarm Q301? The Q301H is on special but not the Q301. All I could work out is that they are different size. I ended up just buying 2 of the cheaper Q301H ones and was thinking of installing one in kitchen and the other in the hallway. Hope there will not be any problems.
Can I get an ELECTRICAL ENGINEER to install it or do I need an ELECTRICIAN?? Seems like a waste of money to get an electrician when my brother can probably do it.
An electrician with an electrical licence
I periodically put the vacuum cleaner nozzle against the vents to clear out any dust.
Dust build up can lead to false alarms.
I actually replaced mine with dual sensors (photoelectric & ionisation) Covers more different types of fires.. Smoldering for Photoelectric and flamed fires ionisation.
http://www.bunnings.com.au/quell-ion-photo-dual-sensors-smok…
Excellent advice Darkage, also in future the dual detection smoke/fire alarms will be wireless/inter-connected, just that the local regulation did not let in untested overseas detectors, because otherwise crap quality ones will flood in. (Fair enough.)
The one below looks good and is an example of what I am talking about.
I tried to get something like this in the last 12 months from Amazon and I was not allowed to buy it, because of buying from Australia.
(This seems to have changed now and of course I know how to get around Geo-blocking.)
http://www.amazon.com/First-Alert-OLCOMBOV-SmartBridge-Inter…
Note the extra functionality.
Do you need a qualified electrician to install these 240V?