Smoke Alarms and Stealth!

[Minty]

OK so being a loft grower and also being a paranoid stoner I put a smoke alarm up there. Well tonight said smoke alarm went off! Luckily I had the loft ladder down etc and could quick-ish climb my fat arse up there and eventually silence it before smelling around like a hound dog and finding nothing wrong. Perhaps a cheap smoke alarm and perhaps it is supposed to go 'Full Alarm' when the batteries are low or some shit but regardless my question is more about actually having a smoke alarm in a 'Stealth' situation.

Basically I really want to replace the smoke alarm as having a Groom in the loft is a hazard and I do not want to risk my neighbours etc. The rest of my house is already covered by NEST mains powered wireless interconnected smoke / monoxide units and these are GREAT and I would totally recommend them but they are expensive at about £90 per smoke alarm. That said they last about 10 years and have some really cool features (as already stated I would totally recommend them).

So my real question is about the stealth side? I really think I should replace the smoke alarm (that's a no brainer) and 90% going with another nest for a couple of reasons:-

• Lack of false alarms - the units use basically multiple sensors to determine if 'smoke/heat' is actually a fire - where I think the cheap one failed tonight as heat possible set it off? I dunno probably just cheap shit.
• Interconnect - means when one is 'alarmed' they all go off - which from a stealth perspective is probably a good thing or not - If all 3 of mine go off the neighbours wouldn't be able to pin point the noise to above them at least?
• Voice Announcements - they will say where the fire etc started from (good or bad I guess if it starts shouting "Smoke Detected in the Grow Room" from all units) - obviously I can name it what ever "Smoke Detected in the Toilet" ;o)
• Remote silence and heads up warnings - This one is a real cool feature - it will tell you before it actually goes into FULL ALARM MODE. Even when cooking (I always burn my food - I like it like that) - the smoke alarm will warn me and give me time to silence the alarm (using my Phone rather than pressing the button on the smoke alarm) BEFORE it happens.
• Carbon Monoxide Alarm - sensors also check for this so no need for a separate unit as I previously had.
• Mains powered and battery backup - I'm lazy, but even the battery powered ones will tell you when you need to change the battery.
• Path Light - Will light up the loft area when detects motion which will be useful in the case of a power outage etc.
• Gestures - as per tonight where the alarm is mounted too high to press the button the nest allows you to 'Woft' your hand around underneath it and it will detect that as a silence command.

I kinda already know I have to spend the money and get another reliable unit and the nest is certainly that but it also has some anti stealth issues:-

• Voice Announcements - e.g. if I burn the toast downstairs it will announce "There is smoke downstairs" in a very clear and very loud voice on all units! Starting just downstairs to be fair ;o)
• Automated Testing - a cool feature where the smoke alarm will basically sound the alarm and 'listen' to itself to ensure it still functions correctly

Not 100% sure why I even posted as I will be getting another nest but I am interested to know what others are doing in a similar situation and I would actually recommend the Google Nest Protect 2nd Generation Smoke + Carbon Monoxide Alarm (Wired) as both fire and carbon monoxide are not to be messed with.

End of the day stay safe before getting stoned.

[Minty]

Additionally, and I forgot to mention - you can also link the Nest Smoke Alarms up to Philips Hue lighting via IFTTT so if they do go full alarm all the lights in the house start flashing RED with the nests still showing a clear path to the escape route which is really Cool!
(assuming you are as crazy as me and spent £50 per bulb when kitting out your complete house with smart bulbs!)

[Sage]

yeah I've got another brand but connected alarms as well. Curious though with your electronics skills why not remove the speaker extend the wires somewhere downstairs to a flashing diode and or some little noise speaker that sounds different from the other smoke alarms. that is if purpose is strictly stealth.

[Nom]

I've just put a couple of normal ones in, one on top of each tent and one outside the door of the room but i'm in a spare room. Like sage says really, could you nor just run a sensor up there and have it alarm elsewhere?

[IMO]

I’ve been thinking of something like this in the tent just in case

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/222773142988

Or this

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/322790730343

I need something automatic really for the times when I’m not there

[Minty]

Curious though with your electronics skills why not remove the speaker extend the wires somewhere downstairs to a flashing diode and or some little noise speaker that sounds different from the other smoke alarms. that is if purpose is strictly stealth.

I've just put a couple of normal ones in, one on top of each tent and one outside the door of the room but i'm in a spare room. Like sage says really, could you nor just run a sensor up there and have it alarm elsewhere?

End of the day if there is a real fire or anything I want my neighbours to be as SAFE as possible so moving the alarm 'sound' seems counter intuitive to me.

I wouldn't complain about it going off so much if there had been a real emergency, it was more the false alarm side I was thinking about.

I was just curious what other people are using as I remember someone mentioning a full on system they had installed @Hydro maybe? Can't remember to be fair but it sounded real cool.

[Minty]

I’ve been thinking of something like this in the tent just in case

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/222773142988

Or this

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/322790730343

I need something automatic really for the times when I’m not there

Thanks @IMO mate, that is the kinda thing I was looking for.

The first link it mad:-

image.png

Defo interested (as long as it doesn't explode accidentally) in putting one ABOVE my tent in the apex of the loft:-



Looks like it would work my only concern would be the 'FALSE ALARMS'

I kinda wanna buy one and take it outside and set fire to it to see what happens? Is that wrong?

[IMO]

@Minty yeah the bottles are probably a more certain thing but the balls should be ok so long as you dont get near the melt temp of the ball which is over 70degrees, I’ve also thought about buying some fire blankets or one at least to hang over the top of the tent they are cheap at just over £5 each on eBay I think, usually 1m square although bigger ones can be got if you look online, you could also wrap things like fans in a fire blanket just depends how far you want to go really.

[Hydro]

Ello buddy I just have a couple of the Tuya, WiFi based alarms that alert my phone then set off a chain of events via scenes on me phone ..I’ve got a few code words set ...if old bill come to door Alexa gets the danger will Robinson command and everything shuts down to silent running mode . Also some of the neo WiFi temp humidity sensors in stragetic places can monitor any potential over heating ballast/electrical issues And shut them off before and fire even starts .. initial monitoring needed to find normal tolerances .. has to be WiFi though unless you wanna rig up a 4g hub ..
It’s all about the rules you make for the devices you have

[Nom]

Ello buddy I just have a couple of the Tuya, WiFi based alarms that alert my phone then set off a chain of events via scenes on me phone ..I’ve got a few code words set ...if old bill come to door Alexa gets the danger will Robinson command and everything shuts down to silent running mode . Also some of the neo WiFi temp humidity sensors in stragetic places can monitor any potential over heating ballast/electrical issues And shut them off before and fire even starts .. initial monitoring needed to find normal tolerances .. has to be WiFi though unless you wanna rig up a 4g hub ..
It’s all about the rules you make for the devices you have

i like this