How Long Will A Smoke Detector Chirp Before It Dies

Smoke detectors are notorious for the way they sound. Some might argue that they never wish to hear that beeping sound anytime in the future. But they have to when it’s needed and people are always expected to act fast. How long will a smoke detector chirp before it dies, well we’ll find and list out all the reasons for you.

Sometimes though there are a lot of false alarms that make a smoke detector chirp. This can be annoying and depending on the smoke detectors it can keep going on for a few minutes to a few days and in some cases may be indefinite.

How long will a smoke detector chirp before it dies – Reasons

At Regular Intervals

Some devices chirp for regular intervals when they detect smoke. This may mean that the alarm chirps for a few minutes take a break and then again chirps. This alarm cycle may go on until it is manually switched off.

Indefinitely

While some may chirp at regular intervals there are some smoke detectors that may sound indefinitely. Depending on the power source the alarm may keep chirping for many hours to days to even months & years in some cases. 

This will depend on the power source, so if the battery runs out the detector may stop chirping. The duration of its chirping will depend on the battery life in this case.

If powered by an external source the detector can keep sounding indefinitely until turned off manually. 

For safety purposes, such kinds of alarms are our favorite as the power supply is continuous. This in turn helps the alarm to work continuously till the end of its shelf life and helps you sleep well.

Because Of Low Battery

Devices that work on batteries and not on an external power source will start chirping once it runs low on battery. This sound might keep going on until it runs completely out of power. So once you encounter this problem make sure to replace the batteries and that will stop the ordeal.

What To Do To Stop The Chirping

In some devices, the detector may not stop chirping even after batteries are removed. In this case, it is advisable to reset the detector to stop the sound.

Are There Any Smoke Detectors That Comes Without This Annoying Chirping Feature?

We have done a lot of research on one of the best devices in the market and we found that this feature is present in almost all of them. However, in some devices, you might be able to control the volume by yourself.

However, as per our recommendation, this is a big NO. The reason being that these alarms are meant to alert you and even though it might sound like a good idea to lower the volume it is actually not advisable. When a calamity strikes you should be able to hear your alarm correctly. A lot of horrible incidents have happened in the past because homeowners were unable to hear the alarm in time.

So don’t mess with the volume button of your device ever. If anything you can tone it down a bit if you have sensitive ears. Nevertheless, it should sound high enough for you to hear even when you’re away. So you might need to test the volumes and play with it a little before setting the optimum volume setting. However, not all smoke detectors come with this feature.

If you want to take a look at our article on the best smoke & carbon monoxide detectors you can click on this link to take a look.

If you’re looking for a smoke or carbon monoxide detector you can have a look at our recommendation by clicking this link.