Aico alarm wiring instructions

[JohnW2]

For smoke alarms I think

... as I hope you realised (but I suppose I should have typed explicitly!) I meant "what do they make it for other than smoke alarms"!

Do you think/believe that (m)any of those installing alarms actually use it?

 

[pete01]

Do you think/believe that (m)any of those installing alarms actually use it?

Very doubtful

 

[JohnW2]

Very doubtful

Quite so. I presume that virtually none of them even know that it exists!

How on earth did you find it (in a 'welding store')?

 

[plugwash]

View attachment 401331

I would not bet on the pictures on amazon being accurate.

... as I hope you realised (but I suppose I should have typed explicitly!) I meant "what do they make it for other than smoke alarms"!

4-core flex with a blue conductor certainly exists, I have some in my garage that I *think* came out of a maplin offcuts bag bought sometime in the 1990s or early 2000s. However since grey conductors became a thing in the mid 200s, brown/black/grey seems to have become the norm for 4-core flex. Even though I'd bet the majority of applications for small 4-core flex do include a neutral.

IIRC riestard has said that 4 core with a blue conductor is available in the republic of ireland, but I have no way to verify that. None of the irish wholesalers I could find seemed to have an online catalogue.

 

[JohnW2]

I would not bet on the pictures on amazon being accurate.

You don't need to - you can look on the actually seller's site (click here) , .... where you will find ...

 

[JohnW2]

4-core flex with a blue conductor certainly exists, ...

Fair enough (albeit seemingly extremely difficult to find, either here or in Ireland!) but the question then becomes the colour of the 'fourth' conductor - black, white or what?

 

[plugwash]

Fair enough (albeit seemingly extremely difficult to find, either here or in Ireland!) but the question then becomes the colour of the 'fourth' conductor - black, white or what?

black.

The only mains cable/flex I've seen with a white conductor was/is american (american 4-core flex seems to be red/black/white/green).

 

[flameport]

and does this mean that the interconnect is ELV?

It must be, as the alarms have a battery backup, and the interconnect still works on battery only when the mains supply has failed.

 

[plugwash]

Indeed - but see what I've just written in reply to trojanhaws ... and does this mean that the interconnect is ELV?

AIUI generally the signalling voltage is within the "ELV" voltage band, but it's referenced to the neutral conductor. So from a safety point of view it has to be treated like "LV" wiring.

 

[JohnW2]

It must be, as the alarms have a battery backup, and the interconnect still works on battery only when the mains supply has failed.

Good point. In fact, on reflection, I imagine that the whole thing quite probably 'runs from' the battery, with the mains supply (when present) keeping it 'topped up', since that's probably the easiest/cheapest way to do things?