Replacing an old wired smoke detector for a new one.

[Peter Sutherland]

I live in an old guest house and I was decorating a room and I removed a smoke detector and the plastic base fell to bits so I bought a new smoke detector to replace the old one. My question is what to the four wires correspond to? And where would they go in the new smoke detector base plate.
I’ve attached photos for reference.

 

[Murdochcat]

Do you have smoke alarms in other rooms?

 

[Peter Sutherland]

Do you have smoke alarms in other rooms?

Yeah in each bedroom as it’s an old guest house.

 

[Taylortwocities]

Hard to tell from the pictures, but I expect the alarms are interlinked so that they all go off if one is triggered.
There is no standard interlink method, do you’d have to get a replacement from the same maker. But looking at the age of the one in the photo, you should check the others. Smoke alarms have a lifetime of around 10 years before the whole alarm needs replacing. The alarms should have an expiry date on them.

Probably they are all out of date and now is the time to rejig the arrangement and buy all new alarms. . You probably don’t need an alarm in every bedroom if the house is now just a family dwelling.

 

[FrodoOne]

Red/Brown - Line
Black - Neutral
Blue - Interlink.

However,
different manufacturers have different "standards",
so, all interconnected alarms should be of the same design.

Smoke alarms should be replaced after TEN years.

Ionization alarms should NOT be used.
Use photo-electric alarms.
Battery powered alarms (lasting ten years), which interlink by "wireless", are available.

. You probably don’t need an alarm in every bedroom if the house is now just a family dwelling.

I suggest that the above would be very bad practice.
See https://www.qfes.qld.gov.au/smokealarms for world's best practice.

 

[Murdochcat]

OP the best ones to got are made by Aico

 

[Adam_151]

Thats clearly a base from a zoned fire alarm system, not a domestic smoke detector, and it seems its been connected with break on the neg rather than pos. What fire panel is this on? (picture please) and what detector head have you removed and what are you replacing it with?

I'm assuming this is now all your property and its not just one area you occupy in the larger building, because if thats the case, then you shouldn't be touching it, but assuming its just propecting only your house and its just there becuase of the previous use then....

Disconnect it, check for voltage on each of the incomming legs, lukily one is red/black the other is brown/blue, one of them will give you 24v. Thats the In, the other is the out. Brown and red go to the L1 terminals in accordance with in and out, the blue and black to L2. The Shotkky diode is meant to be left in place. Do you know how to correctly test it when you are done, including checking for correct indication of fault if the head is removed?

 

[sparkwright]

OP the best ones to got are made by Aico

It's a fire alarm system, not mains smoke detectors.

 

[Taylortwocities]

It's a fire alarm system, not mains smoke detectors.

Are you sure? murdochcat is never wrong, ever…

 

[sparkymarka]

Standard fire alarm

 

[Peter Sutherland]

Thats clearly a base from a zoned fire alarm system, not a domestic smoke detector, and it seems its been connected with break on the neg rather than pos. What fire panel is this on? (picture please) and what detector head have you removed and what are you replacing it with?

I'm assuming this is now all your property and its not just one area you occupy in the larger building, because if thats the case, then you shouldn't be touching it, but assuming its just propecting only your house and its just there becuase of the previous use then....

Disconnect it, check for voltage on each of the incomming legs, lukily one is red/black the other is brown/blue, one of them will give you 24v. Thats the In, the other is the out. Brown and red go to the L1 terminals in accordance with in and out, the blue and black to L2. The Shotkky diode is meant to be left in place. Do you know how to correctly test it when you are done, including checking for correct indication of fault if the head is removed?

This is the fire alarm panel.

 

[Murdochcat]

Are you sure? murdochcat is never wrong, ever…

Funnily enough I wasn't sure about the make in the photo but didn't write it.

Others on here are VERY OFTEN wrong though

 

[Murdochcat]

This is the fire alarm panel.

Useful info.

How many alarms are there in the property and where are they?

A sensible review would be a good step forward

 

[Taylortwocities]

@Peter Sutherland you say

I live in an old guest house and I was decorating a room

Do you mean that the building is still a guest house, or that you have bought an old guest house as a house purely for your residential use.
ie no longer a building of multiple occupation?

 

[johnny2007]

I replaced mine after 10 years with fire angel.
They come with a plug and I simply used wagos to connect them to existing cable.