Replacing smoke alarms

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I have two Aico smoke alarms (one hall, one 1st floor landing) which are time expired and need replacing. They are Ei151 TL which are now obsolete and the official replacement is Ei3106. Trouble is that Screwfix want £50 each for these. An alternative is Ei141RC (I already have one of these fitted to meet Building Regs at the door to an extension. These cost £20 at Screwfix.
The only difference seems to be that Ei3106 detects slow burning smouldering fires, whereas Ei141 is better for rapid fires. I know +£30 isn’t much against a life but…..? Thoughts welcome.
 
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Just realised there is a separate section for alarms/security. Can mods move the post please? And Ei3106 should be Ei3016.
 
There are other suppliers... https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/18034035459
Doesn't look as if your Plan B items are linked (which depending on where you are & whether the place is rented out might stuff your compliance)
PS Sort yourself an Electrifix account - you'd save a fiver on each of them :)
 
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I know +£30 isn’t much against a life but….

The 141 requires a 9V battery for backup, which will need to be replaced every couple of years.
That alone will add £15-£20 to the cost of the cheaper unit over 10 years.

That also assumes you haven't got tired of them going off every time the oven is opened, or someone uses the toaster.

The 141 itself is also obsolete, so what's available is just the last of the stock that people are getting rid of.
 
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Thanks for that link. They only had one left so have ordered that. The other one hasn't started chirping yet but they are contemporary so will go soon but more time to look.
No linking involved atm, it’s a private house. And not in Scotland!
 
That also assumes you haven't got tired of them going off every time the oven is opened, or someone uses the toaster.

The 141 itself is also obsolete, so what's available is just the last of the stock that people are getting rid of.

Ah, that’s why we have a heat alarm in the kitchen! Good points re the battery though - I am just replacing the battery in the extension alarm I mentioned - and the 141 being obsolete also. Having read more, I realise that the 151 (and the 141?) are ‘ionisation’ and the 3016 is ‘optical’ but I have no idea of the significance!
Anyway, as my reply to oldbutnotdead, I have ordered the 3016 at a more reasonable price.
 
Optical detects the most common types of fire.
Ionisation doesn't.

Optical detectors used to have problems in that dust buildup would result in them either not working or triggering all the time, hence ion types were preferred even though they were not particularly good at detecting smoke.
Improved technology has removed that problem.
 
I've always considered there is merit in using an ionisation type on the upstairs landing if near the bathroom door; they are not likely to be triggered by clouds of steam if you have the shower on too long/hot and the window isn't open.

Optical as the name suggests relies on the smoke (or steam) entering a chamber and blocking a beam of light, ionisation on the other hand, use a process using a slightly radioactive isotope to detect low levels of smoke you can't even see, so they are better at detecting fast flaming, clean burning fires that don't produce a lot of visable smoke, and toasters, and over cooked sausages...

I've got a mix, there used to be a coloured chart from aico showing what worked best where. I've not really had any false alarms from cooking since I put in the wired detectors and put optical in the hall instead of the battery ion type that was there before. I do have some ion types though, there is one in the study where the 3D printer is for instance
 
The only place I would consider ionisation detectors nowadays are in bedrooms. For everywhere else I would use optical (photoelectric) detectors, bar obviously where heat detectors are required (e.g. kitchen/garage).

The other important difference is that the EI141RC has a 9V backup battery, whereas the EI3016 has a tamperproof Lithium rechargeable battery - as required for a Grade D1 rather than D2 system. (This is required for rental properties now.) You really aren't comparing like with like for those detectors. You should be looking towards the Ei3016 to be honest. Ei Electronics is a highly reputable brand - all made in Ireland in Shannon in the County of Clare.
 

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