Great to find this site and sign up. I just joined hoping to get some advice, please.
We have a home alarm system that uses eight FireX FXW-R 120V (orange wire, 3-wire harness) linked detectors. All but one unit still work well. I test monthly, both pushing the button for the alarm, and using smoke. The wonky unit still detects, but the push button seems to be stuck down, and the LED stays on permanently (rather then the 1 second blink every minute that is normal). I’d like to take a look inside, to see if any repair is possible. I’m thinking it may just be a dead capacitor, or something mechanical with the push button.
It is hard to figure out how to get inside without creating any damage. The rear label hides six ~1 mm holes. They are not release points: pushing into them has no effect. The case rotation is only 1–2°, with a hard stop one way and a soft stop the other. Two PCB retaining tabs accessible through 5 mm square holes have been released, but the board remains held centrally.
Please does anyone know how I can get in? Alternatively, please does anyone know of a stockist for any NOS FXW-Rs? I would be happy to buy a replacement that works. We have lived here 30 years now and they have all been very reliable. I see there are no modern direct replacements. We have occasional false alarms with very high humidity (we don’t have AC or dehumidification), but that has only been half-a-dozen times. I’m told that the ionization chamber ones like these are especially sensitive?
I’m not sure how to get the cover off one, but you really should replace them as it doesn’t matter if they’re “reliable” or not: smoke detectors are supposed to be replaced every 10 years for a very good reason, & those are way past the date when they should have been replaced. You don’t have to let them go to waste just the same however: there are plenty of collectors here who would be more than happy to take them off your hands for you.
There actually are: FireX was acquired by Kidde sometime during the 2000s, but them & BRK/First Alert are still two of the detector manufacturers you can buy from nowdays (I would personally recommend the latter as Kidde has made products of questionable quality & also issued many recalls over the years).
I second this.. I recently replaced some alarms in my house with the First Alert SMCO100V-AC (got a good deal on them from Costco) and they al came with adapters so you could use your existing wiring harnesses, even from FireX, on the new alarms. I opted to just re-wire anyway, but something to keep in mind.
Sure, that’s convenient, but I always fully replace the old detectors with the new, primarily so that the old detectors still have their original AC connectors (since I’m a preservationist as well as a fire safety proponent, heh).
Many thanks, TheCarson and Zach,
That’s helpful. Perhaps i should get new ones, and I’ll avoid Kidde (even though they smothered FireX!). I have to think this 10 year thing is likely to be an industry con job, however. We know they can be made much more reliably, as our 8 FireX FXW-R detectors have all worked perfectly for 39 years.
I’m struggling to find any new ones that are AC only like the FireX, or at least can be switched to not need a battery. One key advantage of the direct AC power is that they can use the house backup battery and automatic (gas powered) generator. Individual back-up batteries would be redundant and a nuisance to maintain.
On the one hand you tell me ours should be replaced because they are too old, then on the other you seem to indicate someone may still want to buy them. Is that right?
Thanks again for the help.
Cheers,
John
Models exist that have rechargeable batteries built into them, but I mostly see those in ‘smart’ devices, such as the First Alert SC5.
Code requirements now require either AC and Replaceable battery, OR a 10 year battery only model, so you won’t find anything AC Only.
Despite our previous conversation about Kidde, I won’t discredit the fact that their alarms are UL 217 compliant and go through proper testing just the same as First Alert. They DO have a 10 year battery with hard wire model that isn’t a smart device: Smoke Alarm, Hardwired with 10-Year Backup Battery 20SA10 | Kidde
If I remember correctly, the battery SC5 version has 6 CR123A cells, and the hardwired SC5 has a proprietary battery pack which probably consists of 3 very similar primary lithium cells, so I don’t think those are rechargeable. I don’t think any rechargable battery backup alarms exist for hardwired models (correct me if I’m wrong), they are mostly either the replacable battery backup or the 10-year kind.
(And by the way, yes, people will definitely want your old units for collection purposes, not actual life safety protection.)
It’s not, trust us, & just because yours seemingly still function fully is no indication that they’ll actually work when needed most. Also even detectors back then were still supposed to be replaced every 10 years, it’s just that very few people know to do that so they never were.
That’s the whole point of detectors with battery backup though: to keep them powered even if the power fails, generator or not (which is also why AC-only detectors were phased out, since they’re useless without mains power).
Yes, but the two are not mutually exclusive at all: you can replace the old with the new, & then someone can take the old detectors off your hands so you don’t have to.
I’ll honestly never understand why AC-recharged batteries aren’t a thing in AC/DC smoke detectors now: they would nearly-guarantee no battery changes & thus be extremely convenient (Kidde tried with their Silhouette, but they don’t sell it anymore).
Mhm, since they’re way too old to be trusting for actual life safety anymore.
Only the models ending in “10” will: those that end in “01” will have standard 9V batteries (though First Alert claims that they’ll also have a new low battery indicator called “SoftCue”, which they say will help to cut down on batteries not being replaced as they should be).
Thank you everyone. I’ll figure out what new ones to buy later this year, and will be happy to rewire so the old wire connectors are saved. That seems cleaner anyway. I’ll look for photoelectric or a combination, with 10 year batteries, I think. This has been very helpful - thanks again!
(PS Should I come back here and report when the old ones are ready for a new home?)
