Fire alarm test

Testing the Gentex Commander 3 horn/strobe and manual pull station in my new lab.

[@212Elevators]

Do you plan to do a full system test, including going into depth about Kidde's interconnection relay (which connects the home alarms to it)?

[@AndrewZonenberg]

It was a pretty simple setup. There's a box above the pull station that has a 24V power supply for the horn/strobe and one of the Kidde relay systems. The relay module has a 9V power output which goes to one leg of the pull box, the other leg goes to the home alarm interconnect line so when the box is pulled they all sound and the relay closes. At that point it's just a matter of wiring 24V to one side of the relay and the horn/strobe power to the other side and it's done. I test it monthly.

[@212Elevators]

@@AndrewZonenberg Alright here's the other question: If you activate a detector, does the alarm circuit latch (stay on until reset) or is it momentary (resets on its own when the smoke clears)?

[@AndrewZonenberg]

@@212Elevators Everything is momentary electrically, however the pull station has a mechanical latch holding the switch closed until you open the box with the hex key to reset.

[@212Elevators]

@@AndrewZonenberg Got it. Then finally, the panel sounds like it's a Simplex 4005 or something. What exactly is it?

[@AndrewZonenberg]

@@212Elevators No panel, just point to point wiring. Kidde home detectors, Gentex Commander 3, Kidde relay module, Honeywell (I forget the model) pull box, and a mains to 24V power supply. Long term I'm looking at putting a FM-200 or Novec 1230 system in the lab. That will require putting in an actual panel but I need to add smoke dampers to the exhaust fan in the ceiling and some rubber seals to the door - and come up with about $20K in cash - first.

[@camaronruss9476]

Omg this video randomly played and I thought it was my system

[@archiebrown8120]

How those arent fire alarms they are fire buzzers

[@dallasrailfanner3870]

@@archiebrown8120 bro you heard fire alarm smoke detectors and fire alarms, not buzzers

[@Exit911YT]

How do you interconnect Fire Alarms and Home Smoke Detectors together?

[@AndrewZonenberg]

Standard home smoke detectors go off when they detect smoke (or the test button is pushed) and output a 9V DC signal onto the red interconnect line (relative to mains neutral). Some more advanced models support digital data modulated onto this 9V bus, such as to indicate carbon monoxide conditions etc, but a 9V DC signal always will be interpreted as a fire condition. Kidde sells a relay module which takes in 120VAC and outputs 9V DC plus SPST relay contacts, which I use to actuate the horn/strobe if the alarm system is triggered. The 9V DC output from the module and the interconnect line go to the pull station, which puts 9V on the alarm signal when activated. As of now there's no battery backup for the pull station or horn/strobe, so if grid power is lost these will be nonfunctional, but the other detectors/alarms are on battery and will work fine during a power outage.