ely sensitive and stable smoke alarms.
Important information about your smoke alarm
Install alarms outside of every bedroom area and on every floor
of your home. Please refer to Section 3 Where to Locate
Smoke Alarms for details.
Install the alarm as close as possible to the center of the
ceiling.
Your Smoke Alarm is packaged with the battery disconnected.
Connect it before mounting the unit. Ensure proper polarity of
the battery. Alarm may be damaged if the battery is reversed.
Replace the battery if the smoke alarm beeps approximately
once every 45 seconds (low battery warning).
Test the alarm weekly by pressing and holding the test button
for up to 20 seconds until the alarm sounds.
The model described in this manual is designed for single
family residences, including homes and apartments.
Contains no radioactive material
Smoke Alarm Safety Features
Operating Light (LED) - Light flashes approximately every 45
seconds to let you know that the unit is powered.
Low Battery Warning Beep - Approximately every 45 seconds
for up to 30 days to alert you when the battery needs replacing.
Battery Removal Indicator - Cover resists closing if battery is
removed.
CONTENTS OF THIS MANUAL
1. CAPABILITIES AND LIMITATIONS OF SMOKE ALARMS
2. SAFETY TIPS
3. WHERE TO LOCATE SMOKE ALARMS
4. NFPA RECOMMENDATIONS
5. LOCATIONS TO AVOID
6. INSTALLATION AND TESTING
7. BATTERY REPLACEMENT
8. MAINTENANCE AND TROUBLESHOOTING
9. LIMITED WARRANTY
10. OTHER AMERICAN SENSORS PRODUCTS
1. CAPABILITIES AND LIMITATIONS OF SMOKE ALARMS
American Sensors smoke alarms are designed to provide early
warning of fire and smoke at reasonable cost. Early warning can
mean the difference between a safe escape and no escape at all.
While smoke alarms can provide invaluable protection for you
and your family, they do have limitations.
Smoke alarms cannot work without power. Battery operated
alarms will not work without proper batteries, with dead
batteries or if batteries are not properly installed. AC powered
alarms will not work if their AC power supply is cut off by an
electrical fire, an open fuse, a circuit breaker or any other
reason.
If you are concerned about the reliability of either battery or
your AC power supply for any of the above reasons, you should
install in your home both AC and battery powered smoke
alarms for added security. American Sensors also offers the
SA379 model which is AC powered with battery back-up.
Smoke alarms are incapable of sounding the alarm until
smoke reaches the sensing chamber. Anything preventing
smoke from reaching the alarm may delay or prevent an alarm.
A smoke alarm cannot detect fire in the walls, chimney or roof
unless and until a significant amount of smoke reaches the
alarm. A closed door may prevent smoke from reaching an
alarm on the other side of the door. A smoke alarm may not
sense a fire on another floor of a home. For example, a
basement smoke alarm may not detect a fire which started on
the first or second floor.
Smoke alarms may not be heard. The loudness of the horn in
your alarm meets current standards. However, the sound may
be blocked by distance, closed doors, or ambient noise such as
traffic or a stereo. Smoke alarms may not be heard by persons
who are hard of hearing.
For these reasons, a smoke alarm should be installed in every
room or at least on every level of your home. American
Sensors recommends that hardwire AC Powered smoke alarms
be interconnected, so that one alarm will trigger all other
alarms to sound their alarms.
Smoke alarms are not fool-proof. Smoke alarms may not
always sense every kind of fire. They cannot be expected to
sense fires caused by carelessness or by safety hazards. They may
not give early warning of fast growing fires caused by smoking
in bed, violent explosions, escaping gas, improper storage of
flammable materials, overloaded electrical circuits, natural
causes such as lightning, children playing with matches, or
arson.
Smoke alarms are not substitutes for property, disability, life
or other insurance of any kind. Home owners and renters
should continue to insure their lives and property. Consult your
insurance agent.
Smoke alarms have limited lives. One or more of the many
components could fail at any time. Therefore, test your smoke
alarm weekly. Clean and take care of it as described in this
manual. Repair or replace the smoke alarm when it fails to test
properly. Your smoke alarm should be replaced if it is ten
years old. The American Sensors SA388 photoelectronic smoke alarm uses a
proven concept, the scattered light principle, to see smoke
within the alarm chamber.
The regulated pulse of infrared light from a light emitting diode
(LED) is introduced into a darkened chamber every five to ten
seconds to form a precise beam. When smoke enters this chamber,
it interferes with the beam to scatter the light. The amount of light
scattered within the chamber is monitored by a strategically placed
photodiode. When a predetermined level of light strikes the
photodiode, the alarm is activated.
With some designs, stray light from sources such as light fixtures
significantly alters the level of light within a smoke chamber. The
American Sensors SA388 unique smoke chamber design virtually
eliminates this problem in a normal home environment, but still
allows easy access for smoke particles from all sides and results in
an extremely sensitive and stable smoke alarms.
American Sensors also offers a full line of ionization type smoke
alarms (see Section 10).
2. SAFETY TIPS
Properly installed and maintained smoke alarms are an essential
part of a good home fire safety program. Your fire safety program
should also include a review of fire hazards and the elimination
of dangerous conditions whenever possible. Consider the
following tips:
Use smoking materials properly. Never smoke in bed.
Keep matches and cigarette lighters away from children.
Store flammable materials in proper containers. Never use
them near an open flame or sparks.
Keep electrical appliances in good condition. Do not overload
electrical circuits.
Keep stoves, fireplaces, chimneys, and barbecue grills grease
free. Make sure they are properly installed and away from any
combustible materials.
Keep portable heaters and open flames such as candles away
from combustible material.
Do not allow rubbish to accumulate.
Keep a supply of extra batteries on hand for your battery
powered smoke alarms.
Do not stand too close to the alarm when the unit is in alarm
as the loud horn could damage your hearing.
Never disconnect the battery or the AC
power on any type of smoke alarm to
silence a nuisance alarm. Clear the area of smoke by opening
doors or windows or fanning the smoke away.
Most important, when fire strikes, a prepared and practiced
escape plan can make the difference between life and death.
Develop an escape plan and practice it with the entire family,
including small children.
Ensure all family members are familiarized with the alarm
signal.
Prepare an escape plan. Draw a Floor Plan of Your Home and
determine two exits from each room. There should be a way to
get out of each bedroom without opening the door.
Have Fire Drills Often. Practice your Escape and BE
PREPARED.
Decide on a meeting place at a safe distance from your home.
IN CASE OF FIRE
Dont waste time collecting possessions after a fire starts.
Arouse all occupants and leave the building. Your most
valuable possession is your life.
Doors can mean escape or death. Never open doors without
first checking for heat. Test them with your hands, if they feel
warm, fire may be walled up behind them - leave closed and
find another escape route.
Call the fire department from OUTSIDE the building.
If trapped inside, stay close to the floor, cover mouth with
cloth, conserve breath as you crawl to safety.
Keep all doors and windows closed except for escape purposes.
NEVER re-enter a burning building.
Keep your family in a pre-arranged meeting place after your
escape.
Your local fire department may be able to offer you additional
ideas for safety and escape plans in the home.
3a. WHERE TO LOCATE SMOKE ALARMS
As a minimum, smoke alarms should be located between
sleeping areas and potential sources of fire such as a kitchen,
heated garage or basement. In single story homes with one
sleeping area, an alarm should be installed in the hallway outside
the bedrooms (see Figure 1). In single story homes with two
separate sleeping areas, a minimum of two alarms are required,
one outside each sleeping area (see Figure 2). In multi-level or
split-level homes, as a minimum, an alarm should be installed
outside each sleeping area, in the basement and at every level of
the home (see Figure 3).
In every room of your home (except the bathroom): Research
indicates that substantial increases in warning time can be
obtained with each properly installed, additional alarm.
In bedrooms: In anticipation of fires originating within these
rooms, caused by faulty wiring, lamps, appliances, smoking or
other hazards.
There are two different types of smoke alarm technology
currently in general use: ionization and photoelectronic. While
both types of technology are suitable for general residential use,
an ionization alarm will normally respond faster to fast flaming
fires, while a photoelectronic alarm may be more sensitive to
detecting slow smoldering fires. Because home fires develop in
different ways and are often unpredictable in their growth, it is
impossible to predict which type of alarm will provide the earliest
warning. For best home protection install at least one
photoelectronic and one ionization smoke alarm on each level of
your h