Strange 3 cables in old Fire Smoke Alarm

[thisisthecount]

I'm about to order this wired smoke alarm system as it can network but I just went to see how my existing fire alarms are hooked up and there appear to be three wires? What/how would I connect the new one when it arrives? This old one isn't linked tot eh other one on the landing as I know for sure it only goes off downstairs.

This is the old one:

 

[davesparks]

If it has been done properly then you will find a backbox behind the mounting plate which encloses the single insulated conductors you can see there and whatever has been used to connect them to the installed cables.

Or you may find that there is a mess of connector blocks shoved into the ceiling void joining those wires to the installed cables.

 

[thisisthecount]

If it has been done properly then you will find a backbox behind the mounting plate which encloses the single insulated conductors you can see there and whatever has been used to connect them to the installed cables.

Or you may find that there is a mess of connector blocks shoved into the ceiling void joining those wires to the installed cables.

This is all I can see?

And this is what I am swapping it out for hopefully

Deal: FireAngel Pro Connected Smart Smoke Alarm, Mains Powered with Wireless Interlink and 10 Year Life Back-Up Battery, FP1640W2-R , White https://amzn.eu/d/5QTCKeC

 

[Mike Johnson]

The preferred make of alarms by most electricians is Aico, more reliable than most, I use the 3000 series as they do not have a flashing red light, just a steady green to indicate they are working, ten year battery life when mains connected and radio link to any others.

 

[timhoward]

This is all I can see?

Very common on some newer houses.
If it won’t gently pull through to reveal the grey outer sleeved cable then the new one can’t be fitted in a compliant way.

The proper solution is to rewire it and remove the old.
The next best is to fit radio link units taking a new cable from a nearby light.
The last resort option is to make use of that wiring and some testing is needed to do that.

 

[littlespark]

Doesn’t look like there’s a back box there. I think I can see the pinky coloured insulation in the ceiling. There should be, just as an enclosure for the joint.

The one pictured appears to be the first on a line. There’s a brown/blue twin and earth cable supplying the circuit, and a brown/black/ grey 3core and earth going to the next detector on the circuit.

The brown and blue are mains voltage 230v. Please isolate the circuit before proceeding!

The white cable that connects to black of the house wiring is just a signal wire that tells each detector to go off if one is sounding.

You can’t mix and match different makes of detector.

 

[davesparks]

This is all I can see?

As I said above, a mess of connector blocks shoved into the ceiling void.

This is not compliant and should never have been done like this.

A back box should have been cut into the ceiling to enclose the joint and the exposed single insulated conductors.

 

[davesparks]

The proper solution is to rewire it and remove the old.
The next best is to fit radio link units taking a new cable from a nearby light.
The last resort option is to make use of that wiring and some testing is needed to do that.

Why do you say using the existing wiring is a last resort? I may have missed something but that looks to be modern brown and blue T&E/3C&E

 

[timhoward]

Why do you say using the existing wiring is a last resort? I may have missed something but that looks to be modern brown and blue T&E/3C&E

It was me that missed something. Quite often you can’t actually get to the cable. But I agree that in this case it looks viable to simple pull it through.

 

[MJPD29]

This is all I can see?

And this is what I am swapping it out for hopefully

Deal: FireAngel Pro Connected Smart Smoke Alarm, Mains Powered with Wireless Interlink and 10 Year Life Back-Up Battery, FP1640W2-R , White https://amzn.eu/d/5QTCKeC

Don’t buy anything fireangel

 

[Mike Johnson]

As above FireAngel is a very budget brand, even the fire brigade have stopped installing them due to the many replacements they have had to fund.

 

[thisisthecount]

As above FireAngel is a very budget brand, even the fire brigade have stopped installing them due to the many replacements they have had to fund.

ok ideally I need to buy internlinking ones though that can all go off if need be with an app to send notification and also the one in the garage sends a message to teh rest which are in the house 10m away?

 

[Mike Johnson]

I have seven Aico alarms in the house and in four in sheds in the garden and a barn over 10m away all radio interlinked, the test pad in the kitchen tells me witch one set the others off, information from each can be downloaded to an app and printed out, go the Aico web site, you will not get a better self install system.