Smoke alarm goes off with ecig

[Singalo]

Hi,
I have a carbon monoxide smoke detector.
I blew two puffs on it with my e-gig just to see... and the second puff made the alarm sound!
Is this normal?
Thanks.

 

[OutWest]

i assume it's the smoke alarm portion of the detector that's being set off. From Smoke Alarm Fact Sheet

What types of smoke alarms are available on the market?
There are two types of household smoke alarms in common use. These are known as ionization or photoelectric type smoke alarms.


How does an ionization type smoke alarm work?
This type of alarm uses a small amount of radioactive material to ionize air in the sensing chamber. As a result, the air chamber becomes conductive permitting current to flow between two charged electrodes. When smoke particles enter the chamber, the conductivity of the chamber air decreases. When this reduction in conductivity is reduced to a predetermined level, the alarm is set off. Most smoke alarms in use are of this type.


How does a photoelectric type smoke alarm work?
A photoelectric type smoke alarm consists of a light emitting diode and a light sensitive sensor in the sensing chamber. The presence of suspended smoke particles in the chamber scatters the light beam. This scattered light is detected and sets off the alarm.

 

[Doc]

Regardless of the mechanism of the detector, does anyone know if the chemical reaction producing CO is even possible? I do not think it is possible unless temps exceed 800 degrees celsius. Chemist anyone?

Boudouard reaction - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[taz3cat]

Old room gas heaters on low will make the Cm detecter go off and it does not get 800 degrees.

 

[Rexa]

My smoke alarm always went off from the steam coming out of my shower if I left the bathroom door open. I think it's because of light particles or whatever someone mentioned above.

 

[Singalo]

My smoke alarm always went off from the steam coming out of my shower if I left the bathroom door open. I think it's because of light particles or whatever someone mentioned above.

I guess you are rigth Rexa....nice name.
Thanks!

 

[Fizzled]

Where there's smoke, there's fire...... or not?

 

[Zben504]

Do carbon monoxide dectectors detect smoke?

 

[OutWest]

Do carbon monoxide dectectors detect smoke?

if theyre a combo unit, yes. You can get units that only detect smoke, ones that detect smoke and CO, and ones that only detect CO.

 

[Faethe]

Cash said that when he went into the toilet on a plane and had a drag, the smoke alarm went off. That would explain it. He made it through with his citizenship intact as well

 

[ISAWHIM]

Cash said that when he went into the toilet on a plane and had a drag, the smoke alarm went off. That would explain it. He made it through with his citizenship intact as well

Next time, tell him to breath into his shirt... It is not like anyone will smell "Smoke", after he is finished...

Or try some gum, or snus...

Or cover the detector with a "Hello, my name is..." sticker... (Remove it when done!)

Smoke detectors in the airplane bathrooms were installed to detect smokers, not fires. How many times has the toilet-paper spontaneously combusted while wiping? (Seriously, you would not notice a fire in a bathroom, and that would require a detection to alert you... In that small of a space!)

 

[Fog Cutter]

Whew! Good to know. My office has a giant Hayline system that sucks the air out of the room (and my lungs) if the fire alarm is activated. Guess I'll just keep puffing light.

 

[bluewraith]

I can't see these things producing any CO gas, but just to make sure I'll pull a meter off one of the fire engines tomorrow(today? oh crap I forgot to go to sleep agian) and vape into it and get the readings for you guys. I'll also have someone blow an analog into the unit as well to get a comparison. Somebody PM me to remind me though in case I pass out before then.

 

[Pendarus]

Whew! Good to know. My office has a giant Hayline system that sucks the air out of the room (and my lungs) if the fire alarm is activated. Guess I'll just keep puffing light.

Do you mean Halon? If so buy an oxygen mask!

 

[PlanetScribbles]

I was attending an NHS 'stop smoking' course whilst chain vaping a 510 and a silver bullet, and every week the CO tests showed as minimal (2 thru 4) as opposed to 30 - 36 whilst I smoked. Vaping does not produce CO.

 

[Madame Psychosis]

I was attending an NHS 'stop smoking' course whilst chain vaping a 510 and a silver bullet, and every week the CO tests showed as minimal (2 thru 4) as opposed to 30 - 36 whilst I smoked. Vaping does not produce CO.

That's quite reassuring. Means there isn't CO binding to hemoglobin and reducing exercise endurance (as smoking analogs does - it reduces your blood oxygen carrying capacity).

I've been worrying friends with how long my vapor sticks around - they say "that doesn't look like water vapor, it behaves like smoke!" Is this a common thing with VG juice? That the vapor doesn't immediately dissipate?

I have a smoke detector right above my desk so I'm getting a touch worried that if I set it off, Maintenance is going to see my vaping "paraphernalia" right below!

Of course, there's also the nasty smoky-taste of a burning atomizer that gets me worried the vapor'll be picked up as smoke, but I'm trying to keep that from happening... Just got my first HV mod and it's a quest to keep the atty happy.

 

[markarich159]

What types of smoke alarms are available on the market?
There are two types of household smoke alarms in common use. These are known as ionization or photoelectric type smoke alarms.


How does an ionization type smoke alarm work?
This type of alarm uses a small amount of radioactive material to ionize air in the sensing chamber. As a result, the air chamber becomes conductive permitting current to flow between two charged electrodes. When smoke particles enter the chamber, the conductivity of the chamber air decreases. When this reduction in conductivity is reduced to a predetermined level, the alarm is set off. Most smoke alarms in use are of this type.


How does a photoelectric type smoke alarm work?
A photoelectric type smoke alarm consists of a light emitting diode and a light sensitive sensor in the sensing chamber. The presence of suspended smoke particles in the chamber scatters the light beam. This scattered light is detected and sets off the alarm.




Just from this info on how smoke detectors operate, It seems "particulates" cause both sensor types to activate. Although vaping doesn't produce smoke, the vapor can be considered to be made up of paticulates. If you blew the vapor DIRECTLY on the smoke detector(while it's still visible and in it's particulate form); it stands to reason the detector would react to the particulate vapor. I would imagine there would be little to no chance of a smoke detector activating with vaping, unless you directly blew the vapor at the detector or you were in a small enough enclosure to allow the vapor to reach the detector in tact .

 

[Quitter]

I vape in airplane bathrooms all the time. Never set a detector off. The secret is to not vape hard and produce a huge cloud of vapor. I close the toilet lid, sit down and blow all the vapor down and away from the detector (up on the ceiling by the door). I also wait a bit between vapes to make sure it all dissapates before the next hit. Another thing that helps is holding the sink drain open. They tend to have a bit of a vacuum which helps suck the vapor out. Like I said, I've been doing it since I started vaping and I fly alot!!

VERY nice for long flights!!

 

[PlanetScribbles]

That's quite reassuring. Means there isn't CO binding to hemoglobin and reducing exercise endurance (as smoking analogs does - it reduces your blood oxygen carrying capacity).

I've been worrying friends with how long my vapor sticks around - they say "that doesn't look like water vapor, it behaves like smoke!" Is this a common thing with VG juice? That the vapor doesn't immediately dissipate?

I have a smoke detector right above my desk so I'm getting a touch worried that if I set it off, Maintenance is going to see my vaping "paraphernalia" right below!

Of course, there's also the nasty smoky-taste of a burning atomizer that gets me worried the vapor'll be picked up as smoke, but I'm trying to keep that from happening... Just got my first HV mod and it's a quest to keep the atty happy.

You will never get a zero reading due to ambient pollution in the air, and such like. The figure I achieved is the same figure a non-smoker would aim to achieve so i'm cool with that, being that my first CO reading was 39 8-o

 

[McCordRM]

How close were you to the alarm when it went off?

It may sound elementary, but we exhale CO2. That, combined with oxygen displacement
from the vapor, could have set it off. (?)