Inspection of an Expired Smoke Detector.
by Mjtrinihobby in Circuits > Electronics
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Inspection of an Expired Smoke Detector.
This old smoke detector in my home has become a nuisance by going off on its own.
The Dates.
The service life on these cheap smoke detectors is about 10 years after which it becomes unreliable.
The Tool.
My Handy pen knife came in useful in this job.
Popping It Open.
Using the knife blade, I popped the 3 clips holding the cover. Now the guts of the smoke detector is available for inspection.
The Internals.
Here the ionization chamber and piezo speaker can be seen in addition to the circuit board. Such a shame it cannot be refreshed.
Salvage.
The 9v battery clip is perfectly good so I removed this for use in future projects.
The End.
The rest of the smoke detector is good for garbage now. These detectors contain a very tiny amount of Americium as the radioactive ionization source. Once the ionization chamber is not interfered with, it is perfectly safe to dispose in regular household garbage. Bye-bye old detector!