Wondering if anyone here is using the Ecolink Firefighter to detect traditional wired smoke/CO alarms? I just installed one using the Ecolink device handler. However I cannot get the new SmartThings app to work correctly with automations. For instance I created a simple automation to send a notification and it does not trigger when setting off the alarms. The Firefighter is detecting the sound.
There seem to also be a couple quirks with selecting the fields to trigger on. For instance I have two options for “Smoke Detector”. I have tried all three combos (CO detector, smoke, smoke) and none seem to send the notification when the alarm detects noise. I do get a default notification from the app which I suppose is good enough but this means I can’t automate anything using the new app. Has anyone gotten this to work? Thanks!
Using the standard “Z-wave smoke detector” does not support the same capabilities. It does not distinguish alarm based on smoke or CO. It also does not show tamper and temperature sensors. Also does not allow you to use these sensors as part of any automations.
Just posting a note on the Ecolink Firefighter with Kidde Talking Smoke and CO detectors. We recently replaced four direct wire, interconnected alarms with the Kidde ( Model 900-0119 ) which give you three chirps followed by a voice warning of “Fire” or four longer chirps followed by a voice warning “Carbon Monoxide”. These smoke/CO detectors are direct wire, interconnected and have a front loading battery backup system using two AA cells.
Out of the box, and using the custom handler, the Ecolink detected nothing when testing the alarms. I called Ecolink and they were unable to assist, although I am waiting for a call back. The tech fellow I was talking with informed me that the Ecolink Firefighter listens for at least three cycles of the “Temporal 3” Smoke Alarm ( 3 short chirps + pause) or three cycles of the “Temporal 4” CO alarm (4 long chirps + pause) alarms. There is apparently a standard that UL approved smoke and CO detectors should be adhering to.
I did get the unit working by changing modes as described below. I removed it from SmartThings and rejoined to the hub after doing the following:
C0 Alarm Detection
In addition to Smoke Alarm detection, the device can detect the presence of a carbon monoxide alarm. By default, the
sensor is not guaranteed to detect a CO alarm. The device can be configured to more reliably detect a CO alarm in
exchange for a reduced battery life. This mode can be changed by holding down the tamper switch and learn button for
10 seconds. The device should then be reset ( remove battery and replace ) in order to determine the current device
setting.
RED + GREEN = Device will not reliably detect CO, but standard battery life
RED + RED + GREEN = Device will more reliably detect CO, but with reduced battery life.
Btw, when you pull the cover, note that the tamper switch is not the learn button. The printed documentation unfortunately does not make that clear:
Just to give you more exact answer it’s roughly 5 seconds for me. I retested something I’d set up in WebCoRE with the ecolink firefighter to set a virtual contact sensor to trigger Alexa routine for messaging our echo devices. I’d read somewhere when replacing our smoke detectors that most children do not wake from smoke alarms with voice testing more effective. I verified with a friend who is a former firefighter. The smoke detector he recommends for fire detection didn’t have the voice alarm however.
