First Alert Smoke Detector - Iris

Does anyone have all the alarm codes are for a ZCOMBO? I know that 13 is an hourly proof of life, 12 is the test (from pressing the test button). The last few nights I received a code 90 and the next night a code 22, but no idea what they are (and there was no smoke or CO).

do they talk to each other? can one make the other sound?

Does the INSTEON Smoke Bridge work with ST?

I found pairing the First Alert ZCOMBO to be challenging. I tried the basic procedure multiple times- hold the test, then push the battery door in, wait for beep, let the button off, heard a longer beep. I tried adding generic from the Android App. I then tried adding the exact device, and it finally worked. General comment: Iā€™ve found pairing devices to be an iffy business. All that said, Iā€™m gratified to have the Zcombo connected to my network, anticipate it will work well.

Follow up to everyone aboveā€¦ How have you, or how do I confirm it the zcombo will meet code requirements in Orlando? My existing house has two smoke alarms, wired together, and powered through electrical. Though I personally would trust the zcombo to alert, I just want to be sure that this doesnā€™t violate some code or expectation of the fire departmentā€¦

I have tried a few quick google searches, but didnā€™t find much yet.

Thanks.

If you trust the ZCOMBOs, then youā€™re fine. The code would only apply when you go to sell the property. At that point, the home will be inspected by the city before they grant a certificate of occupancy. Even then, theyā€™d just instruct you to fix the problem. Itā€™s not like youā€™d be fined. I imagine that, in the event you move, youā€™d take the ZCOMBOs with you (if they arenā€™t too old) and have the wired ones put back in.

Commercial properties are different. They can get inspected randomly and there would be certain liabilities if something horrible happened and you werenā€™t up to code. For liability reasons, the owner/operator is always responsible. The inspectors canā€™t be expected to find everything.

For extra piece of mind: Orlando, FL Fire Safety Management / Fire Inspectors 407.246.2386

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Thanks @DITPL

I actually did call the Fire Safety Management, left a message and have not heard back. I just want to make sure that in the event an accident happened, the fire department wouldnā€™t give me the stank eye. :smile:

My current smoke alarms are so old, I think this upgrade is a no-brainer. Ill just cover the existing wiring up. Though I wish we had a z-wave compatible wired solutionā€¦ I imagine it wouldnā€™t cost much more to build inā€¦

Oh, and being able to use the alarm at willā€¦ that would be nice tooā€¦

Interestingly, tried installing a zcombo last night with no success, so we will see how it plays out when I actually put effort into it tonight. That being said, also couldnā€™t get the hub to discover my new ecolink door sensorā€¦ (I have 5 others), so thatā€™s not good either.

and just managed to get the zcombo setupā€¦ holding test, pushing battery in, and having SmartThings discover for exactly the zcombo device.

IIRC, the ā€œHolding Testā€ isnā€™t mentioned in the manual. I think I had to go online to figure that outā€¦

Wellā€¦ Go @DITPL! ā€¦

The Lowes IRIS First Alert is a no brainer dual detector for $39, this zwave compadiable device setup on ST automatically and had nice options to turn specified lights on, push and text notices and battery percentage.

I do recall inital pairing not as simple as pressing the button and manual not much help, I think I had ST in add/include mode and held the test button down while I inserted the batts and all was good.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_505521-347-ZCOMBO_0__?Ntt=zcombo&UserSearch=zcombo&productId=4780109&rpp=32

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Agreed! I have 11 of these all over the house. I have them set up in Damage & Danger to turn on a siren and specific general lighting, as well as the lights in the room where the detector went off.

I have had to replace batteries in a few earlier than I expected, but I do test monthly. The 2 AAā€™s should have been a 9volt in my opinion.

Iā€™d rather have the AAā€™s, cheaper, more common and should have more current (run time) than the high voltage 9v with low current capacity, but it really depends on the design of the device. I also think people are more into testing the home automation versions, thus idle run time less.

I think the issue is the cheap no-name ones that come with the unit for free, Iā€™d think you get much better run time on a new set of name brand batteriesā€¦

What kind of battery life are you getting?

A couple of weeks at 99% with the factory batteries, Iā€™m sure a name brand pair will last a lot longer. I noticed if you do a lot of testing of the unit, the percentage will drop off a lot fasterā€¦

The factory batteries in mine have lasted well over a year.

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What should the battery scan rate be? Hours, Days? I checked the activity log and seeing the last check was over 5 days ago, donā€™t seem good for a safety deviceā€¦ Bad DeviceType, SmartApp, or???

Has someone written an app to change mode on smoke/co detect? I would like my doors to unlock, but I have other apps that check for the door and lock them after N minutesā€¦ which would kind of negate having the doors unlocked in the case of an emergency.

Iā€™d like the detectors to trip the hub into an ā€˜emergencyā€™ mode that the other apps would then be disabled in. (Since theyā€™re only enabled for non-emergency modes)

Kind of surprised that this isnā€™t baked into the featured offerings in the Damage & Danger section.

Iā€™ll write it before the end of next weekend if it doesnā€™t already exist. Should be a very small app.

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They update like moisture sensors. Reports battery when the number changes. Like from 91 to 90% battery level. It might ping once in awhile in addition to when battery level changes. Which means sometimes you will have zero activity history to view since ST only keeps 7 days. Smoke would trigger an update as soon as the alarm goes off.

I have two installed. 4.5 months with factory battery, batteries last reported 91% and 90%.

My moisture sensor reports less than once per week. Except when the battery started to die, it reported 78%, 77%, 76% countdown frequently over the course of the 2 or 3 days before it died.