First Alert Zsmoke

Don’t interconnect AFAIK…

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appreciate the quick response… guess these are going back to Lowes. Why FA makes them and not have them interconnect is beyond my comprehension. It’s not like these are cheapo $10 ionization detectors.

Any recommendations for something that is interconnected that does work with ST?

Interesting finds:

  1. The z-smoke and z-combo can’t be found on First Alert’s website
  2. First Alert does show “wireless” alarms that appear exactly the same as the Z-smoke/combo (with the same wireless logo)… for these they state that all FA wireless alarms interconnect.

First Alerts phone support didn’t even seem to know that this device exists. They were completely clueless when given Zsmoke as a model number and nothing came up on their computer system for it. After putting me on hold for quite some time, a different person came on the phone and told me that they are designed to be connected to a hub and the hub provides the interconnection to sound all of the devices. He stated that if they are not all sounding then the hub is not sending the correct signal back to the devices and that I needed to contact the hub supplier.

Yeah, they don’t appear to sell the Zwave model any more - they do have an interconnect version now:

http://www.firstalert.com/index.php?option=com_flexicontent&view=item&id=255:wireless-photoelectric-combination-smoke-carbon-monoxide-alarm-with-voice-location-feature-255

Also found out that the Zcombo does not trigger zwave if CO is detected, only alerts zwave for smoke. I’d have to do some digging to remember where I found this. I bought two Zcombos a while back to supplement my hardwired interconnected smoke alarms since I needed to update my CO.

They sure do. You can get them at Lowes or through Amazon.

The zcombo is different from their other ones, and the logo doesn’t imply any commonality. It would be nice if FA did create a combined zwave and interconnected version, but I suspect cost played a factor in their design decisions.

You could put these along side your other ones (like a redundant/backup system), or you can get a couple sirens and use SHM to turn them on with lights and other things, or you can integrate your existing smoke detectors:

Mine trigger off CO. I test at least yearly with a can of CO. Are you sure you had the right product? I’ve had 12 of these for over a year, and they all work when tested with CO.

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Yeah, they don’t appear to sell the Zwave model any more - they do have an interconnect version now:

Well, the ones I purchased at Lowes last week were all manufactured in Nov 2016, so I don’t consider them old stock. Even if they have decided to discontinue and push their OneLink devices, they should still be able to support them and not appear utterly clueless when contacting their support line.

Oops :-/ my comment on First Alert not selling was meant to imply not promoting…I.e., no mention on their site. I also bought five of them (ZCombo Zwave version) from Amazon in the past few weeks.

The identical logo certainly does imply commonality. Every product that shows the “Wireless” logo on their site has written description about connectivity between devices. Usage of the same logo implies the same feature set.

If they didn’t want to imply common connectivity, then they should have used the Z-wave logo (or some other logo).

These will be my system - I won’t have “other ones”. I live in a historic house that does not have an wired system, and wiring new in would be prohibitive. I’m trying to get an interconnected system via battery. I picked up a couple of Nest Protects this afternoon and am going to try them. If they work, then the First Alerts will go back to Lowes.

Pretty funny in my opinion, @anon36505037, especially since your comment made me realize that I had mistakenly named all of my detectors “Smoke/CO2-” in the SmartThings app <eek!> Damn Poli Sci majors like me… :smiley:

Off to fix my typo before anyone in my family gets a “CO2” alert, and rushes in with a plant.

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Interesting timing of this thread . . .

Discovered that one of my old FA smoke detectors was dead. So this morning I ordered 2 FA ZCombos (Photoelectric Smoke/CO) from SmokeAlert for $38.95 ea.

There are certainly more things that I can do with these than with my old “dumb” units. There will always be something better tomorrow.

FA OneLink and Leoo. Use IFTTT to interface to virtual switch with uDHT in ST and you are set.

This convo has been had a few times in the forums, and this seems to be the consensus short of DIY with basic detectors and zwave sensors.

I do this exact thing with two Leoo’s, 3 OneLink combo’s that speak and 2 OneLink smoke only detectors. And Insteon SmokeBridge that is OneLink compatible with my Insteon Hub2.

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All alarms go off instantly. My Insteon system alerts immediately via app notifications and almost as quickly via email. The the tests I’ve run so far have leeo going off a second after the alarm and the IFTTT notifications nearly instantly after.

All my families phones ding multiple times, three of our phones and two family member phones then ring in succession (leeo) with verbal alerts as well. All while the alarms on all 5 detectors are going off. I’m pretty well covered I think. Only thing I could add is cellular backup which I don’t really see the need for. Oh and everything Internet related is on UPS in the basement in probably the least for prone portion of the house. Unless the ups explodes I suppose…

No, the alarms are not aware of the hub’s, internet etc. Only the leeo and insteon are aware of the detectors, one via radio signal, the other via audio.

And my cable node and power supply are actually in my front yard (well node on the pole), so unless someone hits it with a gas truck that catches my house on fire, I’m pretty likely to still have internet.

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But this is only happening because you’re using the OneLink series, rather than the Zcombo/Zsmoke. Correct?

Yes, can’t have all alert with zwave far as I know.

ok… so options appear to be OneLink with Leoo or Nest Protect.

Guess I need to read up on Nest Manager before I make a final decision

Since detectors are supposed to be replaced every 7-10 years, I couldn’t get behind the Nest due to cost. I replace with relatively inexpensive “dumb” onelink devices.

I’m seeing First Alert Onelink on Amazon for $80 and NestProtect for $99 and they seem to have the same feature set (although reviews I’m reading have panned the Onelink for being unresponsive/slow).

What am I missing?

Wait I am confused, why do all smoke detectors have to be connected together?

Smoke detectors are very loud!

When I moved into the house there were already a couple of battery powered detectors and one plugged into power, none zwave or automated.

I then added a couple of the zwave first alert detectors.