Re: Best 9V for Smokes

[David 01 <ifiwantspam@xxxxxxxxxx>]

On Sun, 10 Oct 2010 11:18:15 -0700, Bob La Londe wrote:

> A long time ago upon the advise of a couple ASA regulars I started using
> nothing but Coppertops for smoke detectors that use 9V batteries.
> Before that I tried cheap batteries, other brands, and even expensive
> lithiums. The Coppertops seem to have given me the least trouble over
> the years.  The other day I was making my routine recommendation to a
> non-client and he jumped all over me that Consumer Reports says except
> for generic no-names they are all the same.
>
> It wasn't the first thing he jumped on me about of course.  As snowbird
> he had already pointed out to me how so many things were superior where
> he came from over Arizona.  (I had to bite my tongue to keep from
> telling him to go back there then.  I really hope he doesn't call me
> back to install his system.)
>
> Anyway, its been a long time since I did a timed load test, but back
> then there was a definite difference in discharge curve between
> Energizers and Coppertops.  The Energizers would maintain a higher
> voltage and then drop off suddenly.  The Coppertops would maintain
> useable voltage levels for longer but more steadily decrease.
>
> The summary I came to was that devices that can operate effectively on
> lower voltage levels would benefit from Coppertops (like incandescent
> bulb flashlights) where as devices that needed a more constant power
> supply (like charging the discharge caps on a photo flash quickly) would
> benefit from the use of Energizers.
>
> All that being said, what do you guys use for 9V batteries in smokes?
> Why?
>
> I don't actually run into it often except in a few wireless systems I
> have installed, but it does come up when I get the classic, "Your smoke
> detector is beeping," call from a client who doesn't understand that if
> there was a problem with an alarm smoke it would show up on the keypad
> too.

I used to use almost exclusively 9V Energizers (more for the old ITI
Wireless transmitters than smokes, but I did notice one thing back then.
The Energizers were longer than the Duracells making them tight to get
into some smokes (that were originally supplied with Duracells and I
guess designed just for them). I've been out of the business for several
years and don't know if the sizes are still the same. I personally had a
lot less problems out of Energizers and they did last longer for me.