Testing a Smoke Detector

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This past weekend right before Donnie got home from Florida one of the smoke detectors in the house started beeping indicating that the battery was getting weak.  I had trouble figuring out which one since the beep was only happening every few hours.  I bought some new 9 volt batteries and decided to wait a few days for the beeps to increase and Donnie to get home.  I have trouble from carpal tunnel syndrome to hold my hands over my head very long.

Not sure if it is apparent from my blogging, but Johnny is very technology minded.  I call him my Technology Boy.  He makes sure my computer stays charged, helps his teacher with her laptop too, and is always quick to jump into any project around the house that requires diagnosis and fixing.  If you show Johnny something one time, he seems to understand it and retain it for forever, so he can be fun to work with.  Just note that there is nonstop talk and reasoning going on when you are trying to concentrate:-)

So yesterday the beep increased in frequency, and after school, Donnie and Johnny set out to figure out which one and replace the battery.  Joy!  Poor Blaze the dog was absolutely freaked out by the increasing beeps trying to jump in Donnie's lap on the couch at one point looking for protection.

To shorten the story, after testing every detector in the house at Johnny's insistence and just like he was taught at school, they replaced the battery in one detector.  However, the beep continued in it.  After Johnny's basketball practice we went to Home Depot and got a new detector.  By then, we had all Googled and learned the difference between ionization type detectors and photoelectric detectors:-)  You always wanted to be an expert in such things, right?  :-)  Johnny must have spent an hour looking at Google images and web pages and studying everything there was to know about smoke detectors.  What next?

Just in case you haven't tested your detectors lately, consider this a reminder.  Maybe you even have a helper at your house!  It sure was cute to see Donnie carrying Johnny around on his shoulders from one smoke detector to another.

Dinner last night was a beef brisket which I have now turned into a hamburger cream based soup.  Yum!

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