redondo_se
New Member
Does anyone know a reliable online store where the GE 350 and 350CX can be purchased? I've searched and searched, but the only places that turn up don't have great reviews.
Thanks,
Sean.
Thanks,
Sean.
Does anyone know a reliable online store where the GE 350 and 350CX can be purchased? I've searched and searched, but the only places that turn up don't have great reviews.
Thanks,
Sean.
I believe post number nine of this thread answers your question.Speaking of the GE350CX... does it still activate it's relay when the power is out? I installed a Kidde SM120X and was a bit dissapointed, but not completely surprised, that the relay didnt activate when the power was out. Likewise, when the power was out, the SM120X could not trigger the other alarms. Since the GE350X has it's own battery (unlike the SM120X) I'd think it could.
I believe post number nine of this thread answers your question.
I believe post number nine of this thread answers your question.
Indeed it does... Sorry for the noise. I thought I was up to date on this thread!
Speaking of the GE350CX... does it still activate it's relay when the power is out? I installed a Kidde SM120X and was a bit dissapointed, but not completely surprised, that the relay didnt activate when the power was out. Likewise, when the power was out, the SM120X could not trigger the other alarms. Since the GE350X has it's own battery (unlike the SM120X) I'd think it could.
Speaking of the GE350CX... does it still activate it's relay when the power is out? I installed a Kidde SM120X and was a bit dissapointed, but not completely surprised, that the relay didnt activate when the power was out. Likewise, when the power was out, the SM120X could not trigger the other alarms. Since the GE350X has it's own battery (unlike the SM120X) I'd think it could.
OK, I was all ready to buy the GE detectors, but now I've been reading that you should have a combination of ionization and photoelectric detectors. I've been searching, but I can't find a GE ionization detector that will work with the 350 series. Is there one that I'm missing? How about another brand that meets all these requirements:
120V
Interconnect 7 (8 if I add one more) detectors
Relay to connect to my elk that functions both with and without AC power
Combination of photoelectric and ionization detectors
It looks like none of the BRK, Kidde, or Firex relays work without AC. I guess Gentex does, but I don't see any ionization detectors from them.
Also, I'd like to work at least one CO detector into the mix, but it doesn't look like GE has an integrated smoke/CO detector. I'm leaning towards using all 350s with one 350CX for the relay, and then having a seperate GE 240 CO detector hooked up to my ELK.
I didn't do my homework on smokes ahead of time. My electrician installed Kidde detectors and a SM120X, but I didn't know the SM120X didn't work without AC power.
Thanks,
Sean.
Ano, I am sorry , but I just cannot allow your erroneous statements to remain here without correcting them. Your first statement about 120V smokes required by code to be the ionization type is totally wrong. The National Fire Alarm Code (NFPA 72) clearly allows the use of either ionization or photoelectric. The selection is up to the system designer. Second, the NFAC does not prohibit the use of ionization type.Generally it works like this. 120V smokes, required by code to be hooked together are ionization type, again as required by code. The goal is early detection of a fire. In many, if not most areas, a "monitored" alarm, like an Elk, prohibits the use of ionization alarms, and instead typically required photoelectric smokes, since these type of alarms are designed to reduce false alarms. For this reason, if you plan on having your ELK monitored, you shouldn't, and without breaking code can't, connect 120V smokes to a monitored alarm. The safest, legal, and best way is to run both and don't connect anything to anything else if it wasn't designed for it. Read the fine print on those relays you are connecting to the 120V smokes, and you will likely see a warning that the relay is not to be used with a monitored alarm. The relay is designed to be hooked to an electric magnet that keeps the fire doors of a building open. Smoke trips the relay, and it closes the door. Battery backup isn't important, because if the power goes off, the door closes anyway. The relay can also be used for external lighting or bells, both of which won't work if the power is out.
If your alarm isn't monitored, or if you live in an area that doesn't require photoelectric monitored alarms, you can do as you wish, but its still not a great idea. Why? Elk smokes wired correctly monitor the wiring. 120V smokes and a relay don't. So before you even consider this, make sure the 120V relay is UL approved for use to signal to another alarm. Then make sure the code in your area allows an ionization alarm to be connected to a monitored alarm.