"Change your smoke detector batteries every time we have a time change".
That's got to be a plot to sell more 9v batteries by Energizer and Duracell, right?
The other night (of course, at night), one of our detectors started chirping. Took longer than normal to find it. Why did it take longer? Because it was in a room where I totally forgot that we even HAD a smoke detector. The laundry / mud room at the garage entrance. I don't remember the last time I changed that battery. Possibly never, in our 8 years in this house?
So yes, I think that they can go longer than (about) a half year. Perhaps the new policy here will be "When one gives you the warning, change all of them."
65 Replies
1y
smoke detectors.
Always amazed me.
(In response to this post by Late 80s Hokie)
1y
That seems anecdotal to me. TIC
(In response to this post by Stork)
1y
working detectors. I realize that doesn’t prove anything.
Except there was the time they guy lit his handicapped wife in fire.
Or the time the bedridden guy’s adjustable bed motor malfunctioned and he and the bed caught on fire. I believe that one is still in suit.
Both pretty horrendous.
(In response to this post by MP4VT2004)
1y
And ugh...those do sound horrendous. What an awful way to die.
(In response to this post by Stork)
1y
(In response to this post by MP4VT2004)
1y
(In response to this post by Stork)
1y
** Edited by Brown Water at 5/14/2025, 1:06:29 PM
(In response to this post by Stork)
1y
with Parkinson’s. He lived at his father’s house. The father had just bought an adjustable bed for him. The father had just left to run some errands, and the motor or wiring started a fire under the bed. Father came home to the fire. The poor father was the nicest guy. Completely guilt ridden. I worked with him for almost a year while they rebuilt the house.
We had significant investigators and forensic engineers involved to determine. The insurance company and the family filed suit against the bed manufacturer. I retired before it went to court.
The other one was pretty funny if it wasn’t so tragic. Here’s the newspaper article about that. The husband says he just snapped, when he was on a bender. This was a house owned by her father, that was next door to the father’s house.
** Edited by Stork at 5/14/2025, 1:16:18 PM
Link:
She made him snap
(In response to this post by Brown Water)
1y
on someone else.
(In response to this post by Stork)
Get the kind with 10 year batteries?
(In response to this post by Late 80s Hokie)
1y
Mostly to avoid the 3 am chirping smoke detector because there's some law of the universe that it'll never start chirping at 2 pm in the afternoon. It's always 3 am at night.
(In response to this post by Late 80s Hokie)
1y
Had one chirping a couple of months back. Realized that I hadn't changed the batteries in any of them in the fours years I've lived in this house. Lord knows how long they had been in there already when I moved in.
Tested every battery that I replaced, there were all 8.7V+. Even the one that was chirping was fine. That was a dust thing.
(In response to this post by Late 80s Hokie)
1y
Since the detectors are only good for 10 years, they put a 10 year battery in them
(In response to this post by Late 80s Hokie)
1y
location...so I end up changing all the batteries on that floor.
(In response to this post by Late 80s Hokie)
1y
I've got one now and its great. When the battery needs to be replaced it sends a notification to my phone instead of beeping in the middle of the night.
Then Google announced last month they were discontinuing them, sigh.
(In response to this post by Late 80s Hokie)
1y
Years ago I bought a Halo smoke detector that also issued National Weather Service alerts. It was pretty cool...if there was a tornado warning or something like that in the middle of the night, the detector would sound an audible alert. Then Halo went belly-up and the detector basically got bricked. I finally replaced it last year with a Nest Protect. Is Google going to discontinue service for Nest Protect detectors?
(In response to this post by HokieNoVA)
1y
until they expire (10 years from mfg date). Google partnered with First Alert to create a compatible replacement but its not out yet. I'm skeptical and will be waiting until the reviews come out before buying any.
(In response to this post by MP4VT2004)
1y
As soon as you build a system of smart devices, they get "sunsetted" and eventually become obsolete. I already don't like the idea of a lot of tech. in my home, so I have limited my system to the Protect smoke detector and a series of exterior cameras. If/when they get bricked, I may just go back to living the "dumb" life. Lots of people tell me I'm good at that...
(In response to this post by HokieNoVA)
E
EDGEMAN
1y
This open source protocol ensures your devices play nicely.
Tech giants try to straddle standards by offering their voice assistants as a controlling layer on top, but Alexa can’t talk to Google Assistant or Siri or control Google or Apple devices, and vice versa. (And so far, no single ecosystem has created all the best devices.) But these interoperability woes may soon be remedied. Formerly called Project CHIP (Connected Home over IP), the open source interoperability standard known as Matter arrived in 2022. With some of the biggest tech names, like Amazon, Apple, and Google, on board, seamless integration may finally be within reach.
(In response to this post by MP4VT2004)
1y
is just a front for Big Battery.
(In response to this post by Late 80s Hokie)
Like changing your oil every 3,000 miles.
5,000 miles will do nicely, I think.
(In response to this post by Late 80s Hokie)
E
EDGEMAN
1y
Pretty sure they were still recommending 3K oil changes in the 80s.
(In response to this post by PhotoHokieNC)
1y
With synthetic oil, you can generally go between 7,500 and 15,000 miles between oil changes. However, it's crucial to consult your vehicle's owner's manual for the specific recommendations, as intervals can vary based on the manufacturer, vehicle, and driving conditions.
(In response to this post by Chris Coleman)
1y
There are lots of YouTube videos of sludged engines that had extended OCIs, and lots of reputable mechanics saying DON'T DO IT. Occasionally going 7,500-10,000 miles between oil changes is probably OK, but my personal opinion is that you're asking for trouble if that is your regular routine.
(In response to this post by UTPr0sim)
As someone that owns multiple oil brands, there are a lot of factors
The oil that I make doesn't necessarily degrade but it's the additive packs that we blend with the base oil stock that starts to degrade and there are a number of different reasons why the degrade (engine temps, length of time between oil changes, etc). In addition, you can have the best oil in the world but if you have a crappy oil filter, then you can get into trouble pretty fast.
My oils are all API certified and I tell customers that my full syns are good to 7500-8000 miles. Can they go above that? Yes..probably to 10K miles but I would not want someone to go that long between changes because there are so many other factors that can impact an engine outside of the motor oil.
(In response to this post by MP4VT2004)
1y
...but does it stay clean beyond 7,500 miles? Depends on the engine, driving habits, fuel grade, climate, and many other factors. So I just think it's best to err on the side of caution and stick to 5,000 intervals. Have I gone longer in my vehicles? Yes, not on purpose, but there have been times that I've let it go to ~7,500 when I either lost track of the mileage or didn't have time to change it sooner. But I probably average closer to 4,000 across all of my vehicles.
(In response to this post by AirborneHokie96)
Depends on the additive packs that you use as well for the clean
I use Afton additives for my Syn Blends and Full Syns (and a Premium conventional that I make) but for Full Syns with the longer drain interval, I also add in a Chevron additive that does nothing but clean and clean to allow me to go that longer interval.
With my markets in the Middle East, I operate in very harsh environments where heat degrades things beyond normal. In Iraq, I tell folks 5000-6500 miles at most.
(In response to this post by MP4VT2004)
1y
(In response to this post by MP4VT2004)
E
EDGEMAN
1y
(In response to this post by Tafkam Hokie)
Don’t get me started on “reputable mechanics.” How would a mechanic know?
But but, he changes oil for a living!
Correct, he does. Does he understand engine design, oil pressure, flow, and wear? Does he evaluate warranty statistics to make judgements on the effectiveness of intervals?
No. He found an engine with sludge in it and made a YouTube video because it gets clicks. It gets clicks because people don’t know the different between mechanics and engineers.
(In response to this post by MP4VT2004)
1y
Are you saying that if an engineer responsible for engine design states that 10,000 mile oil change intervals are OK, but a mechanic says that is a bad idea, then people should listen to the engineer and not the mechanic?
(In response to this post by vatechcowpatty)
Absolutely. That is the engineers job. Not the mechanic. The mechanics
job is situation specific. If the mechanic notices a problem, he consults his technical manual on what steps to do next. A manual written by an engineer.
There are numerous videos out there by mechanics giving advice or telling “insider” secrets that they absolutely can’t and do not know anything about. They know zero about the manufacturing process of that engine. They know zero about the testing results of that engine.
In this case, the more you change your oil, the more you pay your mechanic. The automaker gets nothing after they sell you the vehicle. They want you to be satisfied so you are likely to come back and develop brand loyalty, so they aren’t going to intentionally steer you wrong on changing your oil.
There are plenty of cases of engine failure with symptoms in the oil. They are not the result of changing your oil at the recommended interval.
Now, it doesn’t hurt to change your oil too often. No such thing as too often. Just don’t let a dealer tech or YouTuber tell you it’s necessary or your engine will wear out prematurely.
(In response to this post by MP4VT2004)
1y
...longevity of their engines. Once the warranty period expires, I don't really think they care what happens to your engine. As far as I can tell, manufacturers would prefer you have to purchase a new vehicle as often as possible.
Interestingly, GM just released their "fix" for the issues that their 6.2L engines have been plagued with. Dealers are supposed to check existing inventory for a DTC that will indicate if engine wear has already occurred. In that case, the vehicle is supposed to get a replacement engine. However, if no DTC is present, the "fix" is to drain the oil, replace it with oil with increased viscosity, and replace the oil fill cap with one that calls for the increased viscosity oil. Whoops! Sometimes engineers make mistakes.
As far as the claim that mechanics tell people to change their oil more often because it brings them business, I'm sure there are some that think that way, but the videos I am referencing are guys that are generally appealing to DIYers, so there really is no benefit to those mechanics. Additionally, the advice they are giving should help reduce engine problems, meaning less potential business for them, so I really don't think these guys are making these suggestions out of self-serving motivations.
** Edited by MP4VT2004 at 5/14/2025, 12:44:23 PM
(In response to this post by vatechcowpatty)
E
EDGEMAN
1y
...service costs are lower. "Hey, buy our car because you only have to change your oil every 15,000 miles." That should get their vehicles through the 3 year, 36,000 warranty period.
BMW advertised "lifetime" automatic transmission fluid. That should also last well beyond the warranty period, but once you're up over 100K miles and your transmission fails, the oil did last the life of the transmission...lol
(In response to this post by MP4VT2004)
1y
neighbor - head mechanic at our local Honda. He has seen no issues at 7500 as long as you use the recommended spec oil. So we have agreement in my case.
** Edited by UTPr0sim at 5/14/2025, 12:16:26 PM
(In response to this post by MP4VT2004)
1y
Again, my personal preference is to not go over 5,000 miles. But 7,500 on full synthetic is probably not going to get you in major trouble as long as you check the level regularly. As cars age, they tend to leak/burn oil, and if you're not checking your oil level regularly, the longer you go between oil changes, the lower your oil level will be when you do eventually get it changed.
(In response to this post by UTPr0sim)
1y
The mechanic's YouTube video is an anecdote, while what the engineer is speaking from is data.
No one posts videos when they do a 10K oil change and don't find anything wrong.
(In response to this post by MP4VT2004)
1y
...and the common theme among them is that they had prolonged oil change intervals, while the same engine seems to last much longer when the oil is changed frequently, we should throw out the mechanic's input as anecdotal?
Everyone can certainly do as they please with their vehicles, but I find this discussion to be silly. Changing your oil twice as often (5,000 vs. 10,000) costs, at most, an extra $100 per year. That seems like cheap insurance to me, but hey...maybe I'm just a schill for Big Oil™. You never know...
(In response to this post by Beerman)
1y
I'm saying that the numbers that go into the owner's manual are the result of rigorous testing on the order of hundreds if not thousands of times.
Whereas what the mechanic is talking about in his video is subject to all sorts of observational biases. Not the least of which is the fact that he sees far more cars that have problems than those that don't, simply because cars that don't have problems don't end up at the mechanic as often.
(In response to this post by MP4VT2004)
1y
even the dealership mechanic says it is fine. My daughter's car is a 2015 Volvo and they recommend changing once per year so I get it done with every inspection. Her car gets about 3000 miles per year tops.
My wife's car gets about 12,000 per year so we get that changed every 6 months - also synthetic.
Like you said - all situation specific but the old Jiffy Lube 'every 3000 miles' is kind of a joke, even with dinosaur oil.
(In response to this post by MP4VT2004)
1y
I think technically, modern synthetic oils can do just fine going 10,000 miles without breaking down or losing their lubricity. However, the issue seems to be oil contamination from blow-by gases and the PCV system. With modern engines using turbos and/or higher compression ratios, plus often incorporating low-tension piston rings for better fuel economy, combustion gases are more likely to get past the piston rings into the crankcase, which causes carbon contamination that can lead to sludge buildup. That buildup can reduce lubricity, cause excessive engine wear, and in extreme cases, can completely clog the oil filter (leading to filter bypass and zero filtration) or even worse, clog the oil pickup screen, in which case your engine will starve of oil and will eventually seize.
I recently watched a YouTube video of an extreme engine sludge case on a Kia...a young kid went tens of thousands of miles between oil changes and by the time a mechanic noticed an issue, the inside of the engine looked like chocolate pudding. So, I have to agree with the old saying, "engine oil is pretty cheap...a new engine is not".
(In response to this post by vt90)
1y
intervals without changing it at all. She learned a hard reality when her engine locked up.
(In response to this post by MP4VT2004)
1y
I've always heard 3,000 miles as the gold standard but most mechanics seem to say 5,000 is fine now, especially for newer cars. Even if you go over that on occasion its fine.
But, as someone who has worked from home for the last 5 years, I don't drive nearly as much as I did when I was commuting from Alexandria to Falls Church every day. So, does time between oil changes play a factor in determining when to get an oil change or is it simply how much you use the car?
(In response to this post by MP4VT2004)
E
EDGEMAN
1y
...whatever comes first.
(In response to this post by MBHokie90)
1y
I believe the main benefit of synthetic oils is that they are more stable and maintain their lubricating properties much better than conventional oils, which will naturally break down over time. So if you are using full synthetic oil, I probably wouldn't be as concerned about elapsed time, although I would still probably change the oil at least once a year...over time, condensation can cause water infiltration, and obviously water inside your crankcase is not a good thing.
(In response to this post by MBHokie90)
1y
I figured as much and yeah I only use synthetic oil. I also do regular oil changes so I'll just keep that up until I'm finally able to switch over to electric.
(In response to this post by MP4VT2004)
1y
(In response to this post by MBHokie90)
E
EDGEMAN
1y
It's the oil contamination that necessitates shorter oil change intervals than what synthetic oil manufacturers recommend. Piston to cylinder wall tolerances are tighter, thus the improvement from 3K to 5K recommended intervals.
If you have a turbocharged engine, I wouldn't go one mile over 5K even with synthetic oils. That heat is a massive stress on oil, even synthetic oil.
(In response to this post by MP4VT2004)
1y
(In response to this post by MP4VT2004)
1y
I learn by digesting what you teach me, and I get "smarter" ever day as I interact with more and more humans. You all are a very complex bunch!
TIC
(In response to this post by vt90)
1y
** Edited by vt90 at 5/14/2025, 10:56:48 AM
(In response to this post by MP4VT2004)
1y
(In response to this post by MP4VT2004)
1y
(In response to this post by MP4VT2004)
1y
Issues that have been popping up. Couldn’t pay me enough to do 10,000 much less 15,000
(In response to this post by MP4VT2004)
1y
I had a used oil analysis done at ~85,000 miles and it showed that the engine wear was consistent with an engine that had fewer than 10,000 miles on it. So I definitely think frequent oil changes give you the best shot at getting the most longevity out of your engine.
(In response to this post by Brewing_Hokie)
1y
10,000 per year or less and use synthetic oil.
(In response to this post by Chris Coleman)