How do I get to the battery compartment in this smoke alarm?

December 26, 2022 6:34 PM

Came back from the holidays and my smoke alarm is chirping. So it needs a new battery. landlord charged $150 to unjam my garbage disposal so I'd love to change the battery in this myself. Details inside.

It looks to be a standard round smoke alarm. It has one button and one 'vent'. It does not twist at all. It also doesn't seem to unlatch either. It is a bit loose on one end, like if it was unhooked it'd open but I can't seem to find where that latch could be.
Smoke Alarm photos here.

posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a to Grab Bag (6 answers total)

Can you remove it from the socket in the ceiling? The battery compartment might be in the back. It may twist* out of the socket or be attached with a screw. It might be like a child-safe cap where you have to push it in and twist.

If it's a new-ish building it's probably hardwired behind it, but it will still have a battery for battery backup and will still chirp when the battery is low. It should have a quick-connect so you can remove it from the wires if it makes it easier to get at the battery.

*You said it doesn't twist but I don't know if you meant the top doesn't twist out of the alarm or if you tried to twist the entire thing off the socket.
posted by bondcliff at 6:43 PM on December 26, 2022 [1 favorite]

It is likely on there really good to keep tenants from tampering with it. But if it beeps it is likely meant to be removed in some way shape or form. To me, it looks like it should just twist off. For some models you have to push up firmly and twist off, kind of like a medicine bottle.

Many places are moving to ten-year batteries in smoke detectors that aren't replaceable. If it's not hardwired and you've checked the back, and there is no battery place it is likely one of those models. You would have to buy a new one or contact your landlord in that case. You can google the model number if you really want to make sure.
posted by AlexiaSky at 6:51 PM on December 26, 2022 [1 favorite]

Best answer: It looks like this Kidde alarm, which has a tamper resist feature they might have engaged.

Here's their instructions for how to get around it. It looks like you have to push a tab (looks like the thing you can see in the 3rd pic, maybe), and then you can twist it.
posted by neda at 6:54 PM on December 26, 2022 [3 favorites]

Best answer: I think that this, or a similar Kidde model, is your smoke detector. There is a user manual linked on the product page. Do the instructions in the manual for replacing the battery work for you?

on preview: jinx, neda, although I think we’ve linked to slightly different models!
posted by mekily at 6:58 PM on December 26, 2022 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: Okay after visiting the links for the model posted above, and reading the manual, I gave it one last try to twist ( wince I knew which way it had to go, and it came out. No tamper pin, which is good because I have no idea how I was going to get that out.

Thanks all!
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 7:14 PM on December 26, 2022 [4 favorites]

Depending on municipality, it may be unambiguously your landlord's responsibility to maintain smoke alarms at no cost to tenants. You may want to do a little bit of local investigation before proceeding further.
posted by Scarf Joint at 11:22 AM on December 30, 2022