Edwards Signaling 517TCSB User Manual

517TCSB Series Photoelectric T ype Residential Smoke

Alarms with Strobe for the Hearing Impaired,

AC Powered, 120V 60 Hz, with 9V Battery Backup

Installation Instructions - Owner's/User's Information Manual
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INTRODUCTION

The 517TCSB smoke alarms are photoelectric type alarms for use as evacu­ation devices. Each alarm has a solid state piezo that emits a temporal 3
signal and a strobe to warn and alert the household to the presence of threat­ening smoke.

Your photoelectric alarm is designed to detect the smoke that results from
an actual fire. Consequently, it is uncommon for household smoke such as
cigarette smoke or normal cooking smoke to cause an alarm.

HOW YOUR SMOKE ALARM WORKS

The 517TCSB Series Smoke Alarm operates on the photoelectric light scatter
principle. The units sensing chamber houses a light source and a light sen­sor.

The darkened sensing chamber is exposed to the atmosphere and designed
to permit optimum smoke entry from any direction while rejecting light from
outside the alarm.

The light source is an infrared (invisible) LED which pulses every 8 sec­onds. The light sensor is a photodiode matched to the light frequency of the
LED light source.

Under normal conditions, the light generated by the pulsing infrared LED is
not seen by the light sensor, as it is positioned out of the direct path of the light
beam. When smoke enters the sensing chamber, light from the pulsing LED
light source is reflected by the smoke particles onto the photodiode light sen­sor. At the first sighting of smoke, the alarm is put into a pre-alarm mode. This
is indicated by a rapidly flashing LED on the face of the alarm. Once the light
sensor confirms smoke for 2 consecutive pulses inside the chamber, the light
sensor produces the signal necessary to trigger the alarm.

This technique of verifying the smoke condition, combined with a 5-to-1
signal-to-noise ratio, substantially reduces the possibility of nuisance alarms.

· If the battery is low, a chirp will be sounded when the red LED flashes. If the
alarm is malfunctioning, or if the battery is missing, the chirp is sounded
without the red LED flashing. If AC power fails, the green LED will turn off.

· The test knob of your alarm simulates actual smoke conditions.

NOTE: Tandem Interconnect Models.

· When testing one alarm, the alarm that is activated will flash the red indica­tor light emitting diode and sound its alarm horn, all other units will sound the
alarm horn with red indicator light emitting diodes remaining off.

FIRE PROTECTION PLAN

This Smoke Alarm can quickly alert you to the presence of smokeit can­not prevent fire. Please note that there are hazards against which smoke
detection may not be effective, such as smoking in bed, explosions, when a
closed door separates the alarm from the source of the smoke, etc. The ulti­mate responsibility for fire protection rests solely on you.

1. To minimize fire hazardsavoid improper storage of flammable liquids

and dont leave small children home alone.

2. Bedroom doors should be closed while sleeping if a smoke alarm is in-

stalled in the bedroom. They act as a barrier against heat and smoke.

3. Establish an escape plan:

(a) Post a detailed floor plan depicting the chosen escape routes.

(b) Each bedroom should have at least two escape routes.

(c) Make sure your children know what to do in case of fire and teach

them to follow the escape plan you have posted.
(d) Agree on an outside meeting place.
(e) Conduct fire drills at least twice a year.
(f) Be sure each member of the family is familiar with the smoke alarm so

they can react properly.

If the alarm should sound:

1. Never waste time dressing or gathering valuables. Follow the escape
route and leave the house immediately.

2. Check bedroom doors before opening. If the door is hot or smoke is leak­ing in around the edgesDO NOT OPENuse the alternate escape route.

3. If there is smoke in the escape routekeep close to the floor and take
short breaths. If possible, cover your nose and mouth with a wet cloth.

4. Do not use your own telephonecall the Fire Department from your
neighbors house.

5. Once out, do not re-enter your house, but proceed to your prearranged
meeting place.

HOW TO TELL IF YOUR SMOKE ALARM IS
WORKING PROPERLY

· Your alarm is provided with an alarm horn and pulsating Light Emitting (indi­cator) Diode, which pulses every 15-30 seconds, and a green AC power on
LED.

· When turning the test knob on the alarm to test 1, the red light will flash
rapidly, the horn will sound and the strobe will flash. Strobe will not oper-

ate without AC power.

CHESHIRE, CT 203-699-3300 FAX [phone]

WHAT ELSE YOU CAN DO TO MAKE YOUR
FAMILY SAFE FROM FIRES

Putting up smoke alarms is just the first step in protecting your family from
fires. You also must reduce the chances that fires will start in your home and
increase your chances of safely escaping if one does start. To have an effec­tive fire safety program:

a. Install smoke alarms properly following the instructions in this

manual. Keep your smoke alarms clean. Test your alarm weekly
and repair or replace it when it no longer functions. As with any

electronic product, alarms have a limited life, and alarms that dont work
cannot protect you.

b. Follow safety rules and prevent hazardous situations:

· Use smoking materials properly; never smoke in bed.

· Keep matches and cigarette lighters away from children.

· Store flammable materials in proper containers and never use them near

open flames or sparks.

P/N 550-0174-002 © 2001

· Keep electrical appliances and cords in good working order and do not
overload electrical circuits.

· Keep stoves, fireplaces, chimneys, and barbecue grills grease-free and
make sure they are properly installed away from combustible materials.

· Keep portable heaters and open flames such as candles away from com­bustible materials.

· Do not allow rubbish to accumulate.

c. Develop a family escape plan and practice it with your entire family,

especially small children.

· Draw a floor plan of your home and find two ways to exit from each room.
There should be one way to get out of each bedroom without opening the
door.

· Teach children what the smoke alarm signal means, and that they must
be prepared to leave the residence by themselves if necessary. Show
them how to check to see if doors are hot before opening them, how to
stay close to the floor and crawl if necessary, and how to use the alternate
exit if the door is hot and should not be opened.

· Decide on a meeting place a safe distance from your house and make
sure that all your children understand that they should go and wait for you
if there is a fire.

· Hold fire drills at least every 6 months to make sure that everyone, even
small children, know what to do to escape safely.

· Know where to go to call the fire department from outside your residence.

· Provide emergency equipment such as fire extinguishers and teach your

family to use this equipment properly.

WHAT TO DO IF THERE IS A FIRE
IN YOUR HOME

If you have prepared family escape plans and practiced them with your
family, you have increased their chances of escaping safely. Review the fol­lowing rules with your children when you have fire drills so everyone will re­member them in a real fire emergency:
a. Dont panic; stay calm. Your safe escape may depend on thinking clearly

and remembering what you have practiced.

b. Get out of the house following a planned escape route as quickly as pos-

sible. Do not stop to collect anything or to get dressed.

c. Open doors carefully only after feeling to see if they are hot. Do not open

a door if it is hot; use an alternate escape route.
d. Stay close to the floor; smoke and hot gases rise.
e. Cover your nose and mouth with a cloth, wet if possible, and take short,

shallow breaths.
f. Keep doors and windows closed unless you open them to escape.
g. Meet at your prearranged meeting place after leaving the house.
h. Call the Fire Department as soon as possible from outside your house.

Give the address and your name.
i. Never re-enter a burning building.

Contact your local Fire Department for more information on making your

home safer from fires and about preparing your familys escape plans.

WHAT THIS SMOKE ALARM CAN DO

This alarm is designed to sense smoke entering its sensing chamber. It

does not sense gas, heat or flames.

When properly located, installed, and maintained, this smoke alarm is de­signed to provide early warning of developing fires at a reasonable cost. This
alarm monitors the air and, when it senses smoke, activates its built-in alarm
horn. It can provide precious time for you and your family to escape from your
residence before a fire spreads. Such an early warning, however, is possible
only if the alarm is located, installed, and maintained as specified in this Users
Manual.

NOTE: This smoke alarm is designed for use within single residential living
units only; that is, it should be used inside a single-family home or one apart­ment of a multi-family building. In a multi-family building, the alarm may not
provide early warning for residents if it is placed outside of the residential units,
such as on outside porches, in corridors, lobbies, basements, or in other apart­ments. In multi-family buildings, each residential unit should have alarms to
alert the residents of that unit. Alarms designed to be interconnected should
be interconnected within one family residence only; otherwise, nuisance alarms
will occur when an alarm in another living unit is tested.

IMPORTANT NOTE: WHAT SMOKE
ALARMS CANNOT DO

Smoke alarms will not work without power. A battery must be con­nected to the alarm to maintain proper alarm operation if AC power supply is
cut off by an electrical fire, an open fuse or circuit breaker, or for any other
reason. In the event of AC power failure, the battery will supply standby power
for a minimum of 24 hours.

Smoke alarms may not sense fire that starts where smoke cannot
reach the alarms such as in chimneys, in walls, on roofs, or on the other side

of closed doors. If bedroom doors are usually closed at night, alarms should
be placed in each bedroom as well as in the common hallway between them.

Smoke alarms also may not sense a fire on another level of a resi­dence or building. For example, a second-floor alarm may not sense a first-
floor or basement fire. Therefore, alarms should be placed on every level
of a residence or building.

The horn in your alarm meets or exceeds current audibility requirements of
Underwriters Laboratories. However, if the alarm is located outside a bed-
room, it may not wake up a sound sleeper, especially if the bedroom door
is closed or only partly open. If the alarm is located on a different level of the
residence than the bedroom, it is even less likely to wake up people sleeping in
the bedroom. In such cases, the National Fire Protection Association recom­mends that the alarms be interconnected so that an alarm on any level of the
residence will sound an alarm loud enough to awaken sleepers in closed bed­rooms. This can be done by installing a fire-detection system, by connecting
alarms together, or by using radio frequency transmitters and receivers.

All types of smoke alarm sensors have limitations. No type of smoke
alarm can sense every kind of fire every time. In general, alarms may
not always warn you about fires caused by violent explosions, escap­ing gas, improper storage of flammable materials, or arson.

NOTE: This alarm is not designed to replace special-purpose fire detec­tion and alarm systems necessary to protect persons and property in non­residential buildings such as warehouses, or other large industrial or commer­cial buildings. It alone is not a suitable substitute for complete fire-detection
systems designed to protect individuals in hotels and motels, dormitories, hos­pitals, or other health and supervisory care and retirement homes. Please
refer to NFPA 101,The Life Safety Code, and NFPA 72 for smoke alarm re­quirements for fire protection in buildings not defined as households.

Installing smoke alarms may make you eligible for lower insurance rates,
but smoke alarms are not a substitute for insurance. Home owners and
renters should continue to insure their lives and property.

PLACEMENT OF SMOKE ALARMS

THIS EQUIPMENT SHOULD BE INSTALLED IN ACCORDANCE WITH
THE NATIONAL FIRE PROTECTION ASSOCIATIONS STANDARD 72
(National Fire Protection Association, Batterymarch Park, Quincy, MA 02269).

For your information, the National Fire Protection Associations Standard
72, reads as follows:

Smoke detectors shall be installed outside of each separate sleeping area
in the immediate vicinity of the bedrooms and on each additional story of the
family living unit including basements and excluding crawl spaces and unfin­ished attics. In new construction, a smoke detector shall be installed in each
sleeping room.

Where to Locate the Required Smoke Detectors in Existing Construction.
The major threat from fire in a family living unit is at night when everyone is
asleep. The principal threat to persons in sleeping areas comes from fires in
the remainder of the unit; therefore, a smoke alarm(s) is best located between
the bedroom areas and the rest of the unit. In units with only one bedroom
area on one floor, the smoke alarms should be located as shown in Figure 1.

In family living units with more than one bedroom area or with bedrooms on
more than one floor, more than one smoke alarm will be needed, as shown in
Figure 2.

In addition to smoke alarms outside of the sleeping areas, NFPA 72 re­quires the installation of a smoke alarm on each additional story of the family
living unit, including the basement. These installations are shown in Figure 3.
The living area smoke alarms should be installed in the living room or near the
stairway to the upper level, or in both locations. The basement smoke alarm
should be installed in close proximity to the stairway leading to the floor above.
When installed on an open joisted ceiling, the alarm should be placed on the
bottom of the joists. The alarm should be positioned relative to the stairway so