Yeah - the starter pack with the Heat Alarm did make it more attractive - was thinking of getting two starter packs which I think should be enough to cover our house pretty good.

Do you by any chance have any recommendations for some 10 year larger ones? (wanted to do a quick comparison to see if they would be worthwhile)

I was initially planning to just get the normal large 9V ones, but then I started reading reviews around the many false alarms, and many of them not working, which made me lean towards the Cavius ones.

Haha that xkcd does seem pretty inline with a lot of the product reviews I've read (though alot of them are more negative than positive for the many smoke alarms out there).

[–] Dave 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

The 9v ones need batteries replaced every few years, say every 3 well that's about $15-20 for 3 9v batteries. I think the (cheaper) 10 year ones make more sense financially if they live up to their name.

I was thinking something like this $22 one, but the reviews are terrible so maybe not. The equivalent priced ones in bunnings have equally bad reviews!

Even the $10 ones that have 9v batteries have a bunch of bad reviews, but at least there are a bunch of good reviews too? I like the idea of 10 year ones because you don't have to change the battery, but if the battery only lasts a year or two then the 9v one would have been better. Maybe just get the 9v $10 ones, it seems cheaper and less risky.

[–] NoRamyunForYou 2 points 10 months ago

Actually that's a good point re/ price of 9V batteries. I had just assumed they were cheap enough that they wouldn't factor into the equation.