Hey TroySundt, is your First Alert from the 1970's? Does it have an electromechanical or a piezo horn? Could you at some point make a video of it? Thanks. I don't have an ebay account but I have been trying to find older/vintage smokes via garage sales and thrift shops. My parents had an old Dicon and Sears alarm from the mid to late 1970's both with screechy brass horns but they pitched the alarms when the sold the house. I was hoping to keep them for something like this.
ok so i just got it... and i had no idea it was so small!!!!!! i was expecting one more closely to the size of the old one... but after a close look at the one in the video i realized it really is quite small if you compare the size of the detector to the battery. that makes sense... right?
just keep watching! use keywords like GE Smoke detector or Home Sentry GE or smoke alarm they pop up occasionally as do they're predecessors the Black & Decker Smoke alarms. Watch out tho because the Black & Decker smokes have a slower piezo pulse than the GE's.
also, estate sales are notorious for having older smoke alarms! People would buy a bunch back in the 70's and 80's when they really went mainstream or they had them given to them as gifts and they just never got put up. I just found a very old First Alert that way!
Yes, I think all of the GE detectors were made in Ireland. Our home used to have the original 12-volt unit, which was also manufactured in Ireland. Sounded like a fog horn!
Which are the Edwards 118 metal buzzers? Do your General Electric 12-volt alarms sound like the "old" GE in this video, or like the Intermatic? I think they stopped making the batteries for these units, because the batteries had mercury in them.
Do you have batteries for your 12-volt units? You probably don't, as they were so hard to get, but I thought I'd check. You commented that you had 2 12-volt units. Our house used to have one, and it sounded like the Intermatic, not like the one in this video. If you don't have a battery for your 12-volt detectors, could I at least see the insides of the units? I'm curious if it has a brass horn, or the black buzzer.
thank you for posting this. I haven't heard an 8201-301 in about 20 years. Last I saw the one in my late grandparents house (which was disconnected 90% of the time), was just before my cousin replaced it when he bought their house in 1998 (he sold the house in 2001). The 8201-401s in my girlfriend's mom's house do the more triditional 4/6 patern, but the piezo sounds the same pitch.
it is. Most home smokes from the 70's used electromechanical horns in them. Their sound ranged from a 120hz buzz sounding like an 870 series Adptahorn (common in older Firexs and some BRKs) to a high toned screechy buzz (common in older First Alerts and Sears)
I think there were a couple of them. I think the Kidde RSD-12B was a 100dB alarm. (yes the same Kidde that makes fire extinguishers and smokes nowadays).
I like GE they're a good quality. And FA (first alert).
hyperbaricchicken101 1 year ago
Hey TroySundt, is your First Alert from the 1970's? Does it have an electromechanical or a piezo horn? Could you at some point make a video of it? Thanks. I don't have an ebay account but I have been trying to find older/vintage smokes via garage sales and thrift shops. My parents had an old Dicon and Sears alarm from the mid to late 1970's both with screechy brass horns but they pitched the alarms when the sold the house. I was hoping to keep them for something like this.
JME1973 2 years ago
i just won the second smoke alarm on ebay! I cannot wait to get it!!!!!!!
TroySundt 3 years ago
ok so i just got it... and i had no idea it was so small!!!!!! i was expecting one more closely to the size of the old one... but after a close look at the one in the video i realized it really is quite small if you compare the size of the detector to the battery. that makes sense... right?
TroySundt 3 years ago
lucky
crazybeavers155 2 years ago
just keep watching! use keywords like GE Smoke detector or Home Sentry GE or smoke alarm they pop up occasionally as do they're predecessors the Black & Decker Smoke alarms. Watch out tho because the Black & Decker smokes have a slower piezo pulse than the GE's.
TroySundt 2 years ago
also, estate sales are notorious for having older smoke alarms! People would buy a bunch back in the 70's and 80's when they really went mainstream or they had them given to them as gifts and they just never got put up. I just found a very old First Alert that way!
TroySundt 2 years ago
I have the second one, it's made in Ireland!
CassetteMaster 3 years ago
Yes, I think all of the GE detectors were made in Ireland. Our home used to have the original 12-volt unit, which was also manufactured in Ireland. Sounded like a fog horn!
Jibjub80 3 years ago
Which are the Edwards 118 metal buzzers? Do your General Electric 12-volt alarms sound like the "old" GE in this video, or like the Intermatic? I think they stopped making the batteries for these units, because the batteries had mercury in them.
Jibjub80 3 years ago
I'd say they'd sound more like the Intermatic.
NLind 3 years ago
Dear NLind,
Do you have batteries for your 12-volt units? You probably don't, as they were so hard to get, but I thought I'd check. You commented that you had 2 12-volt units. Our house used to have one, and it sounded like the Intermatic, not like the one in this video. If you don't have a battery for your 12-volt detectors, could I at least see the insides of the units? I'm curious if it has a brass horn, or the black buzzer.
Jibjub80 3 years ago
I do have a couple of batteries, but they're dead or on the doorstep. My 12.6 volt alarms have an Edwards 118 metal buzzer in them.
NLind 3 years ago
check ebay
crazybeavers155 2 years ago
It's a smoke ALARM!!! not a smoke detector... read the codes!
larinron 3 years ago
♥
danll5 4 years ago
I love making symbols with the numpad ¥
danll5 4 years ago
my grandma gave me 2 of the same alarms
firealarmfan55555 4 years ago
Are both those alarms from the 1970's?
JME1973 4 years ago
First one was late '70s. Last was early to mid '80s.
NLind 4 years ago
thank you for posting this. I haven't heard an 8201-301 in about 20 years. Last I saw the one in my late grandparents house (which was disconnected 90% of the time), was just before my cousin replaced it when he bought their house in 1998 (he sold the house in 2001). The 8201-401s in my girlfriend's mom's house do the more triditional 4/6 patern, but the piezo sounds the same pitch.
Federal3t22 4 years ago
Yeah, the later ones from GE and also all from Black & Decker did the 4/6 pattern. These were the ones GE had before they switched.
NLind 4 years ago
cool collection ive never heard smoke detectors like that
danll5 4 years ago
Me neither! The first one sounded like an EST Integrity and the second one sounded weird, like some kind of, uh, I don't know!
willbill808 4 years ago
It sounded nothing like the integrity it sounded like a 4051
danll5 4 years ago
in person they sound more like the piezo in a Simplex 4001 but lower pitched, and are quite loud.
Federal3t22 4 years ago
how many db?
danll5 4 years ago
not quite sure, I'd guess 95db. I could be wrong
Federal3t22 4 years ago
It sounds like an electromechanical horn
danll5 4 years ago
it is. Most home smokes from the 70's used electromechanical horns in them. Their sound ranged from a 120hz buzz sounding like an 870 series Adptahorn (common in older Firexs and some BRKs) to a high toned screechy buzz (common in older First Alerts and Sears)
Federal3t22 4 years ago
Also, is there any old day smoke detectors that are over 100db?
danll5 4 years ago
I think there were a couple of them. I think the Kidde RSD-12B was a 100dB alarm. (yes the same Kidde that makes fire extinguishers and smokes nowadays).
NLind 4 years ago
That's because it's probably the same make of piezo-mechanical buzzer (Star) but different model.
NLind 4 years ago
Those must have been alerting
danll5 4 years ago