New alarm system for cat shelter

[Teffy]

I am a volunteer at a nonprofit cat shelter. After a scare with a
small fire in a clothes dryer duct, we decided to ask for
recommendations from 2 local security companies to upgrade our
15-year-old system. They disagree on two fundamental points, so I'm
asking for your advice.

The first point is whether or not smoke detectors will work in our
environment which has a lot of cat hair and a lot of cat litter dust.
One company says that mechanical heat detectors are the only way to
go. The other company says that the kind of smoke detector with a
light beam will not work, but the ionic kind will work, and are better
than heat detectors because they will react more quickly if the fire
is far away from the heat detector.

The second point is whether or not a wireless solution will work for
us. Our shelter consists of two buildings: one is pole barn type
construction with metal siding and the other is a converted garage.
They are about 25 feet apart. One company says that wireless door
detector and heat detectors in the garage are the way to go, because
they are reliable and installation will be much cheaper than a wired
solution, digging a trench between the buildings, etc. The other
company says that wireless is no good for us because of the metal
siding of the building and the fact that the signals need to go
through outside air and will be messed up by high humidity and rain.

We have no clue which answer is right on either point. Can you help?

Thanks,
Teffy

 

[Sharmon]

If you have high ceilings the ion based smoke detector would work fine
, a rate of rise detector would detect a fire present or very close.
If you are using wireless and you are not using an exterior extender
through a metal wall , don't. Having the wireless equivalent of a wire
underground that is reasonably good will not save you money. As the
system will be designed to save livestock not property , stability and
speed of reaction would be my primary concerns.

 

[Aegis]

It's worth the expense to have a licensed fire alarm company design the
system for you. 25 ft of trenching isn't much; in fact, in your place, I'd
do it myself and lay in the 2 1/2 sticks of 3/4" PVC pipe. Sounds like the
trunk slammers you talked to are just trying to shy away from digging.

Also, I have 6 cats and a dog in my house (2000 sq. ft.) and my
photoelectrics have never had a problem.

 

[Jakes452]

My God ..you might as well post your credit card number, you pin and
whetever else you want protected if you use someone from this group! If your
familys saftey is a concern...DO NOT USE THIS GROUP FOR
ADVISE OR GIVE OUT ANY INFORMATION. If you deal with someone from this
newsgroup you better keep one eye
open while your sleep at night! this is the worse place to look for info
for your home security. This group is a hive of activity to get your
confidence then rip your off. Get "help" from here and next think your
house is
cleaned out and inexplicably your alarm didnt work......or worse.....
Be very very careful using this group.
Be sure to closely investigate (primarily if you
buy online) any of the online alarm seller, especially if they claim a ASA
certification, a totally false and misleading certification (see that
later). You wouldn't want to buy from someone whose sideline is
understanding your alarm system for the purpose of exploiting it later
byknowing your codes or maintenance access numbers. Be wary of those who do
not have a brick and mortar store.

When I was shopping and using this newsgroup some online dealers advertised
a ASA certification with a picture of a ASA emblem shown on their website.
It gives a good first impression but when you look into it you find out that
it was nothing more then some....guy.... creating a website to supposedly
post complaints, with no entries of complaints or follow-through. It was
analogous to someone flashing a police badge that turns out to be fake. The
ASA moniker is a badge without any accreditation and surely this is
misleading and a scam.

Some of the free advice you get is not because of someone's unselfish need
to make the world a better place to live. Most are giving you advice on the
hope of getting a sale or...."other" information. Listen but don't act on
the advice until you can confirm or gain some trust in the source by
researching them.

Sometimes you can learn a lot about sellers by plugging in email address or
screenname into a Google search of past news postings. You will be
surprised, .....no..MAKE THAT SHOCKED....AND I MEAN SHOCKED!!!!..... at what
you find out about those offering to outfit your alarm. How can our legal
system let these type of people sell home security!!!!!

This is a very unregulated online business, and especially risky for
something as important as YOUR HOME security.

good luck....and go talk to someone reputible.

 

[Frank Olson]

I am a volunteer at a nonprofit cat shelter. After a scare with a
small fire in a clothes dryer duct, we decided to ask for
recommendations from 2 local security companies to upgrade our
15-year-old system. They disagree on two fundamental points, so I'm
asking for your advice.

The first point is whether or not smoke detectors will work in our
environment which has a lot of cat hair and a lot of cat litter dust.
One company says that mechanical heat detectors are the only way to
go. The other company says that the kind of smoke detector with a
light beam will not work, but the ionic kind will work, and are better
than heat detectors because they will react more quickly if the fire
is far away from the heat detector.

The second point is whether or not a wireless solution will work for
us. Our shelter consists of two buildings: one is pole barn type
construction with metal siding and the other is a converted garage.
They are about 25 feet apart. One company says that wireless door
detector and heat detectors in the garage are the way to go, because
they are reliable and installation will be much cheaper than a wired
solution, digging a trench between the buildings, etc. The other
company says that wireless is no good for us because of the metal
siding of the building and the fact that the signals need to go
through outside air and will be messed up by high humidity and rain.

We have no clue which answer is right on either point. Can you help?

My two cents:

First off, cats are "evil". I have one and speak from personal experience.
)

Smoke detectors are definitely the way to go. What kind you're going to use
is based entirely on what's best, given the building's construction and
contents. In areas of higher humidity you may consider using
photo-electrics as they will provide for better immunity from false alarms.
As for using wireless, it's true metal can often attenuate signals and
reduce the range but you shouldn't have a problem given the distance
involved. Where possible I would suggest going with a hard wired system as
it's fairly trouble free maintenance wise (you won't have to worry about
replacing batteries). A 25' overhead run should not present a huge
difficulty as long as it's all done correctly (and to code). Run extra wire
for a telephone/intercom extension (at the same time) and you'll benefit
even more.

Find yourself a couple of *real* security companies (and steer clear of the
idiots you've already mentioned). Contact your State's Alarm Association.
A complete listing is here:
http://www.yoursecuritysource.com/statealassoc.htm.

You might also consider installing a video surveillance system (at least the
wiring for one). Good luck!!

 

[AM-Team]

I have a cat shelter, too!
One allways says meowhhhhhchrrr, the other has long brown hair and says
"do not drink another sixpack".
My cat shelter is covered - yes - by a LOXXON!
http://www.loxxon-alarms.de.vu