Talk:Smoke detector

frequency of certain causes of death

Hi! I think the article should describe in more detail, what the effects of a smoke detector are. Because: It looks like there were never so many final falls and terminal smoke intoxications as now (after they all have a smoke detector in their bedroom in F.Rep.Germany...)... Does anybody know some scientific studies? Thx. Bye. -- 2020-08-27T07:32:23UTC //forgot to sign... Homer Landskirty (talk) 14:40, 29 December 2022 (UTC)

Problems in History

I'm adding a Multiple Issues banner for the History section. The two kinds of issues are entangled, and not simple to resolve. Any assistance would be welcome.

I focus on three quotes from the section, preceded by paragraph number (within History):

para. 2: The first low-cost smoke detector for domestic use was developed by Duane D. Pearsall with Stanley Bennett Peterson in 1965, an individual replaceable battery-powered unit that could be easily installed.

para. 3: The first single-station smoke detector was invented in 1970 and made public the next year.

para. 4: The photoelectric (optical) smoke detector was invented by Donald Steele and Robert Emmark of Electro Signal Lab and patented in 1972.

The Pearsall/Peterson detector (para. 2) seems very clearly to have been single-station smoke alarm, so the statement from para 3 cannot also be true.

However, a simple copy edit to reconcile these claims is not sufficient, because of factual problems.

I recall from personal contact that Richard R. Saltzgaber (1917-2007) began the design, manufacture and sale of single-station photoelectric smoke alarms for home use in the early 1960s. In 1968, he formed a Florida corporation, Aljenik Industries, for the conduct of this business.

On the basis of my knowledge,

(a) Saltzgaber may have been manufacturing single-station smoke alarms for home use before 1965, and

(b) certainly was manufacturing photoelectric smoke alarms years before the Steele/Emmark patent cited in para. 4.

Accordingly, I understand at least two of the quoted statements to be incorrect, and likely all three.

Unfortunately, documenting the Saltzgaber/Aljenik history may be very difficult; I certainly don't have references I can cite at this time.

I recall that it was a turning point for his business when Richard's smoke alarms were carried by two large shop/mail-order chains, greatly increasing the volume of sales (which was never very great). I recall for sure that one of those was Montgomery Ward; the other might have been Sears.

If anyone has resources to search catalogs from the 1960s, it could help to provide a reference.

Etudiant~enwiki (talk) 20:54, 13 September 2021 (UTC)

Prioritize consumer and photoelectric

I'm starting a sequence of edits to prioritize information about consumer smoke detectors and consumer use cases. This is based on a belief that the primary users of Wikipedia are members of the general public rather than professionals who purchase or install commercial equipment such as commercial smoke detectors.

The driver for this is to make it easier to find objective information about purchasing and especially disposing of smoke detectors in the United States.

The plan is to move information about commercial-grade smoke detectors down while preserving that content, and to elevate use cases compared with specifications.

Bruce Esrig (talk) 14:30, 23 July 2022 (UTC)

Erwin Sick

Apparently Erwin Sick is given credit for the first smoke detector, but not much has been written about it. Any more detailed information? "In 1956, Sick is granted the second patent for a new type of photoelectric retro-reflective sensor, followed in 1958 by the patent for the first smoke detection device in the world." Rhynchosaur (talk) 16:59, 5 August 2022 (UTC)

TL:DR not relevant to the article-

This seems to be the original patent it is more of a security sensor (Photoelectric sensors | Reflex Array | SICK) used in industry production than a fire alarm product. Here is about there history on their own site: SICK's company history | SICK Fackbok.se (talk) 20:25, 11 April 2023 (UTC)

References

Added discussion of radiation

Added sections on radiation in and disposal of ionization smoke detectors, which are generally being replaced by photo-electric smoke detectors.

Officials at the US Department of Energy provided references to documents published by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission that report on studies of Ionization smoke detectors done in about 1978 and 2001. They also provided links to a backgrounder by the NRC and another backgrounder by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Bruce Esrig (talk) 09:48, 24 September 2022 (UTC)

Wiki Education assignment: Industrial Hygiene and Ergonomics- Graduate Student Projects

This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 9 January 2023 and 10 May 2023. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Haljohan (article contribs).

— Assignment last updated by UCIHGrad18 (talk) 14:48, 13 March 2023 (UTC)