Kidde P12040 Hardwire With Battery Backup Photoelectric Smoke Alarm Size: 1 Pack Color: White Model: 21006371

I have replaced all of my 1995 old BRK 86RAC ionization smoke alarms in my house because of false alarms at night and during cooking. These new Kidde P12040 are the best smoke alarms for your home. No more false alarms. LED photoelectic smoke alarms have no radiation and last longer than ionization smoke alarms. Photoelectic alarms will save your families life when a real fire happens; ionization alarms go off way too late to get your family out in time from toxic smoke(watch the YouTube videos on the differences).These should only be interconnected to Kidde devices with the red wire. Was very easy to change the connection wire which was included in the retail box. You just remove the wire nuts and twist the wire nuts back on. No cutting or stripping required. I recommend watching a tutorial on YouTube on how to use wire nuts. Luckily the wiring was done by a licensed electrician in 1995. If electrical wires are not stripped right they can cause house fires.I never owned the Kidde PE120. I don't know why people are posting bad reviews for the Kidde PE120 on the new Kidde P12040 page. The Kidde P12040 has a hush/test button, and is not the same product as the PE120.Note: These shouldn't be installed very close to bathroom doors because bathroom steams can give false alarms to these smoke detectors if you don't have a exhaust fan in your bathroom.

I am very pleased with these photoelectric fire detectors. I replaced most of my fire detectors with these. I did have to change out the electrical connection (the old ones were firex) but that's pretty easy. The base has push out tabs instead of open holes, so it's a bit more air tight. Also there is a gasket in there that keeps air flow from the hole where the wires come from out of the unit. This probably helps prevent false alarms and break downs due to dust and also keeps it from allowing air from inside your walls to penetrate. I am very happy.I also bought some i4618 (the ionization type) so I would have both kinds but the i4618 has holes in the plate and no gasket. I wonder if the almost identical p12040 would have had a gasket.Anyway, this is the good one. And firemen are recommending the photoelectric type like this more and more frequently.

I bought two of the PE120 to replace old Firex units. As someone else said, it's really the only choice for old Firex replacement unless you want to replace all of the units.I am happy with the two PE120 I purchased. They integrate with the Firex system without hassle. I did have to change out the plastic mounting ring, and the electrical connector, but that was to be expected. It's only two screws, and 3 wires to connect. If you aren't comfortable with doing your own wiring, you would have to call an electrician.I have never had a false alarm from these units. I test and clean them regularly, so maybe that is the secret.I am going to purchase another one to replace another old Firex unit.

These smoke alarm units were purchased to replace our existing units. They are hardwired with a battery back-up & one of ours started failing & beeping. Replacing the battery didn't fix the problem. Then, we realized that these units need to be replaced every 10 years. They had been in use for 16 yrs. with no problems. We used to replace the batteries regularly & now expect these to last at least the 10 years recommended before replacing them again. Great product. Very reliable.

Works great. A drop-in replacement for the kidde 1235 ionization-type alarm landlord had located only 10 feet from the oven in kitchen. No more alarms due to just cooking.Rental with interconnected alarms meant I was being treated to two of these things going off due to smokeless, normal oven usage. Super annoying and the fan in the over-oven microwave/hood just exhausted back into the unit. After years of just sealing up the edges of the old ionization alarm with tape (not a perfect seal, but blocked enough airflow to mostly handle nuisance alarms) I decided to drop the $20 to buy the right alarm for a location so close to a kitchen (and bathroom too). This alarm hasn't triggered a nuisance alarm yet and it's working perfectly with the other kidde interconnected alarm (ionization-type model 1235 as well). As a bonus, this thing even has a hush feature if I should need it. Looks close enough to the original kidde I don't have to go through the trouble of talking with landlord about upgrading their smoke detectors.