Pickles by Brian Crane for October 20, 2019

Permanent solutions produce permanent problems.

Press the restart/reset button after installing new batteries.

So Earl’s going to trade a noisy smoke alarm for a hole in the ceiling?

Is she asking her to get the sledge hammer, because she hid it from him?

It seems to be misbehaving smoke alarm week at Go Comics.

Smoke detectors beep because: Ionized air, actual smoke or a dead battery. CO detectors beep because CO reaction on the sensor, the whole (sensor) unit needs replacement, or dead battery. And at least in my house they are not only near each other, but they sound very similar. Take one outside to partition the problem, then do what’s appropriate.

And wear ear plugs.

The low battery beep is designed to go off near midnight the day before a vacation trip or job interview.

“Bring me the hammer. And I’m going to take out my hearing aids and put them right here on this table.”

The alarms do not last forever. Replace it. Plus, there was a woman around here who was so annoyed with her CO2 detector going off all night because it gave her a headache and made her feel bad. She lived but she was lucky someone else got her out.

My thoughts exactly.

Earl you are such a man of action !

Chances are, it’s over ten years old. Time for a new one…

This happened to meeeeee…..it was SOOOO annoying….I am now smoke alarmless!

We had a burglar alarm in our home when we moved in. We didn’t use it, but one morning it went off wiz hellacious sound. I tried punching the numbers in to dtop it. Nothing worked. I call person who put it in and he gave me code. It didn’t stop so I yanked the damned thing off the wall and threw it in the trash can outside. It was still blaring.

A good sledgehammer can solve a multitude of problems.

Just needs a little percussive maintenance.

Once had a self-contained smoke alarm. After about 15 years later, I figure the battery was done so I threw it away with the garbage sack by the road. About an hour later, the neighborhood was alarmed, so I brought it back in the house to get it to quit. Still have it 30 years later.

Replaced all of mine last year. Seven-year non-replaceable batteries. One of them yells! It’s Fire/CO and it lets you know which one. Loudly.

now it’s time to hunt for and read the instructions. there’s a beep that indicates the device is inoperable

When all else fails, get a bigger hammer! (And please replace the smoke detector, and get a CO detector, too) !

Hey Earl, it’s telling you to replace it! The older ones were 5 yrs now they have built in back up batteries that last 10, when the battery dies, you get a new one. Cheaper in the long run than 20 batteries over 10 yrs, and easier. And while you’re at it maybe get the wireless connected ones so they all go off when one does.

When we moved into this house, we discovered the hard way that the previous owner had installed the smoke alarm right beside the kitchen. It was either move it or have cold food forever.

Guessing that if you take the battery out.. and leave it out.. it will stop.

And don’t fergit them magic words. . .da. . .fu. . .g. . d.mm.t. . .ALWAYS helps!

In 19 years of repairing lawn mowers, I’d seen more “I know how to fix it” style home repairs that must have used a hammer. That was back in the day before push mowers became “throw-away” at the end of summer.

Telling Opal to get the sledge suggests what? That he is impaired? That he can order her to fetch things?

Why, oh why, do they always need a new battery in the middle of the night????

I’m with Earl. My house came with wired-in smoke detectors in every room. Every dang one of them started beeping one by one, over a few weeks, and refused to respond to new batteries and reset buttons. And the dang batteries were only backups, since the power was coming from the house’s wiring. I had to unplug all of them. A couple of them got yanked out of the ceiling by the wires. The electrician said they all needed to be replaced at a cost of hundreds of dollars. Forget it. I’d rather die in a fire than deal with the stupid things.

Our complex put in all the detectors at the same time. They had a ten year lifespan, and all decided to start beeping within a few days of each other a few months ago. New batteries were not a fix, you had to take them down and rip out the battery and wait for somebody to give you a new one. We heard complaints and beeping around the complex for weeks until they could replace all of them.

Replacement of the whole unit is my thought!

I’m a counselor. When client’s phones ring in my office, my first response is often “Would you like a hammer?”

Put a piece of tape over the the terminals of a 9 volt battery before throwing it away. If it shorts out against something in the trash, it can (and has been known to) start a fire.

‘Likely haven’t updated their detectors since Hector was a pup (preceded Roscoe).

Hammer? How about a baseball bat, like Larry on Curb Your Enthusiasm?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZCEvVBY4LI

No, no. Sledghammers are reserved for alarm clocks only. A decent broom handle will do the trick on the smoke alarm.

Maybe just maybe there is smoke…

Just take out the battery and leave it out. Easier than a sledgehammer.

Good plan. Who needs smoke detectors?

Don’t give it away, man! Energizer Bunny