Does anyone have a smoke detector in their coop?

[openheartnp]

Hi! I am converting and 8x8 shed into a coop. I have electricity in there now, so I'm concerned about fire. I bought a smoke detector, but it says oit may go off falsely in "dusty" conditions.

Any thoughts?

 

[teach1rusl]

Is the coop even close enough to your house where you'd hear it if it went off??? I'm just asking because I don't think I'd hear it in my coop (partly because of distance from the house, and partly because our coop is insulated).

I will say that MOST appliances recommend not using in a dusty area - including fans. That doesn't stop me from running one out there though.

Battery operated devices are especially persnickety when it comes to dust though.

If it makes you feel comfortable using a smoke detector out there, then try it. Keep your coop clean...and dust once a month or so.

 

[moetrout]

I don't let my chickens smoke......it affects the flavor of the eggs!

 

[Chick Norris]

The dust could definitely be a problem. I'm not sure what they cost, but a heat detector would prevent any false alarms caused by the dust.

 

[ll]

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[fireguy56]

Hi, Wow...Great question and idean, however unless your coop is right next to your house, or your smoke detector is gonna be hard wired into existing ones in your home....forget it. Being a Fire Marshall I can tell you that both ionization and photo electric detectors will be useless in the dusty conditions of most coops. My suggestions would be to do all wiring by code, limit extension cord use and be extremely cautious with any type of mechanical ventilation or heating, especially if you use the deep litter method. Pine shavings in their form used by most of us are extremely flammable. Just use common sense , but forget the detector idea. As a Code Enforcement o
Offical and Fire Investigator....this is my opinion. Good Luck
Erik

 

[openheartnp]

Thanks eveyone! The coop is on the side of my house, in line with my bedroom so I think I would hear it. I'll be sure to test it first, thanks for the warning. I hear the roosters when they crow, that's for sure!

Hubby wanted a hard wired one, but I figured the chickens aren't cooking or smoking, so the fire would come from the electric

. So we went with battery, which I haven't installed yet-tonight is their first night in their new digs and I don't have need for electric so the power is off.

And thank you for the code reminder. We took pains to do it right, but there's no harm in re-checking

 

[speckledhen]

I have them in a couple of my coops, and one coop has a baby monitor that picks up sounds from the one it's in and some sounds from the others, so I'm sure I'd hear it.

 

[SmokinChick]

I think your chickens would have a heart attack when that thing went off at 2 in the morning. (if you got them out in time) I know by the time I got up and outside the coop would probably gone.
I'm with Fireguy, do a good job wiring and cleanliness. Electrical fires don't start without reason. Don't overload your circuits and use outdoor rated sockets and appliances. Thats why they use "explosive proof" switchs in grain factories, and high dust areas.

 

[openheartnp]

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Good idea! i'm sure I still have one lurking aroung here, hmmm...