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Smoke alarms

We tested 20 models to see which respond fastest to smoke.

Smoke alarm on ceiling
Fire Angel ST-750

Fire Angel

ST-750

recommended

80

Avg price

$48

Member Reviews

11 member reviews

    Test results

    • 70
      Ease of use

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    How we test

    Overall score is based on smouldering and flaming fire sensitivity.

    “Good” or “OK” meant the alarm sounded quickly enough to alert you to danger.
    “Poor” meant the alarm took significantly longer to sound.
    “Extreme” sensitivity meant the alarm sounded so quickly they are more likely to issue false alarms.

    Ease of use includes instructions and ease of installation.

    See "About our test" for more information.

    Noise is measured in a quiet room 3m from the alarm.

    Price is from a March 2018 price survey.

    More test results

    • Smouldering fire sensitivity

      Good

    • Flaming fire sensitivity

      Good

    Model

    • Avg price

      $48

    • Alarm type

      Photoelectric and thermal

    • Noise (dBA)

      93

    • Battery type

      Sealed lithium

    • Size

      Standard

    Features

    • Battery life (years)

      10

    • Alarm life (years)

      10

    • Warranty (yrs)

      10

    • Hush period (min)

      10

    • Carbon monoxide alarm

    • Alarms can be linked

    • Voice alerts

    More info

    • Notes

      -

    • Availability

      -

    Member reviews

    11 Member reviews

    Battery does not last

    Pros

    Nil

    Cons

    Quite simply, it only lasted 3 years of the claimed 10. Wasteful (as the battery can't be replaced).

    Recommend it?

    No, this product has too many drawbacks.

    Callum L.

    Used 6 months or more

    2yr battery life

    Pros

    Nil.

    Cons

    Battery lasts 2years on 4 of 6 i have.

    Recommend it?

    No, this product has too many drawbacks.

    Tim Y.

    Used 6 months or more

    Do not waste your money

    Pros

    NON

    Cons

    All failed within 4 years of purchse

    Recommend it?

    No, this product has too many drawbacks.

    Charles B.

    Used 6 months or more

    Dud alarm

    Pros

    Nothing

    Cons

    No longer available in New Zealand, thank goodness. I had to replace mine twice in the space of two years because it kept going off without reason.

    Recommend it?

    No, this product has too many drawbacks.

    Graham C.

    Used 6 months or more

    Battery does not last - avoid like the plague

    Pros

    None that I can think of.

    Cons

    I have to agree with all the others that have commented on here. I brought 4 of these smoke detectors at considerable expense, and all have failed within 2 to 3 years. Unfortunately did not keep the receipt, so I have phased them all out. Will not trust this brand again! I really wish they would allow a zero rating!

    Recommend it?

    No, this product has too many drawbacks.

    George R.

    Used 6 months or more

    Don't believe the 10 year battery life.

    Pros

    Makes money for Fire Angel at consumer's expense.

    Cons

    My 10 year battery life (replace by 2024) FireAngel ST-620 lasted 2 years. If you don't keep your recepit you may as well throw your money in the gutter.
    It's a petty Consumer don't allow zero ratings. They really need include a reliability test before the give "Consumer recommended" status to products.

    Recommend it?

    No, this product has too many drawbacks.

    Robin M.

    Used 6 months or more

    Not good value for money

    Pros

    None

    Cons

    Don't last the distance as you would expect with the replace by dates. Spent the extra money so $50 each for 6 of these smoke alarms. Within 2 years we had to.replace 2 if them.due.to the low battery alarm with 8 years left on their replace by date. Last night, temp got.down to 15C in the house so cold night for us, and 3 more went off with low bAttery alarm, with replAce dates of 2024 and 2026. So off to replace them, but not with the same brand. They are NOT 10 year alarms

    Recommend it?

    No, this product has too many drawbacks.

    Paul & Sonia U.

    Used 6 months or more

    Poor reliability of the battery and speaker

    Pros

    We bought 50 of these alarms to put in rental properties. On the plus side, they were cheap.

    Cons

    However, and its a big however, within 2 years, over 35% of these have failed and needed to be replaced. The main fault was 'flat battery beeping' which is odd so soon in a supposed 10 year battery. Another fault that developed was a really quiet alarm in some units - so quiet a conversation in a library would drown it out. Fortunately we test smoke alarms frequently, so were able to find these faults before they were tested in an emergency. The reliability of these alarms is appalling, don't install one in a rental and think you've met your obligations for 10 years, you likely haven't.

    Recommend it?

    No, this product has too many drawbacks.

    Jackie

    Used 6 months or more

    Absolutely dreaful product. A total waste of money

    Pros

    When new it appears to work well. When 1-3 years old, expect it to fail. Keep your receipts!

    Cons

    We bought 5x of these several years ago for pretty big money. Thank goodness we kept the receipts. Everyone of our 5x units has failed at least once or more likely twice or more after 1-3 years, and each time one fails, I've driven some distance to Mitre 10 get a free replacement. It seems there was a really big batch of bad ones if you check Amazon UK. Not sure if they ever sorted the problems with bad lithium batteries. Symptoms of failure is beeping for no reason late at night or when cold. Disappointing that Consumer haven't researched the reliability of these.

    Recommend it?

    No, this product has too many drawbacks.

    David B.

    Used 6 months or more

    I wouldn't Recommened this make

    Pros

    Nice looking design

    Cons

    After 2 and a half years our Fire Angel has started beeping, is a different model than the one listed now, but I am very cautious, when something that is supposed to aid as an warning system fails after such a short period of time.

    Recommend it?

    No, this product has too many drawbacks.

    Graeme M.

    Used 6 months or more

    Angle of death more like it

    Pros

    It supposed to last 10 years, so no need to worry about replacing the batteries. We bought 3, paid nearly $200 for the 3 at $60 something each.

    Cons

    After 3 years and a few months apart 2 of the 3 fire alarms failed. Incessant beeping, no dust, no bugs, no spiders or web, no obvious cause. They continued to beep for nearly a week then finally died. What a waste of money for a 3 year life span. Most importantly this device supposed to save lives and alert you in time. The failure of this device speak to its poor quality and strongly recommend avoiding this brand. ( Due to misplaced receipts we couldn't return them. In the end we invested more money and bought 3x Cavius alarms since they had decent reviews and so far they are fine.)

    Recommend it?

    No, this product has too many drawbacks.

    Rita B.

    Used

    See all 11 member reviews
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