Product review

Updated April 2021

Smoke alarms

We tested 12 models to see which respond fastest to smoke.

April 2018

Fire Angel

ST-750

Price

$50

Score

Good

Recommended

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Test results

70
Ease of use

More test results

Smouldering fire sensitivity
Good
Flaming fire sensitivity
Good

Model

Avg price
$50
Alarm type
Photoelectric and thermal
Noise
93dBA
Battery type
Sealed lithium
Size
Standard

Features

Battery life
10 years
Alarm life
10 years
Warranty
10 years
Hush period
10min
Carbon monoxide alarm
Alarms can be linked
Voice alerts

More info

Notes
-
Availability
-

Member reviews

16 Member reviews

Why is this bit of junk rated as "Consumer Recommended""

Pros

Consumer tests rate this smoke alarm as "Good" and "Recommended"

Cons

15 separate and independent Consumer subscribers have consistantly rated this smoke alarm as 1 out of 5 (NB zero star ratings are not allowed by Consumer) since April 2018.
The Consumer Test for this product can not be trusted!!! It may only give "good" smoke alarm functioning for less than one third of the advertise life.
Disappointing that Consumer have ignored product reliability for such a crucial consumer home safety product !!

Recommend it?

No, this product has too many drawbacks.

Robin M.

16 Mar 2022

Used 6 months or more

Totally unreliable alarms

Pros

Promoted as a very good all-round unit.

Cons

Bought 2 units (1 as a spare) and installed the first which simply died with no warning after 12 months. Immediately replaced it with the second unit which now gives false alarms and will not silence so had to remove it. (Dec 2021). They were regularly vacuumed etc as per instructions but each unit only lasted 1/10 of their advertised life cycle.

Recommend it?

No, this product has too many drawbacks.

Gary A.

30 Dec 2021

Used 6 months or more

Hasn't lasted 10 years

Pros

Ticked the boxes when we bought it.

Cons

Beeping during the night in what is apparently flat battery mode. Bought it Iess than a year ago. We're hunting for the receipt now. Tired of the great NZ smoke alarm scam..

Recommend it?

No, this product has too many drawbacks.

Bill E.

21 Sep 2021

Used 6 months or more

Not good value

Pros

It is very loud.

Cons

I had FireAngel smoke alarms installed in my house 5 years ago. They have all stopped working within the last year. So the 10 year lifetime is misleading. They don't have batteries you can replace so once they stop working you have to remove them. But there's a warning on the alarms that you can't dispose of them in the rubbish so you need to find a special hazardous waste disposal. I will not buy this brand again.

Recommend it?

No, this product has too many drawbacks.

Airini B.

07 Apr 2021

Used 6 months or more

Doesn’t last more than a year or so

Pros

Product is replaced for free every time it fails (requested via the manufacturer website)

Cons

They consistently fail (low battery chirping after a year, randomly go off in the middle of the night)

Recommend it?

No, this product has too many drawbacks.

Cherie M.

22 Jan 2021

Used 6 months or more

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.

14 Dec 2019

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.

27 Apr 2019

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.

22 Jan 2019

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.

14 Dec 2018

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.

11 Jul 2018

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.

29 Jun 2018

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.

27 Jun 2018

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

28 May 2018

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.

24 May 2018

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.

Previous member

20 May 2018

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.)