BRK 760MRL Thermally Enhanced Optical Smoke Alarm, Mains Powered with Rechargeable Battery Backup, Push Fit Base

I liked this product because it was so easy to install and great value for money. No dislikes of this product.

Battery should last 10 years. It did not.

I think (off the top of my head) that every house needs a couple of fire heads fitted now and new houses mains powered ones. Regardless, having fire heads fitted is a 'Good thing.'So I had a couple in use but when a couple came up for review I figured more the merrier and thus I have this.Not pretty - which is similar to most fire detecting heads of course - but fortunately after a short period of time you simply don't see the pimple hanging from your ceiling. Humans ability to filter is quite remarkable.To fit of course you need a mains power cable which, after a complete house renovation I had already put into place in each room. I only had to locate it in my nice new plastered ceiling....It has a battery backup which, of course is needed in the event of loss of power which, of course might be the source of your fire.It is loud enough to wake up all but the deaf. If you sleep through this then there isn't any hope...Now, unlike the older 'smoke' detectors this isn't a radiation type. I do have a fair bit of knowledge of these things being a Chief Engineer (marine) and have dealt with thousands over the years involved in ships and this makes a difference. The radiation type (which has fallen out of favour) worked better. That's because it was more of a combustible gas detector and thus could alarm before smoke occurred. This optical type is based upon smoke stopping a light beam from being detected and thus isn't as quick to operate as the older type. It also means you have to make sure it's clean because a dirty sensor will act to obscure the light beam. So a bit of yearly maintenance needed and if you are a smoker then a lot more.Overall, it is a well made, life saving household essential. However, being mains powered you need to factor that potential increase in cost when fitting.

BRK isn't a brand I have ever come across before, and it turns out this is a bit surprising as they claim to have invented the first domestic smoke alarm 45 years ago. This 760MRL model is mains powered and says it is thermally enhanced optical, with a rechargeable lithium battery backup.When you take it from the simple cardboard box it is in two pieces, the base which you screw to the ceiling and has terminals that you wire to your mains, and the alarm unit which plugs into the base. The alarm unit arrives in a sort of pink plastic shower cap which has an instruction label stuck to it saying it is a dust cover that you remove when your work area has been cleared and is clean. I suppose that this is intended to be installed after building work so a final job would be to go around removing your pink dust covers, otherwise they won't work properly.Instructions are supplied on two separate folded sheets of paper, both being a bit smaller than A4. You get one English, one German. It was at this stage I figured that not being a qualified electrician that I would leave it in the hands of the professionals, and it's here that I have my only real problem with this product - if you have it installed then you will no doubt be fully aware of what the product does, how it needs to be tested and maintained - you'll keep the little sheet of instructions easily to hand, periodically review your safety procedures with the other members of your household so that everyone is up-to-date, you will hoover your alarms every six months (!) and test them by checking the LEDs and sounding them once a week. And your electrician will have stuck the little supplied sticker next to your main circuit board that gives other electricians instructions on how your smoke alarms work.But everyone's life is not like this, is it? You forget to regularly read your instruction leaflets, you might sell your house, or it might be a rental, and not everyone knows how to maintain their smoke alarm system. It just worries me a bit that there is too much active involvement required to own and run this product, I'm sure there are smoke alarms out there that you fit and forget, and when their battery dies you hear a warning sound and replace it.In summary, this is a well made product, it requires an electrician to install it, and it's up to you to make sure you remember how your interconnected network of smoke alarms work and need to be maintained. It's an important part of keeping your home safe, it just feels a bit over-complicated.

I've had a few difficulties installing this device, just because I didn't have the electrical fittings available. We have now installed lights in the attic and I have been able to use this circuit to install this alarm.If the electrical fittings are there such as in new build houses then this alarm won't be difficult to get up and running quickly as the instructions are very good and written in plane English that you don't need to be an electrician to understand, but having the right tools is key as it is for most jobs.With 5 kids in the house now, we want the peace of mind now that we have a fire alarm system where we don't need to worry about the batteries getting low. etc.Once installed, to ceiling on the 2nd floor landing, I tested out the alarm by burning paper in a glass jar, and as expected the alarm sounded immediately.Recommended.