<font color="blue"> The easiest way to disable a smoke detector on a temporary basis is to tape a plastic bag over it, blocking the flow of air into it. </font>
This discussion is very timely for me, but with a different twist. Has nothing to do with tractors or garages. I am currently in the process of expanding my office into some adjacent space next door. My office has a security / fire alarm that is monitored. Apparently, a fire sensor was installed in the attic space of the office next door and wired into my system.
During the demolition of the adjacent office partitions and rerouting plumbing, etc, the dust has triggered the fire alarm on several occasions, sometimes on weekends. In each instance, by the time our monitoring service contacts me, the fire department has already been dispached, only to find dusty conditions or, recently, workers smoking cigarettes near the sensor.
Our system was designed to be tamper-resistant. Therefore, when the workers tried to either disconnect the sensor or cover it with a plastic bag, it triggered the alarm. The only way to disarm the fire sensor is to turn off the circuit breaker and unplug the back-up battery. Unfortunately, the alarm system is on the same circuit as the furnace. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif So, we have had some chilly days at work when the construction crew was kicking up dust.
The point of this long story is that covering the sensor doesn't always work. However, it is probably fine for most home units.
