I just noticed that there are smoke detectors that will use wifi to send phone notifications. I definitely want one but I’m wondering if they actually work in a barn with dust. I want notifications about fire, not dust. Does anyone have one of these in a barn?
you should use a detector that senses rate of rise of temperatures as a normal house detector senses the smoke
here is one of many that are available
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This one doesn’t seem to work with an app. I want one that will send a phone notification in case I am not close enough to the barn to hear the detector itself.
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good luck finding one as most are designed to report to a fire alarm panel
I second Clanter: get a heat detector. Depending where you live, if the temp drops below 32 degrees, smoke detectors won’t work. Not widely known, but true.
And be aware that many of these alarms will be compromised by dust and may not work properly, or in my case the alarms had been going off at odd times and once ( probably all night, poor horses) were no one got a notice they were going “off”.
If your barn has a tack and feed rooms with doors, maybe install smoke detectors in those non-dusty spaces. Then spend time and money on fire-proofing the rest of the barn - upgraded wiring, perhaps a power cutoff to the exposed electric outlets during the night, fly misting system to control spiders and webs as examples. Obviously I know nothing about your barn, so these are just general ideas.
I am a fire prevention compulsive person. This is the barn where my horses lived up until I bought my own farm. It had very iffy electrical wiring and I was always worried about fire, which eventually did happen.
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I just ordered this with 6 total sensors:
Govee WiFi Hygrometer Thermometer 3 Pack H5151, Indoor Outdoor Wireless Temperature Humidity Sensor Monitor with Remote App Notification Alert, 2 Years Free Data Storage Export, for Home, Greenhouse https://a.co/d/8n8JpEu
They’re not going to arrive before the incoming cold this weekend but they seem well reviewed and the house on site has wifi that extends to the barn. I’ll report back once I receive everything and get it up and running.
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I just bought one yesterday! It is working great. Needed a little customer assistance for getting it wifi connected but it’s good peace of mind.
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@endlessclimb I’ll prob end up getting another kit for the house too. We live in a 3 story townhouse and it would be swell to know if there were ever an issue anywhere, but especially ground level. The dogs sleep there at night and those doors are our only outs without having to shimmy down a two story deck.
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I have lived in two story dwellings for the past 60 years. All have just a single staircase, so if a fire blocks it the only way out from the second floor is windows. I keep a 13 foot emergency ladder kit upstairs and under the window I plan to use. They even make built in ones now, and 3 story lengths, Consider whether the person on the upper floor is worth buying an emergency ladder for.
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An easy answer for those who sleep in the upper stories and a possibly lifesaving piece of equipment. Definitely worth having.
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