Tough Question.
By koopharper
@koopharper (7599)
Canada
April 15, 2012 7:49pm CST
Why is it that if I put the toast in the toaster just little too long and burn it just a little bit my smoke alarm goes off? Yet I can work with a dull blade on my chopsaw and cut spruce two by fours until the entire apartment is filled with choking smoke and the stupid thing doesn't make a peep. The building I live is framed with spruce two by fours. Isn't that the kind of smoke that should be getting our attention?
1 person likes this
3 responses
@TrinityDownpour (790)
• Liechtenstein
16 Apr 12
I think it's because it's two different smoke. The smoke from the toaster is similar to the smoke that a fire emits. (After all the smoke alarm only detects smoke from fires that main purpose of it)
But the "smoke" from cutting spruce (it's a wood from a kind of tree right?) it's merely wood dust. Therefore the smoke alarm can't detect it.
@laydee (12798)
• Philippines
16 Apr 12
I think this is a very good response and I do agree with this thought.
Anyhow, for the topic starter, have you tried burning something else? hehehe.. If you burn something else and it does not sound the alarm off, then perhaps the makers of the smoke detector just didn't like their toasts burnt. hahahaha..
Have a great MyLot experience ahead!
1 person likes this
@koopharper (7599)
• Canada
16 Apr 12
That is a thought except it isn't merely wood dust. The chop saw was really dull and I was burning the wood as I cut my way through. I didn't notice all the smoke right away because I don't have a table in my "shop" and was working on the floor. The smoke was going up and I didn't didn't notice until it had gotten quite bad. I thought to clear the air by opening the window. Our first floor is set half in the ground and the cold air from outside pushed the smoke out of the room I was working in into the rest of the apartment instead of going outside like I'd intended. The burned wood smoke was produced by friction instead of a flame but since it is the same wood used in the construction of the building I would not have expected that to make a difference. The only thing that made any sense to me at all was that the air from outside was quite cold and maybe it didn't set off the alarm because the smoke had no heat in it when it got to the alarm. I still think it should go off for that though.
@matersfish (6306)
• United States
16 Apr 12
It may be that the detecting part of your detector needs cleaning out. If the little bit of smoke is causing it to go off, it may be that a little bit of smoke can be detected. But with large plumes of smoke inundating the entire place, the smoke may be too thick to register.
It's been a long, long time since I was in 9th grade electricity building these things, but as I recall they have an ionization compartment that "detects" the smoke when the smoke penetrates it, thus sending a signal that things have gone SNAFU.
Certainly a bit out there in terms of a theory, but maybe thicker, more pronounced smoke cannot penetrate the detector, whereas thinly distributed smoke works its way through.
I guess, in a way, you can think of it like marbles in a drain. If you drop 100 marbles 1 by 1, they'll all go through. If you drop 100 at once, it could be that none go through.
It may also be a location problem on top of a "clog" problem. Maybe the toaster is right underneath it, so it can sense it quickly without the smoke filling up the space. And maybe the smoke from the 2x4s gathers before it reaches it.
In any event, I think you should just get a new one! 
1 person likes this
@matersfish (6306)
• United States
17 Apr 12
Smoke is a mixture of different particles and gases. Wood smoke is more viscous (for lack of a better word here) than smoke from burnt flour would be.
It could be that the wood smoke is simply too particle-heavy, because, like someone else mentioned above, you do have sawdust and other particles mixed in -- I wouldn't doubt some tiny metal shavings also.
Have you tried just lighting a scrap piece of spruce on fire to see if smoke from it causes detection?
Unless you are posing a riddle, I don't see how one would set off the detector while the other would not unless the detector registers smoke differently.
1 person likes this
@koopharper (7599)
• Canada
17 Apr 12
That is something I could test. I'll have to try that when everyone is out. No one here appreciates the sound that thing makes when it goes off. Basically that will prove that the smoke I'm making with the dull saw blade is different in composition from a burning stick of spruce.
An aside note: the repairs for my van this week were a little less than feared so I was able to go to the hardware store and get a new blade for the chop saw. Been needing that for awhile.
@koopharper (7599)
• Canada
16 Apr 12
Interesting answer. I tried blowing the dust out of them. There is little I can do for them beyond that. We're in government housing right now. They tested them fairly recently and declared them in working order. I don't think they would be terribly pleased with my woodworking adventures. For the time being the solution is to get me a sharper blade for my chopsaw.
I don't know how the air currents run through the house but I honestly think if I burned toast and burned through a two by four at the same time, the smoke from the two by four would reach the smoke detector first.
@lampar (7584)
• United States
3 May 12
Tough question always deserve tough answer from me, it is because that stupid thing in your apartment unit can't differentiate between little bit or a lot of smokes. It need to be taught first before it is installed, it is the fault of the apartment office, not you. 
