Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations

roadburner

Lincoln hasn't built a car I'd want to own since the Mark VII LSC and the LS sedan.

graphicguy

roadburner said:

snakeweasel said:

I am going to call you on this, traffic offenses have always been civil offenses. The difference between "civil" and "criminal" is pretty much jail. Criminal offenses all have the possibility of jail time while civil offenses don't, it's just fines and/or forfeiture of privileges. The difference in the courts is mainly what the judge can do. It's not to deny you your rights. So I seriously doubt Kentucky is trying traffic citations in a criminal court.

You are dead wrong; in Kentucky a criminal offense that doesn't hold the possibility of jail time is called a violation The only difference from any other criminal offense is that defendants are not entitled to court appointed counsel. Aside from that, defendants charged with a violation are entitled to the same rights as someone charged with a misdemeanor or felony- including trial by jury. How do I know? Well, I presided over trials involving traffic citations on District Court criminal dockets from 1986 to 2018.

I decided I’m going to fight my speeding ticket. It may be a fool’s errand, but at the very least I’ll have my say and see how they justify this mobile red light camera van ordeal.

Mr_Shiftright

stickguy said:

I volunteer with the lab rescue. If you really want one, I can hook you up!

I was watching a lab do rescue work a few days ago. She did well except she kept "finding" the rescuers. She's only in the 1st grade right now. Labs and Shepherds seem best for this sort of work. They often specialize as cadaver dogs, avalanche dogs, water dogs, evidence dogs, etc.

driver100

venture said:

driver100 said:

suydam said:

driver100 said:

Trixie has been with us for 3 weeks now. She is also 3 1/2 months old. She has learned a lot and house training is coming along. She is really good....but, she has a huge amount of energy....I am getting too old for this.

Really cute! What kind of dog is it?
Regarding labs, we adopted our lab mix at around 6 months old. While not as destructive as a small puppy, she would take a nibble out of a corner of every piece of wood furniture we owned. End tables, backs of rockers, chair legs — every single piece had one nibble. Not destroying it — but one bite out of a piece of furniture kinda ruins the value. Oh well. It’s only furniture and she’s been a great dog, still hanging in there at 14 1/2 years old.

lol about nibbling furniture. Trixie does that a bit....we did buy some apple spray and that seems to keep her away from it. We bought her all these fancy toys....but, what does she like the most.......a golf ball or an old shoe!

Labs are the dog of choice in our community in Florida, there are two who live nearby. 14 1/2 is a good age for a lab to be...hope she is around for many more.

Trixie is a Shorkie....Shiatsu and Yorkie. She is a handful but, she sure is lovable. Parents must have been an odd couple, father a 7 lb Shiatsu....mother 12 pound Yorkie.....Trixie has to be less than 15 pounds fully grown to come with us on a plane, and be in the cabin.

You shouldn't give a dog an old shoe. They can't tell the difference between an old one and a new one.

Good point. I thought about that. I don't think she can get at our new shoes, and I made a point of giving her this one as a toy. But, if she goes after a new shoe at all we will discard the shoe as a toy. I did cut off the plastic tips that are on the laces.

driver100

Nice looking car but it is probably just an everyday Lincoln under the fancy exterior. Suicide doors are a really hard sell these days. I think some trucks use them, but, they wouldn't be much of a problem because the rear door usually seems to be narrower. Big problem was if the door opened somehow it would fly open. Another problem, not mentioned very often I believe, is that for the rear passenger to close it they may have to reach a long ways. Might be awkward if someone is getting in the front while someone is getting into the back.

imidazol97

graphicguy said:

I decided I’m going to fight my speeding ticket. It may be a fool’s errand, but at the very least I’ll have my say and see how they justify this mobile red light camera van ordeal.

I was looking at attorneys who specialize. It looks like Mike Allen and some others have done that. He talked about it a couple weeks back on his talk show (Sat 9-11 700) Used to be Lisa Wells' show until she got stopped for drinking and driving somewhere in Central Ohio IIRC. Ironic. Attorney.

The technique of sending tickets weeks after an infraction that is supposedly involving the safety occurs doesn't work. It's like training a puppy not to do things. If a puppy chews up your table leg, you don't let it continue to chew the table leg and then a day later speak sternly, swat it gently, or whatever other training technique you use. That has no effect on the behavior in real time. No, instead you immediately pull the puppy over and give her a warning ticket or a real ticket for the training purposes.

I don't see the logic of running a scam claiming it's for safety--. It's all for the money. Our own state legislator here spent several years in the House. He (they) accomplished nothing because they claim under Home Rule the individual political entities have rights to do certain thiings. When the Supreme Court (of Ohio) decided the last case from Dayton IIRC, we're back where we started in Ohio.

Instead the legislators wanted to try to add on a new law to stop people from driving slower than the legislators wanted to drive in the left lane of multi lane roads on their way to the capitol. It's my understanding they are immune while traveling to and from their "duties" in Columbus. Thank goodness for term limits to get this guy out.

Rep Bill Seitz has done the most over the years. His district is somewhere in Hamilton Cty.

Cincy has it in their city charter that there will be no cameras per a vote of the people. But they're hoping to change that claiming women and children might be hurt in school zones so they need to change it to allow the handheld cameras that are being pushed by the camera companies.

imidazol97

driver100 said:

.

Cute.

qbrozen

roadburner said:

Lincoln hasn't built a car I'd want to own since the Mark VII LSC and the LS sedan.

I haven’t driven one, but I like the idea of the AWD twin turbo Continental.

driver100

Imid The technique of sending tickets weeks after an infraction that is supposedly involving the safety occurs doesn't work. It's like training a puppy not to do things. If a puppy chews up your table leg, you don't let it continue to chew the table leg and then a day later speak sternly, swat it gently, or whatever other training technique you use. That has no effect on the behavior in real time. No, instead you immediately pull the puppy over and give her a warning ticket or a real ticket for the training purposes.

I don't see the logic of running a scam claiming it's for safety--it's like national politics. It's all for the money.

I know I am in the minority here but,...I believe in fines and I don't care how they catch them. As long as the system is accurate and if you can protest the ticket. Even if it cost me more it would be worth it to catch the law breakers.
I know all the arguments such as red light cameras are only used to generate income, $ millions for some cities. I like that form of income, let the lawbreakers pay. I know back home when people found out it was a $360 fine for going through a red light camera they tried a lot harder to actually stop.
Drivers in Florida don't stop for red lights unless it is absolutely necessary. I have been stuck trying to make a left turn and I can't do it until the light going across turns green....they keep driving through for as long as they can. There has to be some way to control what happens on the road. Then there are the speeders.....I see them every day and very few are ever stopped....in fact I could go for days and not see a police car. You would have to be really unlucky to get caught speeding in Florida.....90% of the people do it all the time.

driver100

It is only 55F today and it is going to rain all day until 10 a.m. tomorrow. It is all Mikes fault, the cold air is coming from the North, but, the rain is coming up from Miami way! :@

driver100

Today we went to Publix, but first we go to Sams to get a $5 barbeque chicken, some fruit and vegetables. The cashiers were gone and there were just automated DIY screens and scanners for checking out.
It takes longer but instead of having 5 or 6 cashiers working there are about 20 scanners, so no lineups and overall the system is faster.
What I am wondering is how do they know people are scanning everything that is in their shopping cart? Wouldn't it be fairly easy to not scan something and put it in a bag? Those people at the door are probably trained to find stuff that hasn't been paid for but auto scanners seem to make it a lot easier to get away with doing that.

imidazol97

driver100 said:

Today we went to Publix, but first we go to Sams to get a $5 barbeque chicken, some fruit and vegetables. The cashiers were gone and there were just automated DIY screens and scanners for checking out.
It takes longer but instead of having 5 or 6 cashiers working there are about 20 scanners, so no lineups and overall the system is faster.
What I am wondering is how do they know people are scanning everything that is in their shopping cart? Wouldn't it be fairly easy to not scan something and put it in a bag? Those people at the door are probably trained to find stuff that hasn't been paid for but auto scanners seem to make it a lot easier to get away with doing that.

Krogers has used that and the scanners weigh the bag area. So each item scanned has a weight associated and the bagging carousel goes up by that amount when the item actually goes into the bag. Add something to the bag that isn't scanned and the carousel says it got something that should be there--and has the screen tell the user to remove unscanned item from the bagging area.

The thing often is too sensitive. I put a paper Duro bag on it to use instead of plastic and it went crazy because of the extra weight. I use the paper bags for trash can liners under kitchen sink, e.g..

imidazol97

driver100 said:

Imid The technique of sending tickets weeks after an infraction that is supposedly involving the safety occurs doesn't work. It's like training a puppy not to do things. If a puppy chews up your table leg, you don't let it continue to chew the table leg and then a day later speak sternly, swat it gently, or whatever other training technique you use. That has no effect on the behavior in real time. No, instead you immediately pull the puppy over and give her a warning ticket or a real ticket for the training purposes.

I don't see the logic of running a scam claiming it's for safety--it's like national politics. It's all for the money.

I know I am in the minority here but,...I believe in fines and I don't care how they catch them. As long as the system is accurate and if you can protest the ticket. Even if it cost me more it would be worth it to catch the law breakers.
I know all the arguments such as red light cameras are only used to generate income, $ millions for some cities. I like that form of income, let the lawbreakers pay. I know back home when people found out it was a $360 fine for going through a red light camera they tried a lot harder to actually stop.
Drivers in Florida don't stop for red lights unless it is absolutely necessary. I have been stuck trying to make a left turn and I can't do it until the light going across turns green....they keep driving through for as long as they can. There has to be some way to control what happens on the road. Then there are the speeders.....I see them every day and very few are ever stopped....in fact I could go for days and not see a police car. You would have to be really unlucky to get caught speeding in Florida.....90% of the people do it all the time.

We disagree.

I saw an article this week about Florida being most dangerous for pedestrians. I think Orlando was highest.
It was a Miami Herald article.

I thought about 2 decades ago when an Ohio woman ran into a group in the crosswalk somewhere. Her driver license had been renewed BUT she had never had to re-qualify with an eye test. She renewed from Florida or came in and eye test was not required. Ohio changed their requirements after that embarrass revelation.

I am monocular and near eye can't get clear images at distance. The eye machine wants distance. The lady though she was going to get to take my license because I couldn't read the distance focused eye charts. Then we did the other eye and I was reading better than 20/20 at distance. I thought her nervous reaction was funny because I knew what the other eye would do.

My near eye focuses on the speedo and other things clearly and my brain accepts whichever eye has the clear image. So far so good.

imidazol97

driver100 said:

I like that form of income, let the lawbreakers pay.

A problem is that most often here the police back them for the income. The speed cameras and red light cameras catch mostly nonresidents--the locals know where they are an stop at those lights. I used to tell the story of the 3 cars going through a red light after the one on the main cross street at a hospital area with a camera.

The locals in Dayton years back only had 30% who paid the tickets. So Dayton was booting their cars with over 3 unpaid "fines."

driver100 said:

There has to be some way to control what happens on the road. Then there are the speeders.....I see them every day and very few are ever stopped....in fact I could go for days and not see a police car.

You identified the problem. The local communities who overspend on things that are "fun," don't want to increase the number of police on road. They decrease them instead. The income from cameras gets spent on social things.
Put more police on the roads and station them to watch intersections and speed areas on a random, roving basis. They'll collect their increased cost in fines.

I don't spend money in Dayton because of their past practices with the cameras. I did go to a theater production that my wife and friends really wanted to see. Dayton's surrounding suburban cities have police who stop cars over red lights and stop sign violations. They also stop them for improper lane changes and tailgating, which is put under aggressive driving.

Other areas likely have different experiences. When we headed to a cruise in while visiting our friends about 8 years or more ago in Murfreesboro TN, Dave warned me if the light changed right in front of me to yellow, don't slam on the brakes and stop. Go through. I'd get hit by the driver behind if I stopped quickly. The newly installed cameras there had a white light on the top of the stoplight bar that came on just before the light was going to change to warn the drivers the yellow was coming.

Unlike in Ohio, the drivers don't expect others to stop when the light goes yellow.

houdini2

imidazol97 said:

driver100 said:

.

Cute.

Very cute. Appears to be almost vibrating with energy. That is the Yorkie in her and she will always be a feisty little critter.

ab348

driver100 said:

What I am wondering is how do they know people are scanning everything that is in their shopping cart? Wouldn't it be fairly easy to not scan something and put it in a bag? Those people at the door are probably trained to find stuff that hasn't been paid for but auto scanners seem to make it a lot easier to get away with doing that.

Today I went to Ikea to pick up a small $5 item. After making the long trek to the checkouts the only lanes open were the self-serve ones. Unlike others I've seen they do not have scales which makes sense because of the type of things they sell. But the screen and the robot voice kept reminding me that they have cameras watching you when you check out at these things. Maybe that's enough to deter people. It struck me that because of the maze-like interior of the store I could have pocketed the item I bought at numerous points if I was so inclined. I wouldn't do that of course but it sure would have been a lot quicker and easier. I hate their store layouts.

abacomike

driver100 said:

It is only 55F today and it is going to rain all day until 10 a.m. tomorrow. It is all Mikes fault, the cold air is coming from the North, but, the rain is coming up from Miami way! :@

I don’t live in Miami, driver.  I live 40+ miles north of Miami.  I’m getting the same rain you are getting from the southwest.  Another cold front coming through tonight.  We’ve had 6+ inches of rain since Friday.  But I am not complaining - Lake Okeechobee is 6” below normal for this time of year which will benefit from this soaking rain.  Everything will green up nicely toward midweek.

abacomike

driver100 said:

Today we went to Publix, but first we go to Sams to get a $5 barbeque chicken, some fruit and vegetables. The cashiers were gone and there were just automated DIY screens and scanners for checking out. It takes longer but instead of having 5 or 6 cashiers working there are about 20 scanners, so no lineups and overall the system is faster. What I am wondering is how do they know people are scanning everything that is in their shopping cart? Wouldn't it be fairly easy to not scan something and put it in a bag? Those people at the door are probably trained to find stuff that hasn't been paid for but auto scanners seem to make it a lot easier to get away with doing that.

At Walmart, they also have self-serve checkout.  As you scan, you put your item in a bag which is on a scale.  If you put an item in the bag without first scanning it, it stops and asks you to scan the last item.  It won’t continue until you re-scan.  They have one cashier overseeing the 8 checkout positions.  So the scale knows exactly what each item’s weight is - so it keeps the customer honest.

qbrozen

“Exactly” is a stretch. Or, I should say, the scales being exact is a stretch. Too damned often I put the item in the bag and it either says “place item in checkout area” or “unidentified item in checkout area.”

suydam

“Other areas likely have different experiences. When we headed to a cruise in while visiting our friends about 8 years or more ago in Murfreesboro TN, Dave warned me if the light changed right in front of me to yellow, don't slam on the brakes and stop. Go through. I'd get hit by the driver behind if I stopped quickly. The newly installed cameras there had a white light on the top of the stoplight bar that came on just before the light was going to change to warn the drivers the yellow was coming.
Unlike in Ohio, the drivers don't expect others to stop when the light goes yellow.”

—- I thought that was pretty universal, especially when making a left turn. In Ohio and everywhere. Don’t remember any white lights though. Some yellow lights stay that way for a bit and don’t immediately change to red. Ohio lights tend to be that way, at least where I lived.

berri

Aba - Lake O gets too high and it is back to algae in the rivers as the Corps of Engineers dumps it out of O.

oldfarmer50

roadburner said:

Lincoln hasn't built a car I'd want to own since the Mark VII LSC and the LS sedan.

The Mark VIII wasn’t too bad either. Shame Lincoln dropped out of the luxury-sport segment. It would be cool if they did a Mustang clone like Mercury did with the Cougar. If I was going to get a classic car I’d prefer a 70 Cougar over a 70 Mustang. It would be interesting what a Lincoln lux version of a modern Mustang would look like.

oldfarmer50

graphicguy said:

roadburner said:

snakeweasel said:

I am going to call you on this, traffic offenses have always been civil offenses. The difference between "civil" and "criminal" is pretty much jail. Criminal offenses all have the possibility of jail time while civil offenses don't, it's just fines and/or forfeiture of privileges. The difference in the courts is mainly what the judge can do. It's not to deny you your rights. So I seriously doubt Kentucky is trying traffic citations in a criminal court.

You are dead wrong; in Kentucky a criminal offense that doesn't hold the possibility of jail time is called a violation The only difference from any other criminal offense is that defendants are not entitled to court appointed counsel. Aside from that, defendants charged with a violation are entitled to the same rights as someone charged with a misdemeanor or felony- including trial by jury. How do I know? Well, I presided over trials involving traffic citations on District Court criminal dockets from 1986 to 2018.

I decided I’m going to fight my speeding ticket. It may be a fool’s errand, but at the very least I’ll have my say and see how they justify this mobile red light camera van ordeal.

Maybe andes3 could give you some legal advice.

driver100

houdini2 said:

imidazol97 said:

driver100 said:

.

Cute.

Very cute. Appears to be almost vibrating with energy. That is the Yorkie in her and she will always be a feisty little critter.

Energy - that describes her. I was hoping she would calm down in another week or two. She can put something in her mouth and then run around the house at full speed, never stopping. Last week she couldn't jump up on the sofa...this week she can. Jumps up and gets her front legs on and pulls herself up...tough little thing.
She sleeps all night though. Her bed is on the floor below me....she lies there from 10:30 until 6 a.m., may last longer....not a peep.

imidazol97

driver100 said:

houdini2 said:

imidazol97 said:

driver100 said:

.

Cute.

Very cute. Appears to be almost vibrating with energy. That is the Yorkie in her and she will always be a feisty little critter.

Energy - that describes her. I was hoping she would calm down in another week or two. She can put something in her mouth and then run around the house at full speed, never stopping. Last week she couldn't jump up on the sofa...this week she can. Jumps up and gets her front legs on and pulls herself up...tough little thing.
She sleeps all night though. Her bed is on the floor below me....she lies there from 10:30 until 6 a.m., may last longer....not a peep.

Sounds like she has bonded.

I like when we care for our son and daughter-in-law's Wheaton Terrier. She likes to "dock." Snuggle against your leg or foot. Whatever she can press against for contact.

driver100

The self check-outs at Sam's do not have scales. You scan the item, and you can put it in your cart, on the counter or in a bag..........no scale. I thought about cameras but are they watching people all day long, and how many could you catch. I was thinking maybe some device picks you up at the door if an item goes out of the store that didn't get scanned...but, then you would need special packaging.
They are going to save a ton of money on cashiers along with all the benefits.

driver100

Imid The local communities who overspend on things that are "fun," don't want to increase the number of police on road. They decrease them instead.

I drive about 45 minutes a day minimum. I could catch 10 people a day for violations. If some form of low level traffic rangers were put on the road they would more than pay their way.....with extra income for the town.

Our yellow lights stay on a long time, but the reds stay on a very long time before the light changes to green for the next phase of traffic crossing over. They have to do that because so many cars go through red, yellow is like a green only you stomp on it to make it through.

oldfarmer50

driver100 said:

Today we went to Publix, but first we go to Sams to get a $5 barbeque chicken, some fruit and vegetables. The cashiers were gone and there were just automated DIY screens and scanners for checking out.
It takes longer but instead of having 5 or 6 cashiers working there are about 20 scanners, so no lineups and overall the system is faster.
What I am wondering is how do they know people are scanning everything that is in their shopping cart? Wouldn't it be fairly easy to not scan something and put it in a bag? Those people at the door are probably trained to find stuff that hasn't been paid for but auto scanners seem to make it a lot easier to get away with doing that.

Funny you mention that. At my local Sam’s they have made most of the checkouts self service. The only reason I don’t use them is that they require a credit/debit and I like to use cash.

I do use the self checkout at the supermarket and a few times I have missed an item. Walked right out of the store before it occurred to me to check. Nobody said a word. Luckily I realized my error and brought the items back and paid for them. I would have been mortified if I had been tackled by security for not paying.

driver100

One of our hard wired smoke alarms went off today. It is in the 2nd bedroom and with the vaulted ceiling I can't reach it (with an 8 ft ladder) enough to change the battery. I removed the battery, and I unplugged the wires so it wouldn't chirp every 3 minutes.
I looked up smoke detectors and I found ones on amazon (also Home Depot) that aren't wired in, they have a 10 year life with lithium batteries so you never have to change a battery, and I can put it on a lower place on the ceiling or it can go on a wall...6 to 12 inches down from the ceiling.

Since the whole unit only last about 10 years this works for me.

ab348

driver100 said:

The self check-outs at Sam's do not have scales. You scan the item, and you can put it in your cart, on the counter or in a bag..........no scale. I thought about cameras but are they watching people all day long, and how many could you catch. I was thinking maybe some device picks you up at the door if an item goes out of the store that didn't get scanned...but, then you would need special packaging.
They are going to save a ton of money on cashiers along with all the benefits.

I can just about guarantee that some sharpies did a cost-benefit analysis comparing the wage savings vs the amount of the projected losses when that decision was made.

I actually prefer self-checkouts much of the time unless I have a cart full of stuff, which is rare.

explorerx4

@driver100,
If your smoke detectors are hardwired, it may be interconnected with the other ones so that they all sound off if any one is triggered.

stickguy

we go to BJs and their self service take cash. Walmart does too (usually!)

I don't care for them. Waste too much time fighting with the system about where you put an item, etc. Looking up codes for produce, and heaven forbid there is a problem with a bar code. Cashiers can go much faster, and do a better job. BJs especially is funny that sometimes, it is quicker to get on the cashier line instead of self checkout.

tjc78

@driver100

No doubt you can see the Shih tzu in Trixie. Here is our Frankie. We got him from a rescue and they claim he is pure bred Shih tzu, but I have my doubts.

imidazol97

Cute again.

I love the expressions on these dog's faces. Frankie looks defiant. Trixie looks like a bundle of puppy energy waiting to explode.

tjc78

Defiant... you called that! Very true.

venture

tjc78 said:

@driver100

No doubt you can see the Shih tzu in Trixie. Here is our Frankie. We got him from a rescue and they claim he is pure bred Shih tzu, but I have my doubts.

We have never had a dog because my wife is allergic. This is my sons dog Frankie. She is a brown & tan coonhound. She loves attention and if she doesn't get enough she will come over, lean against your leg and stand on your foot.

imidazol97

Wheaton Terriers are hypoallergenic. Their hair causes minimum problems for allergy sufferers.
Son's Wheaton also doesn't shed despite the hair being off white in most areas.

oldfarmer50

driver100 said:

One of our hard wired smoke alarms went off today. It is in the 2nd bedroom and with the vaulted ceiling I can't reach it (with an 8 ft ladder) enough to change the battery. I removed the battery, and I unplugged the wires so it wouldn't chirp every 3 minutes.
I looked up smoke detectors and I found ones on amazon (also Home Depot) that aren't wired in, they have a 10 year life with lithium batteries so you never have to change a battery, and I can put it on a lower place on the ceiling or it can go on a wall...6 to 12 inches down from the ceiling.

Since the whole unit only last about 10 years this works for me.

Make sure a bug didn’t crawl inside and break the contact inside. That is what usually trips our hard wired unit. You might only need a second with the vacuum to fix it.

driver100

explorerx4 said:

@driver100,
If your smoke detectors are hardwired, it may be interconnected with the other ones so that they all sound off if any one is triggered.

Good point so I checked. The one I decommissioned - took battery out and pulled the wires off - is off, the other one in the master bedroom is flashing green which means it is on. Good idea to check though. I don't see the point in having them hard wired.....hardwired are usually placed where they are hard to get at.

driver100

tjc78 said:

@driver100

No doubt you can see the Shih tzu in Trixie. Here is our Frankie. We got him from a rescue and they claim he is pure bred Shih tzu, but I have my doubts.

Frankie looks like a cousin of Trixies. I am not too knowledgeable about dog breeds but I think if Frankie was a pure bred Shiatsu he would have a much flatter nose. He is a cute little guy though.

driver100

venture said:

tjc78 said:

@driver100

No doubt you can see the Shih tzu in Trixie. Here is our Frankie. We got him from a rescue and they claim he is pure bred Shih tzu, but I have my doubts.

We have never had a dog because my wife is allergic. This is my sons dog Frankie. She is a brown & tan coonhound. She loves attention and if she doesn't get enough she will come over, lean against your leg and stand on your foot.

Frankie seems to be a gentle soul....and seems to like being with kids.
Some breeds are hypoallergenic as Imid said, Bichon Friese, poodle, Shorkie. Maltese and many others -23 in all. If the hair doesn't fall out or falls out minimally, the dog will be hypoallergenic. It does mean you have to get the dog groomed though

stickguy

Driver, they are hard wired by code. The reason is that if one detects a fire, they will all go off. they also are powered so not dependent on the batteries (they are just intended to be back up in case of a power failure).

they do have a finite lifespan, and should alert when they are no longer effective (same as when the battery gets weak). I had this happen a few years ago (though at that point, I think they were well over 10!). Ended up replacing them all with the updated equivalent. Yes, it can be a hassle if you have vaulted ceilings. But it was not overly expensive to buy a contractor pack at HD (though of course, with my luck, that was 8 units, and my house had 9!)

driver100

oldfarmer50 said:

driver100 said:

One of our hard wired smoke alarms went off today. It is in the 2nd bedroom and with the vaulted ceiling I can't reach it (with an 8 ft ladder) enough to change the battery. I removed the battery, and I unplugged the wires so it wouldn't chirp every 3 minutes.
I looked up smoke detectors and I found ones on amazon (also Home Depot) that aren't wired in, they have a 10 year life with lithium batteries so you never have to change a battery, and I can put it on a lower place on the ceiling or it can go on a wall...6 to 12 inches down from the ceiling.

Since the whole unit only last about 10 years this works for me.

Make sure a bug didn’t crawl inside and break the contact inside. That is what usually trips our hard wired unit. You might only need a second with the vacuum to fix it.

That would be worth checking...if I could reach up there. I have had it with that alarm. If it goes off I have to borrow my neighbors 14 foot ladder. With the 8 foot ladder I can just reach it enough to screw the top off, take the battery out and pull the wires out. It had a 5 year 9 volt in it and that is just 1 year old........so the detector is just back on for decorative purposes. I am getting the 10 year one for $20 and I will place it at a lower point of the vaulted ceiling.

stickguy

if you have a shop vac (and everyone should have a small one at least!) just put the extensions on and the brush head and clean the detectors on occasion with that.

also works well for air return vents that are up by the ceiling!

driver100

stickguy said:

Driver, they are hard wired by code. The reason is that if one detects a fire, they will all go off. they also are powered so not dependent on the batteries (they are just intended to be back up in case of a power failure).

they do have a finite lifespan, and should alert when they are no longer effective (same as when the battery gets weak). I had this happen a few years ago (though at that point, I think they were well over 10!). Ended up replacing them all with the updated equivalent. Yes, it can be a hassle if you have vaulted ceilings. But it was not overly expensive to buy a contractor pack at HD (though of course, with my luck, that was 8 units, and my house had 9!)

Good info stick and now I understand why the hardwiring is a good idea. I did replace them 2 years ago, they were expired so I replaced with a newer equivalent that would fit on the same base. The Florida place is only 1400 square feet with 2 bedrooms, and there are 2 other smoke alarms in other rooms.....so if one goes we will hear the one that goes off. The furthest one wakes me up if the battery is dying.

I was going to put one in the garage but your not supposed to. Could get too hot or cold and that could set it off. Hardwired are always causing me problems....I think builders don't think about where they place them....usually at about the highest place possible which makes sense if there is smoke, but not for someone to replace the batteries.

oldfarmer50

driver100 said:

explorerx4 said:

@driver100,
If your smoke detectors are hardwired, it may be interconnected with the other ones so that they all sound off if any one is triggered.

Good point so I checked. The one I decommissioned - took battery out and pulled the wires off - is off, the other one in the master bedroom is flashing green which means it is on. Good idea to check though. I don't see the point in having them hard wired.....hardwired are usually placed where they are hard to get at.

Hardwired smoke detectors are usually connected to the house electricity so they shouldn’t have a battery to pull. What am I not understanding?

Oh I see, Stick answered that for me, backup power.

stickguy

they have a 9 volt also in case the house power goes out.

Driver, sounds like it was just an issue with that one unit. Could have been a defective battery, or something with that particular one. could just replace it with a new one and not touch the others.

snakeweasel

driver100 said:

henryn said:

I adopted a white English lab, 13 months old, now 15 months old. My nickname for her is "Shiva, Destroyer of Worlds".

This is Trixie....destroyer of my hands and any bits of clothing that she can get her teeth on.

Ours is Coby wetter of floors.

snakeweasel

roadburner said:

snakeweasel said:

I am going to call you on this, traffic offenses have always been civil offenses. The difference between "civil" and "criminal" is pretty much jail. Criminal offenses all have the possibility of jail time while civil offenses don't, it's just fines and/or forfeiture of privileges. The difference in the courts is mainly what the judge can do. It's not to deny you your rights. So I seriously doubt Kentucky is trying traffic citations in a criminal court.

You are dead wrong; in Kentucky a criminal offense that doesn't hold the possibility of jail time is called a violation The only difference from any other criminal offense is that defendants are not entitled to court appointed counsel. Aside from that, defendants charged with a violation are entitled to the same rights as someone charged with a misdemeanor or felony- including trial by jury. How do I know? Well, I presided over trials involving traffic citations on District Court criminal dockets from 1986 to 2018.

Again if it is criminal then jail time is a possibility, if jail time is not a possibility it is a civil infraction. If Kentuck is different please provide a citation. Otherwise it's the same as everywhere else.

snakeweasel

driver100 said:

It is only 55F today and it is going to rain all day until 10 a.m. tomorrow. It is all Mikes fault, the cold air is coming from the North, but, the rain is coming up from Miami way! :@

As someone who is facing a 15 below high in a few days you do not have my sympathy.