topic Re: Fog Machine / Temporarily disable smoke detection in Nest Protect

Fog Machine / Temporarily disable smoke detection

goldmar — Thu, 30 Dec 2021 18:05:45 GMT

Hi all,

I've recently bought a few Nest Protect devices and found that they react to fog from a fog machine. Unfortunately it is neither possible to temporarily disable the alarm / only use the CO alarm, nor is it possible to silence the alarm, as it says that the "smoke level is too high". Right now, my only option is to remove my Nest Protects completely and stow them in a bag, if I want to throw a party / use a fog machine. This is not at all user-friendly and quite the opposite of what I expect from a smart home device.

Are there any plans to improve this user experience? I think it would be best to have the option to temporarily disable the alarm from the app. Or maybe just turn off the smoke alarm while leaving on the CO alarm.

Any thoughts on this?

Thanks!

Re: Fog Machine / Temporarily disable smoke detection

kiltguy2112 — Thu, 30 Dec 2021 19:03:42 GMT

I will never happen, as it's against the law.

https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/9247077?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DAndroid

Re: Fog Machine / Temporarily disable smoke detection

goldmar — Thu, 30 Dec 2021 19:19:00 GMT

What do you mean by “the law”? I think laws and regulations are different, depending on jurisdiction. And I am sure that there are jurisdictions which allow a smoke detector to be temporarily disabled. For instance, I’ve read that some theaters in the US disable their smoke detectors and hire a fire marshal instead in order to use fog / haze on stage.

Re: Fog Machine / Temporarily disable smoke detection

Ashepherdson — Fri, 31 Dec 2021 04:58:15 GMT

Most jurisdictions in North America don't allow for tampering with your fire safety devices , and I doubt you are hiring a fire Marshall for your parties 😉 . Kilt is right, there just won't be a way besides storing them elsewhere during use with the fog machine sadly.

Truth be told if you were able to temporarily disable the detectors, then people would forget to re enable them, and an actual fire / monoxide emergency might happen and there's a lawsuit, so yes very doubtful this will change!

Re: Fog Machine / Temporarily disable smoke detection

HADR — Tue, 15 Mar 2022 00:29:34 GMT

I have the same issue, sometimes I need to do something I know it will generate smoke so I also have to take out the sensor and put it away. Rule or not rule my house is MY house and I decide what to do, when. Besides if the sensor could be temporarily disabled the action could be registered in the history of the sensor that will not be possible if I take it out. Does that make sense?

Re: Fog Machine / Temporarily disable smoke detection

AlanUK78 — Thu, 09 Feb 2023 04:37:31 GMT

Same problem here. Not tried it yet. But would a shower cap around the nest work?