pesky smoke detector/solar panel question

[msteward]

I have an Fleetwood evolution E1.   Couple questions.   The smoke alarm is  wired into the battery and goes off all the time for no apparent reason.  Anybody else had this problem?    Also curious whether anyone has permenantly mounted a solar panel on to the top of a pop up?  
Thanks
Matt

[beacher]

You have a smoke alarm inside your PopUp?

They are generally not installed inside of a PopUp because they can be set off too easily.  Simply cooking anything with a frying pan using your interior stove.  Or campfire smoke from a neighbor's fire will set off a smoke alarm.  Not too pleasant if you are taking a nap.

There is a propane detector near the floor, and the latest models have a CO detector on the ceiling.

The propane detector is directly wired into the 12v system and will annoyingly chirp whenever the battery voltage is low.

The CO detector on the ceiling is powered by a replaceable battery/batteries  that should last about one year.

Regarding solar panels, yes it's been done.  However, mounting the panels directly to the roof is counter-productive to the whole concept of comfort when camping in a PopUp.  Solar panels need direct sunlight.  PopUp's get HOT in direct sunlight.  Most PopUp owners seek the shade if at all possible to setup just to make Spring and Summer camping bearable.  Picture yourself purposely seeking the most sunny spot in the campground to setup your PopUp!  Not good.

Your best solar panel setup would involve racks of panels that you can aim at the sun and a cable leading back to your comfortably shaded PopUp.

[PattieAM]

You most likely are hearing the beep beep of the propane leak detector - about 1 foot off the floor.  It will beep when the battery gets low.  The frustrating thing about the propane leak detector is that it draws from the PUP's battery 24/7, and will drain your battery.

[PM3579]

It may be on 24/7 but is it that much of a drain if you start the weekend with a full charge on your batt ?

['tiredTeacher]

It may be on 24/7 but is it that much of a drain if you start the weekend with a full charge on your batt ?

Nope!

[coach]

It may be on 24/7 but is it that much of a drain if you start the weekend with a full charge on your batt ?

IT may not be a big drain but other stuff can/will drain a battery within a weekend!
It all counts.

[maromeo]

Check out the detector itself. Ours also kept going off. We also thought it was due to drained batteries but on the outside was this teeny tiny little imprint that said replace unit every 3 years. We did. So you may want to check yours out. Hope this helps.

Mary Romeo

[SheBantam]

My CO detector goes off when the Cabin A (A small A_liner TT) is on asphalt and closed up.  My smoke detector does not.  Also the CO detector will intermittantly chirp when the battery is low.  My Bantam does the same thing.