WNY Handyman

Replacement for the Kidde 1275

As most readers of this blog know, the Kidde 1275 smoke detector is not a good unit. They were inexpensive and used by a ton of builders in new builds. Many folks have experienced middle of the night alarms that make it difficult to trust the units in the future. Since the alarms are hard wired, many folks would love a unit that can be swapped with the current ones with minimal effort.

Kidde has the same interface for a newer model and can swap out with the 1275’s. The unit is the i12040. If you don’t trust your old 1275’s, but don’t want to pay an electrician to rewire at every unit, the i12040’s might be worth a try. If Kidde has solved the defective unit issue with this model, then we can sleep tight.

In fact the cost for 10 replacement units would be less than the cost for an electrician to come out and rewire the connectors to a different model. This model also has a ‘hush’ feature that could come in handy.

If your 1275’s were installed by the builder, the reason for the false alarms could be due to dust during construction. Most builders will keep them covered with a cellophane cover during the construction phase, but that isn’t always the case. Swapping the 1275 out with a new i12040 could be a cheap fix for a big annoyance and middle of the night wake ups.

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Kidde i12040 smoke alarm - replacement for the Kidde 1275
Kidde i12040 smoke alarm – replacement for the Kidde 1275

Model i12040 Replaces all existing 1275 smoke alarm models

Current replacement units are shipped as i12040 which are a direct change-out replacement for the Kidde 1275. They fit the Quick-Connect power harness for a speedy installation.

Read more about the experience many have had.

According to the Kidde documentation, the 1275 alarm is interconnect compatible with the following alarms: 1235, 1275, 1276, 1285, 1296, i12020, i12040, i12060, i12080, PE120, PI2000, KN-COSM-I, KN-COSM-IB, RF-SM-ACDC and RF-SM-DC

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Related articles:

  1. Kidde 1275 a Bad Smoke Detector
  2. Nest Products for Your Home
  3. Determining Your Home Security Needs
  4. What is Baseboard Heat?

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Comments

26 responses to “Replacement for the Kidde 1275”

  1. home building tips

    They are making their smoke detectors better now. They also have battery back up in case your power goes out they will still work. If you are looking to install smoke/carbon detectors in your house there are new types out which can save you alot of money. There are some useful tips located on the following site, along with other building tips.http://handyhomebuildingtips.blogspot.com/2009/10/installing-smoke-detectors-without.html

  2. Nest Products for Your Home – WNY Handyman

    […] have referred a lot of folks to replacement units for their faulty Kidde smoke detectors over the past few years.  We ran into an issue with our Kidde 1275 units and were […]

  3. Alysia

    Thank you for this article. I found it while looking for a manual for my 1275 which was chirping (and was 10 yrs old anyway). I was going to either a. replace the battery and put it back up, or replace it with the same model, but thanks to this, I’ll upgrade it to the i12040. It had been a while since I had a false alarm, but it happened a few times too many. Thanks again!

    1. WNY Handyman

      You are welcome. Happy to have helped.

      WNYHandyman.com

  4. Dennis Brown

    WNY Handyman

    will the i12010 require it’s own base or will it fit on an OLD fyrnetics smoke alarm 1275>someone misplaced one of the actual smoke detectors..base is still on the ceiling…. thanks

    1. WNY Handyman

      Dennis,

      Thanks for the question. It appears to be a match on the base. According to the 2010 manual and the 1275 manual the base appears to be the same and the units are listed as “interchange compatible”. Here are the images from the Kidde manuals

      Kidde 1275 mount
      1275 mounting plate

      Kidde 2010 mount
      Kidde 2010 mounting plate

      Hope this helps. Good luck.

  5. Ron Schmidt

    Need to replace smoke alarm lifesaver model 1255 – any suggestions

    1. WNY Handyman

      Ron,

      The only information that I could find suggested interconnect possible with the following models:

      Interconnect compatible with smoke alarms of Models LIFESAVER 1255, 3800, 3800R, 4800, 4800R,
      SMOTEC 3786 and Lifesaver Visual Signalling Device SL240.

      Hope this helps.

  6. Don

    Looking for a replacement for a Lifesaver model 1275. I dont want to rewire, just replace the detectors. Can you recommend a detector that is compatible with the Lifesaver 1275? Thanks.

  7. Eli

    Awesome article – thanks for the compatibility info.. need to change these garage detectors out myself. They are 14 years old and will not stop beeping even after changing the batteries and draining the power out of the compactors.

  8. Lebard Burdine

    I have the Lifesaver model 1235 and would like to know what unit will interchange with it without re wireing

    1. WNY Handyman

      I believe the connector on the Lifesaver 1235 is the same as on the replacement units linked in the article (i2060).

  9. Betsy

    Consumer reports currently lists PI2010 as the recommended option. Is this model interchangeable with the 1275? I know it’s not listed above, but I thought maybe it was just a newer model. Thanks!

  10. Bob Rotter

    Thanks for a great article that gave me the compatibility information I was searching for. You’re a great resource!

  11. Phillip McDowell

    Dear WNY Handyman,

    Found your blog today while researching replacements for a Kidde Lifesaver Model 1275 smoke detector. Have not had a bad experience with this model other than the chirping when a 9v battery dies (which is actually what the unit should do!). Based on our experience will simply change it out for the model i12040.

    One question though, we noticed a few drops of condensation on the outside of the case. Is that acceptable or should I investigate further? This detector is mounted upstairs high on a wall vertically in a small hallway outside two bedrooms.

    Your interest and feedback is appreciated.

    Thanks you,

    Phillip McD
    Jacksonville, FL

  12. Tre ~

    Is there a combo smoke and c02unit thats compatble with the1275 wiring

  13. Barry

    I have 6 1275 units and one of them chirps no matter what I do. Do I have to replace all 6 units with the 2040’s or just the bad one. Thanks

    1. WNY Handyman

      Barry,

      You “should” be able to replace the single unit that is not functioning properly.

  14. Rich

    Since I will be using the same harness plug from the old 1275, do I need to turn off the power to the detectors or can I just plug it into the new i12040, one by one?

    1. WNY Handyman

      If the harness is simply going into the new unit, there are no exposed wires. I just plugged one in the other day. If you are rewiring anything, you should turn the power off just the way you would with a light fixture or ceiling fan. Better safe than sorry.

  15. Dale

    I have 9 1275 smoke alarms in my home that are 17 years old that I need to replace.
    I see that there are several replacement models that fit this base.

    Can I replace 7 of them with similar smoke alarms such as model i12040, and replace the other 2 with a combo smoke alarm/CO2 detector such as the KN-COSM-IB?

    Or, do they all have to be the same type and model??

    Thanks!!

    1. WNY Handyman

      Dale,

      You should check with Kidde to be certain, but as far as I know, you are able to interconnect. The trouble can come in when you mix brands (which you are not). Good luck. Please let us know if there are any problems.

  16. Mary Fillman

    Hi, I was in need of replacing my 10-yr old 1275 units and found this article. I took your advice and replaced my 6 units with the i12040A units. After about 4 weeks we were awakened at 2:30 am by one of the alarms! I disconnected the activated alarm and was going to test to see if it was just defective, but a couple of nights later, we were awakened again by a different unit. I replaced the kidde battery that came with it (dated for 2020) with a new battery. A couple of nights later, this same unit went off.
    Any suggestions?
    Thanks!

    1. WNY Handyman

      This is maddening. I would contact Kidde for remedy. At this point, I almost think that it has to do with the manufacturing run when your detectors were produced. The i2040 is pretty well reviewed (4.5 out of 5 on Amazon), but when someone does get a unit from a bad batch, it appears to be as bad as the 1275’s.

      Sorry for your trouble. I am going to research alternative brands combined with connectors that are simple to get rid of Kidde altogether. The problem is, there doesn’t appear to be a brand out there without about 5% complaints of false positive alarms.

  17. Mary Fillman

    I wanted to give you a follow-up on my situation…I did call Kidde and they basically said that it was spiders triggering the sensor and suggested purchasing their units that were spider-proof. (About $60/unit). I know that I live in a spider-heaven, but did not want to resort to the more expensive units. I thought that besides spiders, maybe the units still had some dust or other particles from manufacturing and/or shipping. I sprayed each unit with condensed air. For the past month, things have been going well. I did have one episode of an alarm sounding in the one bedroom that is not being used and closed off. When I went to reset, a teeny-tiny spider crawled out. OK, so now I’m a believer in the spider theory. I’ve now vacuumed each of my units, and have resorted to the fact that I might have to do this more often than I’ve ever done before.
    Thanks again for your advice and I hope this helps other readers.

  18. Rob Mitchell

    Well, its that time of decade … gotta replace the old 1275 with i12040 from Amazon.com $13.50 each

    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000CBHOR/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

    I know there’s some negative reviews and such, so I’m gonna just buy one replacement for now. I think I tracked down the nuisance unit to the front hallway of my home. Once I get a few nights sleep and confident, then I’ll purchase more.

    Question, my two car garage has units HD135F … do these still exist or can I use i12040 or what should I do?

    Why is my home all 1275 and only the garage is HD135F?

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