"Stove Guard" - Stove Fire Prevention System

[Darienne]

Has anyone ever heard of/ used this Stove Guard, an electronic timer/sensor which will turn off the stove burners when there is no one in the kitchen. They are designed for:

o Alzheimer's, absent-minded or easily-distracted.

o "Aging at Home" Seniors living independently.

o People with home offices who get called away from the kitchen while cooking.

o Parents with young children.

o Families with teenagers cooking after school unsupervised.

o Commuters who are rushed before going to work.

o Everyday busy people with good memories & hectic schedules.

They are well rated by Consumers...I have never seen them rated. Cost in Canadian $ - $395.00. Might be a good investment...

[ray goud]

I think it can be a good idea; I know of several people who ruined meals because they forgot they had something on the stove, slowly boiling the water away and coming back to incinerated foods. Plus, someone I can't mention has been known to leave on an unused burner (just like lights), for which this could be a great item. However, what's the difference between leaving a stock pot on for four hours (and checking it only every hour or so) or truly forgetting to turn off a burner? I didn't see any way the device can tell the difference. The timer wouldn't be good enough.

Ray

[Darienne]

It's not the timer. It's the motion sensor which senses that there is NO motion in the area.

We are buying one on Wednesday and I'll report back to this thread about it. Do look it up and read the literature on it. Very interesting and long overdue.

As for the sensor, it radiates to 10 feet away from where it is placed, but can be positioned so that dogs and small children don't have to count as motion makers. We have two big dogs...and they are not the problem leaving the stove on and walking away.

The default timer for no motion detected is one minute but it can be set to a much long time period. Then you can set it to override this 'motion/timer' setting and set the time for up to 99 minutes at which time it will turn off. This will not be useful for roasts...but...a kitchen not accidentally set on fire by a forgetful person is worth almost any amount of minor inconvenience. Hey! We don't cook many roasts...maybe one a year. Along with two turkeys perhaps. Helps to be virtual vegetarians.

Might also note that we live in the country in the middle of nowhere without city water. 20 minutes from the nearest fire-station which brings a filled pumper truck and over 1/2 hour from the police or ambulance. It's a price we willingly pay.

Sorry...I am starting to go on...

[ray goud]

I did read the literature, and as good as it sounds, it has too many disadvantages for people like me. Although the Northeast has a majority of homes with electric stoves, the device is useless for gas ones, barring some add-on solenoid gas valve. I use our oven a great deal of the time, in addition to long-simmering on the stove top. The concept is good enough for me to WANT it to work, but this is not the right approach. Too many situations when it becomes annoying or worse, and ends up being disconnected.

Ray

[Darienne]

I did read the literature, and as good as it sounds, it has too many disadvantages for people like me. Although the Northeast has a majority of homes with electric stoves, the device is useless for gas ones, barring some add-on solenoid gas valve. I use our oven a great deal of the time, in addition to long-simmering on the stove top. The concept is good enough for me to WANT it to work, but this is not the right approach. Too many situations when it becomes annoying or worse, and ends up being disconnected.

Ray

Interesting points, Ray. I did speak to the local distributor of the Stove Guard and he tells me the company is working on a gas version but that it will cost quite a bit more money.

Yes, the guard is going to cause some problems for some people, that's for sure, but in many cases, the potential for stove fires...which turn into house fires...far outweighs the inconveniences.

And you are so correct about the 'disconnect' factor. A friend of mine bought a whistling kettle because she had burned a non-whistling one and almost caused a kitchen fire. Then what did she do? Disconnected the whistle because it drove her crazy.

[Darienne]

We bought the Stove Guard and Ed installed it. And it works perfectly. Yep, it does have certain disadvantages no doubt, although we have not done enough cooking yet to encounter them, but already once the stove was left on accidentally and the Stove Guard did its job.

I have yet to read the manual and figure out how to work with it except in the most elementary way. I can turn it off completely ...and I don't think it turns itself back on at all.(It does turn itself back on after a power outage. And it resets itself after you leave the room...and it turns off the stove...and you come back into the room and it allows the stove to turn back on. And I can use it with the one minute default.

I have no financial or commercial ties with the Stove Guard or the company or the local distributor, but I am going to make sure all the senior organizations in my area learn about this.

Oh, there was NOTHING to the installation except that the first time, Ed got it a bit too far from the stove.

Edited December 5, 2009 by Darienne (log)

[Darienne]

We've now cooked with the Stove Guard for a week and a half and no problems. We have turned the unit off to cook a roast...and then turned it back on again. It wouldn't work if one person in the house didn't have an attentive mind. That's true. You might forget to turn it back on again and then...

Repeat of last message: I have yet to read the manual.

Haven't gotten very far in phoning senior organizations, but it's a promise I have made to myself and I will.

The unit is a bit limited in some ways. Its field of detection is somewhat limited, but I think we can reposition the sensor somewhat to cover a greater field. Tomorrow... It's a great beginning though and one can only imagine that with the entry into seniorhood of the millions of Baby Boomers (DH and I are War Babies) that there will be great strides in this area.

[ray goud]

Darienne, if you turned it off to cook a roast, then fell asleep or forgot ( a la old-timer's), what is the point of having the device? The food burns, or the fire starts, and it's just like it was never installed. That's my point: it isn't "smart" enough, or designed well-enough to deal with when one turns it off deliberately. Somewhat the same as with the smoke detector which goes off during kitchen broiling, then is disabled by the owner (the SCREECH), then is never turned back on.

Ray

[Darienne]

Darienne, if you turned it off to cook a roast, then fell asleep or forgot ( a la old-timer's), what is the point of having the device? The food burns, or the fire starts, and it's just like it was never installed. That's my point: it isn't "smart" enough, or designed well-enough to deal with when one turns it off deliberately. Somewhat the same as with the smoke detector which goes off during kitchen broiling, then is disabled by the owner (the SCREECH), then is never turned back on.

Ray

All of what you say is true. It is only just so good and no better. But the better that it is is so much further ahead than if we were without it.

One thing DH says is that having this new device has made him think about the stove and what is going on with it. That's all to the good. For it's not thinking about what one is doing that is the main problem. I do live a very 'thoughtful' life...years of having to do it. DH does not.

We are better off with it. But thanks for the thoughts.

Can you name one foolproof safety device in the world? But does that it make it sensible to ignore the imperfect ones that exist?