Topic: Incense

[pinkbutterfly79]

Hi all i just wanted to ask is it ok to burn incense after sundown,  this is what i have been taught!!!!!

[simplygermain]

There are no canons AFAIK about when and when not to burn incense. Besides, liturgical practice is different from home practice. Personal practice and conviction varies in every household.
Burn away!

[Arachne]

There are plenty of church services that take place after sundown, with plentiful incense. Burn it when you feel the need to, and don't worry.

[arimethea]

Hi all i just wanted to ask is it ok to burn incense after sundown,  this is what i have been taught!!!!!

Welcome to the board. I am curious as to what the pretext is to this question? There must be some interesting context to this question.

[pinkbutterfly79]

To Armithea,  i was just curious cause all my life my mom or grandma would always incense the house but always before the sunset, and i see other people doing it but always before the sun sets,  i was brought up with the knowledge that you don't incense after the sunset, but now that i am learning more about Orthodoxy just felt like asking the question. . .

[Justin Kissel]

I tend to associate incense with the evening because of this verse:

"Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice." (Ps. 141:2)

I know this is not talking about literal incense, but I just think of these things together because of this verse.

[Kerdy]

I was able to burn incense at will when I had my man cave in the garage.  Now that I have moved and no longer have a garage, I am unable to burn incense.  It sets off the fire alarm.

[Arachne]

I'm lucky the fire alarm is downstairs, while the icon corner is upstairs. The sensor is ridiculously sensitive.

[Antonis]

I'm lucky the fire alarm is downstairs, while the icon corner is upstairs. The sensor is ridiculously sensitive.

So you're saying that the sensor is sensitive to the incense from your censer?
 

[Arachne]

So you're saying that the sensor is sensitive to the incense from your censer?
 

I haven't put it to the test, but considering its reaction to grilling sausages, it would go absolutely berserk.

[Shanghaiski]

To Armithea,  i was just curious cause all my life my mom or grandma would always incense the house but always before the sunset, and i see other people doing it but always before the sun sets,  i was brought up with the knowledge that you don't incense after the sunset, but now that i am learning more about Orthodoxy just felt like asking the question. . .

This is very common in many Orthodox countries, for pious people to offer incense one or a couple times a day, blessing each room and person in the house with it. Like having icons in the house, it sanctifies the place.

[Shanghaiski]

So you're saying that the sensor is sensitive to the incense from your censer?
 

I haven't put it to the test, but considering its reaction to grilling sausages, it would go absolutely berserk.

Your smoke alarm must be a vegan low church Protestant.

[Antonis]

So you're saying that the sensor is sensitive to the incense from your censer?
 

I haven't put it to the test, but considering its reaction to grilling sausages, it would go absolutely berserk.

Your smoke alarm must be a vegan low church Protestant.

On the vegan low church Protestants and their hellish smoke alarms...

ANATHEMA!

[Tikhon.of.Colorado]

No, burn it whenever you want.  Burn a lot, as they say it chokes the demons! 

[brastaseptim]

Well, I normally burn incense during "Lord, I have Cried" when I'm reading Vespers at home (as I pretty much always have to- no Byzantine parish for miles around ) I also burn some before the Matins Gospel.

[Velsigne]

I was able to burn incense at will when I had my man cave in the garage.  Now that I have moved and no longer have a garage, I am unable to burn incense.  It sets off the fire alarm.

Yeah, I should really put the fire alarms back up. 

[Fr.Aidan]

Key to whether the alarm goes off, is the size of the particulates. It doesn't follow, from smoking sausages making it go off, that a home censer would have the same result.

So I've been told.

[Maria]

I'm lucky the fire alarm is downstairs, while the icon corner is upstairs. The sensor is ridiculously sensitive.

So you're saying that the sensor is sensitive to the incense from your censer?
 

Our smoke alarm trips whenever there is a large solar flare or X-flare. Even C-flares from the sun have tripped the sensor and we hear bleeps from the hallway censor. Does anyone else have a smoke alarm that is sensitive to solar flares and X-flares? During this time of never ceasing sunspots, we are often awaken in the wee hours of the mornings. Wish there were some way to disconnect that thing, but that would be illegal.

[Velsigne]

Key to whether the alarm goes off, is the size of the particulates. It doesn't follow, from smoking sausages making it go off, that a home censer would have the same result.

So I've been told.

Why?  It's still smoke.  

[Maria]

Key to whether the alarm goes off, is the size of the particulates. It doesn't follow, from smoking sausages making it go off, that a home censer would have the same result.

So I've been told.

Why?  It's still smoke.  

but it is HOLY smoke.

[Velsigne]

I'm lucky the fire alarm is downstairs, while the icon corner is upstairs. The sensor is ridiculously sensitive.

So you're saying that the sensor is sensitive to the incense from your censer?
 

Our smoke alarm trips whenever there is a large solar flare or X-flare. Even C-flares from the sun have tripped the sensor and we hear bleeps from the hallway censor. Does anyone else have a smoke alarm that is sensitive to solar flares and X-flares? During this time of never ceasing sunspots, we are often awaken in the wee mornings. Wish there were some way to disconnect that thing, but that would be illegal.

I haven't heard of that before, but it is a sort of nuisance tripping.  You might try changing them out.  

I don't know that it is illegal, but it is against the fire code, and home insurers probably won't pay on a fire in a building with no FAs installed.

Okay, you're right.  I'll go put them up right now, or at least one of them in the main area.  

[Velsigne]

Key to whether the alarm goes off, is the size of the particulates. It doesn't follow, from smoking sausages making it go off, that a home censer would have the same result.

So I've been told.

Why?  It's still smoke.  

but it is HOLY smoke.

 

[Velsigne]

Maria, unless you are having trouble with other electronic devices in your home, the fire alarm nuisance tripping is likely not caused by solar flares.  You may have brown outs in your area too, depending on the electrical grid demand. 

The batteries could be low, the fire alarm device could be worn out, or dirty, or even if it is as you say, from solar flares, they may be damaged.

Here from the Fire Marshal:

Smoke Alarm Facts

How effective are smoke alarms?

Residential fire deaths have decreased steadily as the number of homes with smoke alarms increased. Reports from the National Fire Protection Association show that people have nearly a 50 percent better chance of surviving a fire if their home has the recommended number of smoke alarms.

When do I need to replace my smoke alarm?

Smoke alarms that are 10 years old are near the end of their service life and should be replaced. Some people think that their smoke alarm sits idle until smoke is present. But it is working every minute, constantly monitoring the air 24 hours a day. For example, an ionization smoke alarm goes through 3.5 million monitoring cycles in 10 years. In a photoelectric smoke alarm, a light operates 24 hours a day to check for smoke particles in the air.

Just like any electrical appliance, the components of smoke alarms wear out over time. When a smoke alarm reaches 10 years of use, the potential of failing to detect a fire increases substantially. Replacing them after 10 years reduces the likelihood of failure.

My smoke alarms are wired into my electrical system. Do I need to replace them as often as battery-operated alarms?

Yes. Both the hard-wired and battery-operated alarms are equally affected by age.

http://firemarshals.org/rfsi/smokealarmfacts.html