CO Detector... Where is Yours Physically Located?

[briansol]

I have 2. one is in the stove room, about 20 feet out from the stove on the wall about 1 foot up. (it plugs in to the outlet).
the 2nd is at the top of the stairs foyer area leading to the 3 bedrooms. this is up 6 stiars and shares air with the main living space more or less.... so i effectively have one at foot level and at head level

 

[moey]

My advice would be one on each level and one about 10 or so ft from the stove. Also buy different brands, in my opinion they all suck.

Ive now had 3 that failed by failed I mean they started going off while there were no fossil burning appliances running no car idling nothing producing CO gas. One detected GAS which I have none of at my house.

 

[Ashful]

Also there's a test button to see if the measuring mechanism still works. If it does, then the thing is still good.

I believe the test button is only testing the battery and buzzer, not the "measuring mechanism." That is, unless your test button somehow produces CO.

Really, I'm surprised to hear anyone arguing on this point. Are you really that cheap? I have far more smoke and CO detectors in this house than most folks (19 in the house, another two in the barn), and I'll gladly spend the money to replace them every 10 years. In fact, our networked CO detectors get replaced every 7 years, per manufacturer's recommendation. I'm not putting my family at risk to save a few dollars.

 

[velvetfoot]

We have a bunch of interconnected smoke and co detectors. It's good to have the type that indicate it went off in the case of false alarm you can tell which one caused it.

 

[tjnamtiw]

NO, I'M NOT CHEAP NOR DO I NOT RESPECT THE LIVES OF MY FAMILY! I'm only pointing out that the data does not prove that these things wear out. I intend to change mine and contribute to the economy but I'll bet there's nothing wrong with it when I chuck it.

 

[_CY_]

one CO meter and smoke alarm directly above stove ... then one CO meter next to bed for everyone in house. CO meter above stove reads in PPM .. then I've got a Fluke CO meter to double check that.

had really good results from Kidde brand CO meter and Kidde smoke alarms purchased at Sam's. batteries replaced every season whether they need it or not.

advantage of quality Kidde CO meters that read in PPM .. they are easily confirmed working. when stove door is opened and smoke backs up into room during starting fire or what ever. Kidde CO meter will read PPM below alarm trigger threshold. this show meter is accurately reading gas. then those readings can be verified with a professional CO meter like a Fluke CO-220. mine has the optional sniffer bulb

 

[Ashful]

I intend to change mine and contribute to the economy but I'll bet there's nothing wrong with it when I chuck it.

I bet you're right... but only most of the time.

 

[SwineFlue]

but I'll bet there's nothing wrong with it when I chuck it

Then don't chuck it. Install it as an extra one, in someplace "less critical" where you don't have one today.

CO meter above stove reads in PPM .. then I've got a Fluke CO meter to double check that.

How well do the numbers correlate? I use the alarms that display a CO level, but I don't know how accurate (or slow-reacting) the numbers are.

 

[Lake Girl]

Ive now had 3 that failed by failed I mean they started going off while there were no fossil burning appliances running no car idling nothing producing CO gas.

Per hubby the fire fighter, CO detectors measure cumulative levels. The detector will go off because of that cumulative level so they haven't "failed".

 

[GeHmTS]

I have two. One is located about 10' from the stove and the other is in the hallway upstairs which intersects all the bedrooms. From I understand, pellet stove have lower CO emission than for example burning coal or wood. Using sealant around the piping and flue area should prevent any CO in the house. I think I may only get CO emission from my stove if there is a back draft of some sort, but I haven't' experienced this yet.

I forgot, there is one in the basement because there is propane that feeds into the hot water heater. Change the battery at least once a year around a known event such as a time change or a birthday. Test if from time to time to see if it's working.

 

[Lake Girl]

Primary consideration is near bedrooms so detector can wake occupants per NFPA 720

Testing that shows CO ability to mix rapidly into air:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21536403

 

[moey]

Per hubby the fire fighter, CO detectors measure cumulative levels. The detector will go off because of that cumulative level so they haven't "failed".

This may very well be the case but I no CO producing appliances in my house. My pellet stove has sat idle for about a year now I have a electric hot water heater and geothermal heating system. I suppose I could have farted a lot by it and it built up. I did have the fire department come out once when the GAS portion of the detector went off we had a natural gas furnace at the time they spent about a hour taking measurements and then asked what brand and model I had and indicated there were a lot of problems with that specific model. I am 100% certain the detectors failed. When the units were replaced they did no cumulate and go off.

 

[Jp16]

_CY_, how often do you calibrate the Fluke CO meter? Our meters, PHd4s, PHD4 lite and PHd6s get span caled every 30 days and if we get any readings we cal it again and retest.

tjnamtiw, The data does suggest that consumer grade residental CO detectors fail at about 10 years, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3222366/. There are several other studies that also indicate this. Thus the 7 year life span of the detector. The sensors that are typicaly used degrade over time and eventualy fail. In the meters we use at work, the sensors are typicaly replaced once a year; more if used and saturated repeatedly.

There are several things that can cause a false reading on a CO detector. Alcohols are one that we see. Cooking with wine, painting with alcohol based paints (I think the primer Kilz is one or it may have been Binz I do not remember specificaly). New carpets also emit a gas that can cause a false reading on CO detectors.

As for the ones that also detect gas, you would be surprised how many aerosol products use propane and/or derivitaves as the propelant. Hair sprays and cooking sprays are commonly propeled with propane. The use of these products near a detector or in excess may cause it to activate.

Also as a side note; there was a First Alert Photoelectric Smoke/CO combo detector that would alarm when a TV remote was used near it. I had seen it done with Comcast branded remotes but have read of others too...