Based on recient tragic events i have ordered a CO dector

I bought a smoke detector anda CO detector a couple of weeks ago. It was noted in survey and insurance insisted. Both still in the packet under the chart table.
I like the idea of the dual one. even if it is a bit pricy. didn't know such a thing existed.

Smoke allarms are usualy anoying. They go of when I make toast or fry bacon. I just have to ventilate to silence. Best not to put in the galley at least when I am cooking I will put at other end of cabin.
I allways poo pooed the idea of CO detector. Untill my father in law had his go of early this winter, his gas furnace was faulty and it saved his life.

So it goes off unnesseseraly I loose some sleep. Big deal. you can vent a boat pretty quikly
 
You mention that the alarm has red and green led's but say nothing about a sound alarm as if you were asleep a red led is not going to help much .So can or does this unit have a sound alarm!
 
We had one on the boat.
The damn thing kept going off when we were motoring. In the end we worked out that exhaust fumes from the engine were getting sucked back over the transom and into the cabin. When the thing died I didn't replace it. We're still here.
 
BelleSerene said:
Basic question, I know: this won't detect a leak of ('camping gaz') from the cooker has pipe, will it?
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I'm not sure. The instructions say:

The following substances can affect the sensor and cause false alarms:
Methane, Propane, Iso-butane, Iso-propanol, Ethylene, Benzene, Toluene, Ethyl
acetate, Hydrogen Sulphide, Hydrogen, Sulphur Dioxide, alcohol based products,
paints, thinners, solvents, adhesives, hair-sprays, aftershaves or perfumes and
some cleaning agents.
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Methane and propane causing "false alarms" sounds a lot like "it detects gas", but I'm not sure I'd want to rely on that without further research.

Pete
 
Some smoke alarms have a silence button - temporarily desensitises the alarm for a specified period e.g. 7 minutes while the toast/bacon/sausages/egg are attended to. Optical alarms are also better in this respect than ionisation. I think one manufacturer evens calls its alarm model designed for kitchen use, 'Toast'.
 
VicS said:
When you receive your CO alarms ..... RTFM before you test them...Firstly so you know the correct procedure, if there is one, and secondly how to silence the alarm. The latter is very important if SWMBO is having her afternoon nap ..:(
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Woodlouse said:
You silence them by stopping them from being in contact with the CO. The Kiddie ones I believe will go off at different concentrations of CO depended on how rapidly it seems to be building up and they have no silence button.

I had one for a week once. With the diesel heater and two oil lamps burning it never registered a thing. The primus would set it off in 20 minutes with it showing about 50 parts per million on the little read out. I took the batteries out after that since it just got annoying. I've survived two winters on board now, there won't be a third since I'm off to pastures new in a couple of months and during the summer, when the primus gets used much, much more the hatches are never closed.
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BelleSerene said:
Basic question, I know: this won't detect a leak of ('camping gaz') from the cooker has pipe, will it?
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BSSOffice said:
Some smoke alarms have a silence button - temporarily desensitises the alarm for a specified period e.g. 7 minutes while the toast/bacon/sausages/egg are attended to. Optical alarms are also better in this respect than ionisation. I think one manufacturer evens calls its alarm model designed for kitchen use, 'Toast'.
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My Fire Angel CO alarm can be silenced up two times for 3 minutes provided the CO concentration is not more than 200ppm


It is not triggerd by either natural gas or Camping Gaz


It was not triggered by a luminous ( yellow) Camping Gaz bunsen burner flame. ( I thought that might set it off!)


We have a flamespreader plate on one of our cooker hob gas rings .... that triggered it the other day ... get rid of that I think.


My smoke alarms cannot be silenced.
 
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VicS said:
We have a flamespreader plate on one of our cooker hob gas rings .... that triggered it the other day ... get rid of that I think.
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Why? As long as you are aware that it can generate CO then it's easy to only use it with the hatch open or when the boat is otherwise well ventilated.

Just like most things, CO is only really dangerous when you are unaware of it and what causes it.
 
Quote Originally Posted by VicS View Post

We have a flamespreader plate on one of our cooker hob gas rings .... that triggered it the other day ... get rid of that I think.

Woodlouse said:
Why? As long as you are aware that it can generate CO then it's easy to only use it with the hatch open or when the boat is otherwise well ventilated.

Just like most things, CO is only really dangerous when you are unaware of it and what causes it.
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1 Flame spreaders tend to chill the flame and this causes incomplete combustion giving of high levels of CO but normally when it has heated up it chills the flame less and lower levels of CO are produced. you can get the same effect from lighting up a cold grill.

2 Although flammable gas can sometimes set of the CO cell it may require the level of the gas to be higher than the lower explosive level of that gas so not the ideal indicator.
 
I have ordered a kidde alarm from amazon, the type with an audio alarm ( as well as viual ) which I think important, to go along with the gas alarm; £17 odd seems good value to me.
 
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