Carbon monoxide detectors

I recently bought 4 Fireangel ÇO-9D detectors. Only £18 each on Amazon. 3 are for property but one was destined for my boat. I picked them because of the part 2 compliance but noticed on the instructions that boat use was not approved.
I contacted Fireangel and have had the following response:

"Thank you for the email below and also for choosing the Fire Angel brand of alarms. Unfortunately the CO-9D is the only one of the alarms we make that hasn’t passed the relevant certification for use on boats . ( see attached certificate) .

You may also find that the other CO alarms within our range may still have the No Boat symbol ( amendment on packaging still feeding through) – no changes were made for the certification of these units. CO-9B , CO-FA-9B , CO-9X.

So although the CO-9D will work and offer protection on the boat , if there was to be an incident and the alarm didn’t react as it should , the unit wouldn’t be within the warranty realms . So if possible it may be worth trying to exchange on the CO-9D’s for the CO-9X ( 7yr sealed battery unit – manual attached) ?


Any other question please let me know ?


Best regards
Becci


Rebecca Wells

Customer Service Supervisor



Direct Tel: +44 (0)24 7771 7610

Technical Support: 0800 141 2561

rwells@sprue.com



Sprue Safety Products Ltd a division of Sprue Aegis Plc
The Vanguard Centre
Sir William Lyons Road
Coventry, CV4 7EZ, UK

Tel: +44 (0)24 7771 7700

Fax: +44 (0)24 7669 3610

www.fireangel.co.uk"
 
I'm just about to order a CO-9X then.

Stove only operates for short periods.
Only other threat is engine (diesel).

Where should I locate the alarm on the boat?

I'm assuming the engine compartment is out of the question?
At the dry end of the saloon? (4meters from engine).

Don't think I need it in the only cabin as the CO would have to travel through the saloon to get there (unless I should be protecting myself from some ones elses fumes coming through the cabin hatch)

I understand this is just a CO detector I'm asking about. Fire and Gas to be considered in other posts!
 
going back a few years they said to locate the detector at head height where you were likely to be sitting/sleeping as CO is a similar density to air and therefore it was best to put it where you were breathing rather than high up (as for smoke) or low down where CO2 might be collecting.
 
So I've been using my new CO detector which is recommended as accurate. Like the last one I had, it shows ppm. I saw on the inter webs that 35ppm is a maximum recommended exposure for an 8-hour day. I find that, with full ventilation, (everything possible open), the Origo just doesn't boil even kettle and it sounds like a I'm in a wind machine. If I close one hatch and leave everything else open, with the Origo heating quickly, I can finish cooking a stew in the pressure cooker only as the CO detector reaches just over 35ppm. So that would my "safe limit" for exposure for the entire day in the circumstances I have described.


If it is a very still day and I also have just allowed minimal ventilation (one wash board removed), the CO level according to the detector shoots up. Sometimes I cannot even quickly (starting with warm water in the kettle, Origo full of fuel) boil a kettle without the level reaching maximum.
 
You need a better stove...............................

Despite some on here suggesting it was dangerous I used a "Corona" ROLF-Reduced Odour Liquid Fuel,in fact just top grade highly refined parafin-heater in the salon of our previous boat. No heating unless we were on shorepower. I installed a good CO Monitor/alarm right above the unit. The Corona also had an inbuilt oxygen depletion sensor which turned it off if oxygen levels reduced.

This heated the salon to an acceptable level within half an hour, was economical and inexpensive.

The CO monitor/alarm never showed a dangerous increase in CO or sounded the alarm. First Mate and I never had symptoms of CO poisoning.The Corona has a carbon firbe wick and burns very cleanly. I am aware of the chemical reaction-burn 1 litre of hydrocarbon fuel and produce 1 litre of H2O-but condensation was not excessive, and mostly on the portlights and the exposed portion of the keel stepped mast. This was always very cold, even in summer.

We never used it while sleeping and were concious of the requirement for ventilation. Cracking the sliding hatch about 4 inches allowed the 3 large dorades to pass fresh air through the boat.

It kept us using the boat through the winter months. The Solent is very quiet during the winter and some spots are heaven.

The fear of gas on boats is a bit OOT in my opinion. Many thousands of gas systems are in use without any problems. A good gas system will provide the cooking heat and speed you need, probably without too much increase in CO. As a safety device I prefer the bubble leak tester. When the line is live from the tank to the cooker, no bubbles in the pot, no leak.
 
Mctavish said:
So I've been using my new CO detector which is recommended as accurate. Like the last one I had, it shows ppm. I saw on the inter webs that 35ppm is a maximum recommended exposure for an 8-hour day. I find that, with full ventilation, (everything possible open), the Origo just doesn't boil even kettle and it sounds like a I'm in a wind machine. If I close one hatch and leave everything else open, with the Origo heating quickly, I can finish cooking a stew in the pressure cooker only as the CO detector reaches just over 35ppm. So that would my "safe limit" for exposure for the entire day in the circumstances I have described.


If it is a very still day and I also have just allowed minimal ventilation (one wash board removed), the CO level according to the detector shoots up. Sometimes I cannot even quickly (starting with warm water in the kettle, Origo full of fuel) boil a kettle without the level reaching maximum.
Click to expand...

The 35ppm limit for the whole day would be continuous, not for the few minutes every hour or two that the kettle is on.
 
lw395 said:
The 35ppm limit for the whole day would be continuous, not for the few minutes every hour or two that the kettle is on.
Click to expand...

To add something to compare 35ppm with I am just giving up the fags so need to visit the stop smoking nurse every fortnight and have the ppm of CO measured to ensure I have been good. So before giving up and smoking 20 low tar silk cut a day gave a reading of 14ppm. A heavy smoker would be in the 19-20 ppm or higher range.

Having given up and not smoked for several days to allow the CO to be released the readings drop to 2-3 ppm. Worth noting that driving down the A32 in heavy traffic and then taking a reading raises the reading to 5ppm. As a reformed smoker you really notice smokey car exhausts riding a motorbike.

I would have thought 35ppm continiously would give you a cracking headache. Also believe that CO is something like 400 times more attractive to hemoglobin in the blood than oxygen.
 
Last edited:
Mctavish said:
So I've been using my new CO detector which is recommended as accurate. Like the last one I had, it shows ppm. I saw on the inter webs that 35ppm is a maximum recommended exposure for an 8-hour day. I find that, with full ventilation, (everything possible open), the Origo just doesn't boil even kettle and it sounds like a I'm in a wind machine. If I close one hatch and leave everything else open, with the Origo heating quickly, I can finish cooking a stew in the pressure cooker only as the CO detector reaches just over 35ppm. So that would my "safe limit" for exposure for the entire day in the circumstances I have described.


If it is a very still day and I also have just allowed minimal ventilation (one wash board removed), the CO level according to the detector shoots up. Sometimes I cannot even quickly (starting with warm water in the kettle, Origo full of fuel) boil a kettle without the level reaching maximum.
Click to expand...

Something seems wrong. With all hatches closed and all cabin doors closed having the oven on for about 30 mins to warm something up doesn't cause anything at all on my CO detector. The one just next the oven only wakes up at 30ppm, but the other one I have in a nearby cabin will display anything above zero (and that doesn't get fussed if that cabin door is open and all hatches closed).

The smoke detector meanwhile can detect frying bacon at 100 paces. Even went off once when re-located to the binnacle when the butties were handed up.
 
lpdsn said:
Something seems wrong. With all hatches closed and all cabin doors closed having the oven on for about 30 mins to warm something up doesn't cause anything at all on my CO detector. The one just next the oven only wakes up at 30ppm, but the other one I have in a nearby cabin will display anything above zero (and that doesn't get fussed if that cabin door is open and all hatches closed).

The smoke detector meanwhile can detect frying bacon at 100 paces. Even went off once when re-located to the binnacle when the butties were handed up.
Click to expand...

A decent gas flame burning blue can have very low levels of CO.
 
lw395 said:
The 35ppm limit for the whole day would be continuous, not for the few minutes every hour or two that the kettle is on.
Click to expand...
We obviously have very different requirements for tea and coffee! I am only on the hook and it is common for me to have the kettle on the go all day. Not continuously but near-continuously. Plus I always have hot food and heat hot water for washing of various kinds. Plus the Origo is useful as a space heater.
 
Mctavish said:
We obviously have very different requirements for tea and coffee! I am only on the hook and it is common for me to have the kettle on the go all day. Not continuously but near-continuously. Plus I always have hot food and heat hot water for washing of various kinds. Plus the Origo is useful as a space heater.
Click to expand...

Even if you're operating an unofficial take away restaurant in your local anchorage, the CO levels you're getting still seem high.

Just out of interest, it seems the WHO recommend a maximum exposure of 26ppm over a one hour period or 9ppm over 8 hours. It seems that even those low levels tie up 2.5% of your haemoglobin, so probably aren't good if you're planning to do a marathon the next day.
 
Mctavish said:
We obviously have very different requirements for tea and coffee! I am only on the hook and it is common for me to have the kettle on the go all day. Not continuously but near-continuously. Plus I always have hot food and heat hot water for washing of various kinds. Plus the Origo is useful as a space heater.
Click to expand...

Chain smokers probably see a lot more CO.
Some live to a good age, some don't.
 
"As a reformed smoker you really notice smokey car exhausts riding a motorbike." Pete7

That's nothing, after a couple of years you will be able to smell smokers, indoors, from six feet away. Best of luck with it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top