smoke and co alarms

[firefighterjake]

I am surprised to see that you aren't interested in digital readouts on CO detectors. Myself I want to know if there is ANY CO present and I will investigate as to why. Here is the industry standard on how an detector will go into alarm.









After Oct. 1, 1998, UL 2034 listed CO alarms must measure and alarm when CO is:
30 PPM for 30 days
70 PPM for no more than 240 minutes before alarming (may alarm as early as 60 min.)
150 PPM for no more than 50 minutes before alarming (may alarm as early as 10 min.)
400 PPM for no more than 15 minutes before alarming (may alarm as early as 4 min.) and have a manual reset that will reenergize the alarm signal within 6 minutes if the CO concentration remains at 70 PPM or greater.


From this article.
(broken link removed)

Generally . . . what I have found on the job and in my home . . . if the CO alarm is going off there is CO somewhere. On the very few occasions it has gone off in my home I was able to quickly determine the source of the CO and fix the problem (latest incident simply involved me opening the garage doors and not lingering in the breezeway with the door to the garage open). If there was any question in my mind as to the source or if anyone was exhibiting some signs of CO poisoning I would not hesitate to call up the FD to get a CO monitor.

That said, there is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to know the CO levels . . . especially if it gives someone a peace of mind . . . and I could see it being useful when calling the FD to be able to tell them the levels are at X ppm.

 

[Firewood Bandit]

Generally . . . what I have found on the job and in my home . . . if the CO alarm is going off there is CO somewhere. On the very few occasions it has gone off in my home I was able to quickly determine the source of the CO and fix the problem (latest incident simply involved me opening the garage doors and not lingering in the breezeway with the door to the garage open). If there was any question in my mind as to the source or if anyone was exhibiting some signs of CO poisoning I would not hesitate to call up the FD to get a CO monitor.

That said, there is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to know the CO levels . . . especially if it gives someone a peace of mind . . . and I could see it being useful when calling the FD to be able to tell them the levels are at X ppm.

My point is that there is a lot of CO present in order for the alarm to sound when there shouldn't be any at all. With a detector that alarms only, a source of CO could be present for a considerable period of time particularly if it is intermittent. I want to know when there is any at all. And they do indeed work. Mowers/ATV get concentrations up very quickly compared to cars.

 

[firefighterjake]

My point is that there is a lot of CO present in order for the alarm to sound when there shouldn't be any at all. With a detector that alarms only, a source of CO could be present for a considerable period of time particularly if it is intermittent. I want to know when there is any at all. And they do indeed work. Mowers/ATV get concentrations up very quickly compared to cars.

Good point . . . but generally for most folks in decent health . . . most CO poisonings occur when there is a large CO source . . . i.e. hot water gas heater, cracked heat exchanger on oil furnace, etc.

That said, again, it's not a bad thing since generally . . . well always . . . breathing in CO is not a good thing . . . even at low levels . . . for anyone . . . and especially for the young, old and folks with respiratory or circulatory health problems.

 

[tfdchief]

Jake. Good info. We just ran a call yesterday in an apartment complex. All the CO detectors were installed in 2006. They were Kiddie brand and set to alarm for expiration in seven years. All four of them were going off. I wonder if other brands are programming in similar.