Carbon Monoxide ( Lots of Research - No Solid Answers )

[capn_billl]

I use a couple of the home units, the only "false" alarms I have gotten, are from charging a battery, (apparently the sensors are also sensitive to Hydrogen). I would not neccessarily call that a disadvantage, as I don't want hydrogen build up in cabin either.

I would not call them beeping over a spike caused by a passing power boat a "false" alarm either, as they are rightly informing you of CO, even if not dangerous levels for short term exposure.

It is very likely that they will become less sensitive in time, as the other gas detectors I have used in an industrial enviroment also lose effectiveness. Just replace them every few years, as the new ones are better anyway.

Other than being built for 12v power, and lower sensitivity, I see no reason for the marine units to cost 10 times as much as the home units. If you have a big expensive boat make your own decision, but I decided that a "cheap" unit is better than no unit.

As far as Diesels making less CO than gas engines, less is not equal to zero.

Diesel (compression ignition) engines run with an excess of air and often produce less than 1200 ppm CO. When diesel fuel is burned incompletely or when overloaded and over-fueled (rich mixture), diesel engines will produce high concentrations of CO

CO emitted from the tailpipe of engines burning gasoline, 10,000-60,000 parts per million (ppm)

Dept of Agriculture.

1200 PPM is considered dangerous, Even a finely tuned diesel producing "only" 200PPM will eventually cause problems in an enclosed enviroment.

[xymotic]

Yes, but.

I guess I'm splitting hairs here, but the diesel exhaust itself will drive you out of that closed environment long before dangerous CO levels are reached. I think all boats should have them, but I guess I'm more afraid of propane and gas.

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by xymotic

Yes, but.

I guess I'm splitting hairs here, but the diesel exhaust itself will drive you out of that closed environment long before dangerous CO levels are reached. I think all boats should have them, but I guess I'm more afraid of propane and gas.

Exactly

[page winslow]

Got a battery powerd one from home depot just to have an extra one onboard but it went off when we would leave the boat ,Checked everything i do not have gas for cooking on board cound not find a reason was about to take it back when i in stalled a clear air system for (odors) now it does not go off any more I think I'll keep it. wife loves clear air system.

Originally Posted by maine89

I am posting this on two different forums because I believe it could be very useful to many people if I can collect some real data.

I just spent the last four hours researching CO detectors, mostly out of frustration that after so long I could not simply find a proven product.

There are people who are saying they use regular home CO detectors from home depot like the below (I like that they have batteries, a screen to add comfort, and are cheap enough that you can buy a couple models for redundancy)

Amazon.com: Kidde KN-COPP-B-LP Nighthawk Carbon Monoxide Alarm, Battery Operated with Digital Display: Home Improvement

Amazon.com: First Alert CO615 Carbon Monoxide Plug-In Alarm with Battery Backup and Digital Display: Home Improvement

Amazon.com: Kidde KN-COPP-B Front Load Battery-Operated Carbon Monoxide Alarm with Digital Display: Home Improvement

There are also people who say that these tend to be set off too easily and that it is worth paying more for marine grade sensors that won't set off with common boat cleaners, etc.

MTI Industries 65-541-WT 12-V Surface Mount Hard Wired Carbon Monoxide Alarm
Amazon.com: MTI Industries 65-541-WT 12-V Surface Mount Hard Wired Carbon Monoxide Alarm: Home Improvement
Marine Technologies Boat Carbon Monoxide Detectors

Amazon.com: Fireboy-Xintex Xintex Carbon Monoxide Detector: Home Improvement


Has anyone heard anything definitive for one way or another? Any personal experiences?

Thanks so much.

Currently I'm leaning towards getting the hard wired Safe-T-Alert "marine grade" and the Kidde battery operated/LCD version for redundancy. I'm not itching to spend the money but I figure it's a very worthwhile investment. Would prefer to just know a product that worked very well and stick with that though.

[Tripod]

Originally Posted by maine89

Which CO sensor model did you end up getting?

We ended up with a pair of Fireboy-Xintex model CMD-2MR-9V battery operated detectors. Three years with no problems. So far they only go off when tested.

[jbpollock]

[QUOTE=maine89;893851]Yes it seems no one is referring to UL 1524 in their product descriptions but instead are using UL 2034

This one seems to offer battery power, LCD screen and is UL 2034
Amazon.com: ProTech 7035 Lithium Battery Powered Carbon Monoxide Detector with Digital Display and Memory: Home Improvement


Hard, indeed, finding the right dectector. Here in california, we apparently have to have the 7030-SL or 7035-SL version of the above (SL = Sealed Lithium for the environment?) But I see it is UL 2034-09 and not the UL 1524 for Marine Use.

From an RV thread, I see that the EPA recommendation for CO exposure is 9 ppm, and that this detects levels above 10 on a manual setting, and then shows the highest level over a past period of time. Sounds pretty high tech. RV thread is Catalytic Heaters - Escapees Discussion Forum - Page 3