Carbon monoxide alarm activated. (1 Viewer)

[camel]

Hi

I fitted a carbon monoxide alarm in April this year.
At the weekend, it activated at 2.00am whilst we were asleep on site. We were on ehu, truma boiler blowing out warm air to keep temperature ok, fridge on electric too, gas on for cooker. I reset the alarm twice, then it went off again quite quickly. Opened windows and door to clear and then after a while reset alarm and it was ok. Slept with windows open and one eye open too lol.
I then ordered a new alarm with a digital read out which arrived at home the next day at the same time we did (Amazon next day delivery). Its the same make as the original.
We have set up the motorhome at home exactly the same as on site, twice. First day reading showed max 15 ppm (parts per million of CO) and second time 14ppm. Both apparently well under any danger level.

Now, do I presume all is ok and it was an error somehow or do I need to have boiler or other appliances fully serviced, if they were at fault. I know intermitting faults are hard to fix.
Just wondering what your take on this is,

Thanks

Paul

 

[maison]

If you have the new alarm and is not showing a problem I would tend to accept that the old alarm was faulty.

I would simply continue to monitor the situation using the new unit. If a genuine CO problem arises the new alarm will sound.

The fact that you were on EHU suggests a faulty monitor.

I would suggest that as you were using the cooker on gas try it again on the drive, when it it is not important, and see if the CO reading increases. From what you describe only the cooker could have been producing CO at the time.

 

[34127]

CO alarm can also be triggered with battery gassing so worth bearing that in mind.

 

[Hollyberry]

You could put both CO2 alarms in your van. If old one triggers, new one doesn't then it's probably a fault in the first unit.

 

[Glas Robin]

Best of three?

As others have said - if on EHU then I can't see how it could be the boiler or fridge. Could be the cooker but presumably wasn't being used at the time.

Put both alarms side by side and monitor.

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[camel]

Thanks, trying both alarms at the same time seems like a good idea. May need a third one in case I need to be reassured lol

 

[Pausim]

Was there possibly a barbecue left out nearby? They can be a significant source of Carbon Monoxide, even giving off CO when they are nearly cold. The official advice to campers is to leave them well away from tents where people are sleeping, which suggests the nasty stuff can drift around and still cause problems. I have also heard of CO alarms reacting to faults from neighbouring properties.

 

[Mikey RV]

Is your Rolex and two grand in cash still where you left it.

 

[EssexBoy]

My heating is gas only, so is running on gas even when on EHU, so wouldn't dismiss a boiler problem just yet...

I'd try both the detectors together and see what happens...

 

[DavidG58]

it might be worth checking at what level the old CO monitor would have alarmed, just a chance it has a lower trigger point

ours are 30ppm before they alarm and that is still a safe level for habitation, 15ppm is showing something but proves the benefit of the display so you know not to worry

over 100 get our really quickly, 15 - 50 stay and see what it might be, while ventilating 50 - 100 ventilate then go back in to investigate

even 100ppm will do you no harm for a few minutes

be safe, don't panic

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[GWAYGWAY]

I have two in mine both at bed head levels, never gone off, but the smoke alarms will go off when the thrits are out as the little sods get in the tester area.

 

[Burgo]

Flatus (intestinal gas) is mostly produced as a byproduct of bacterial fermentation in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, especially the colon.[17] There are reports of aerophagia (excessive air swallowing) causing excessive intestinal gas, but this is considered rare.[18] Over 99% of the volume of flatus is composed of non-smelly gases.[5] These include oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, hydrogen and methane. Nitrogen is not produced in the gut, but a component of environmental air. Patients who have excessive intestinal gas that is mostly composed of nitrogen have aerophagia.[19] Hydrogen, carbon dioxide and methane are all produced in the gut and contribute 74% of the volume of flatus in normal subjects.[20] Methane and hydrogen are flammable, and so flatus containing adequate amounts of these can be ignited.[21] Not all humans produce flatus that contains methane. For example, in one study of the faeces of nine adults, only five of the samples contained archaea capable of producing methane.[22]The prevalence of methane over hydrogen in human farts may correlate with obesity, constipation and irritable bowel syndrome, as archaea that oxidise hydrogen into methane promote the metabolism's ability to absorb fatty acids from food.[23]

The remaining trace (<1% volume) compounds give flatus its smell. Historically, compounds such as indole, skatole, ammonia and short chain fatty acids were thought to cause the smell of flatus. More recent evidence proves that the major contribution to the smell of flatus comes from a combination of volatile sulfur compounds (VSC).[5][24] It is known that hydrogen sulfide (H2S), methyl mercaptan (MM, also known as methanethiol, MT), dimethyl sulfide (DMS), dimethyl disulfide (DMDS) and dimethyl trisulfide (DMTS) are present in flatus. The benzopyrrole volatiles indole and skatole have a mothball smell, and therefore probably do not contribute greatly to the characteristic smell of flatus.

In one study, H2S concentration was shown to correlate convincingly with perceived bad smell of flatus, followed by MM and DMS.[19] This is supported by the fact that H2S may be the most abundant VSC present. These results were generated from subjects who were eating a diet high in pinto beans to stimulate flatus production. Others report that MM was the greatest contributor to the smell of flatus in patients not under any specific dietary alterations.[5] It has now been demonstrated that MM, DMS and H2S (described as decomposing vegetables, unpleasantly sweet/wild radish and rotten eggs respectively) are all present in human flatus in concentrations above their smell perception thresholds.[5] It is known that increased dietary sulfur-containing amino acids significantly increases the smell of flatus. It is therefore likely that the smell of flatus is created by a combination of VSC, with minimal contribution from non-sulfur volatiles.[19] Such smell can also be caused by the presence of large numbers of microflora bacteria or the presence of faeces in the rectum. Diets high in protein, especially sulfur-containing amino acids, have been demonstrated to significantly increase the smell of flatus.

 

[big bertha]

We had a co monitor that stated press test button and if 4 peeps it's ok but 5 peeps faulty or vice versa.

 

[Nicepix]

We've just got back from a trip to the UK and while over there our niece was telling us about their brand new motor home that had a similar problem. First trip out the CO monitor went off in the middle of the night. They opened windows and doors and her husband turned off the gas at the bottle then removed the bottle. The alarm went off again shortly afterwards even though there was nothing connected up to the gas.

She bought a new independent CO monitor the next morning and fixed it in the MH. When they went to bed they disconnected the gas totally yet the new alarm went off in the night. They had disconnected the alarm that came with the vehicle thinking that it was faulty.

She has no idea why or how the alarm activated so I pointed her towards the dealer.