Carbon Monoxide and Motorhomes (1 Viewer)

[Jim]

Jim Brown submitted a new item

 

[Vanderek]

Very informative...I won't make the comment about being a real gassing thread

 

[Jim]

A few Questions about your Carbon Monoxide detector so I might later enhance the above article..

1. Was your CO detector dealer fitted? If so where was it fitted?
2. If the CO detector is something you fitted yourself, where did you fit it and why?
3. Has your CO detector ever activated and did you find out why?

Cheers

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[Chris]

Ours came factory fitted. It’s positioned opposite the fridge and cooker.

It hasn’t gone off yet ( 4.5 years).

 

[Bill_OR]

Fitted mine myself in the kitchen area above worktop and below wall cupboards. It has never gone off and just spotted that it 'expired' in May so have ordered a replacement.

 

[Speve]

Hi Jim,
Ours was not dealer fitted and it’s fitted in back bedroom just rear of cooker and fridge at just below sitting height as when I was fitting them in my last job we were advised that this gas rises and in that scenario older people sitting in their chairs at home very often would doze off so if alarm was at just around or below head height it would detect gas and alarm would activate. There was always a very grey area when it came to where they should be fitted. Hopefully in a van they would have drop outs for lpg gas and the CO will do the same.
No ours has never activated

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[DavidG58]

we have one loose fitted by us we have it at top of window height as we have no wall space close to ceiling due to lockers, we have one each end due to length

ours has gone off in the past 3 weeks, scarily due to ingress of exhaust fumes, see other thread ref sorting that, but one thing I would add, IMO it is important to get one with a display. take all alerts seriously, but if you know what the display number means (read the instructions) they will typically alarm at anything above 15ppm CO, which will do you absolutely no harm but you need to know about, ours read 50 for above alert, we pulled over and opened doors and windows, it soon dropped back to zero. We luckily were not too far from home closed air vents and took to Merc dealer to sort problem same week

You need well over 100ppm for a long time to have significant effect, if several 100's though you would probably never hear the alarm

A very scary fact about CO poisoning is that you lose the ability to move first, so you could be in a situation where you can hear the alarm and can do nothing about it that would need to be an extreme event and in the small confines of a MH you should always hear the alert long before it would harm anybody

I know quite a lot about this due to confined space training for work, but already knew a lot as I read up about it when my younger brother killed himself by gassing in his car over 35 years ago

 

[Jim]

A very scary fact about CO poisoning is that you lose the ability to move first, so you could be in a situation where you can hear the alarm and do nothing about it

Aren't those the symptoms of those who are gassed and robbed of cash and iPads

 

[Kevan]

Now Jim's opened a can of worms, food for thought

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[pyro]

A very useful thread. Self fitted combined smoke/CO2, fitted on cupboard above and slightly to the side of hob and fridge.

 

[Theonlysue]

Self fitted but has never gone off.

However one van i was camped with had theirs go off. Apparently the fumes from the fridge were going out the external vents then going back inside the van from underneath. This was my understanding.

 

[icantremember]

A few Questions about your Carbon Monoxide detector so I might later enhance the above article..

1. Was your CO detector dealer fitted? If so where was it fitted?
2. If the CO detector is something you fitted yourself, where did you fit it and why?
3. Has your CO detector ever activated and did you find out why?

Cheers

1. Dealer supplied one for us to fit ...
2. I bought a better one with a readout and fitted it roughly at shoulder level .. it's in the lounge area but not far from beds.
3. Not activated so far

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[Kingham]

Current van, dealer fitted, in bedroom area, wall mounted but at ceiling height.

Never activated.

Previous vans were both dealer fitted, wall mounted just inside habitation door, but still at a high level.

No activations on either of those.

 

[kip]

Ours was retro fitted,local mobile service at request of previous owner.its fitted in bedroom area .

 

[Feltwell]

Self fitted when I bought the van, as was the smoke alarm. CO alarm went off once when I was driving - no idea why - has not gone off since. Fitted to the outside of the bathroom compartment, so up high and fairly close to the middle of the van - if I remember rightly the fitting instructions said to avoid fitting it close to roof / outside wall intersections.

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[peterc10]

1. Dealer supplied one for us to fit ...
2. I bought a better one with a readout and fitted it roughly at shoulder level .. it's in the lounge area but not far from beds.
3. Not activated so far

Exactly the same as us.

 

[Gizmouk]

It's very important to remember that the sensors used in CO alarms have a limited life expectancy - normally in the range of 5 or 6 years.
Best to replace your CO alarm every 5 years - they're only around £20

 

[Stretto Boy]

Ours is factory fitted, near the fridge and opposite the cooker. It hasn’t gone off since we bought our motorhome new 7 months ago. Does that mean (a) it’s brilliant and not subject to false alarms or (b) it’s complete rubbish and won’t go off even in the event of a genuine emergency? or ?

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[Musicboy]

Don't mean to go off thread , but talking of safety ... Alays have a dry powder extinguisher know how to use it. .. I had two in my tag axle but one now as down sized . However . Min at least one & a thought of placement aswell ...
safety first ay ....

 

[Wildbill]

We just replaced our CO detectors before our trip to France Belgium one on the wardrobe wall at head high in the rear lunge setting aria next to the heater.
and one in the kitchen at head height when standing this protects the wee mans sleeping aria.
we also have a smoke alarm fitted on the roof center of the van.
battery's are changed annul and cooker boiler heating checked by a gas fitter usually in the autumn as we use our van all year round so the heating get's
more use during the winter.
the monitor i removed were for years old and working fine but i think a for year interval is OK with a van.
and the cost was £46 pounds for both a small price to pay.
thay also have a display
bill

 

[Bart]

A few Questions about your Carbon Monoxide detector so I might later enhance the above article..

1. Was your CO detector dealer fitted? If so where was it fitted?
2. If the CO detector is something you fitted yourself, where did you fit it and why?
3. Has your CO detector ever activated and did you find out why?

Cheers

1. Not fitted by dealer , i fitted it about 4ft high above trauma heater / beside fridge
2. Fitted myself
3. Nope no false alarms yet

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[Jagtazman]

self fitted on the floor below the bed about 1 foot up from floor which is near both cooker and fridge

 

[Barclaybasher]

Fitted mine half way up the wall (as per mfrs instructions) near sleeping/sitting area.

Went off once while cooking - small van, windows shut

 

[gerry mcg]

1. Not fitted by dealer,
2. Fitted myself - i fitted it 900mm above floor in rear area of PVC by rear doors. Immediately below bed, close to Truma Combi boiler. (Rationale was we have a compressor fridge, so no gas fridge to worry about, and I ventilate when using stove, so most concerned about CO poisoning when asleep with Truma Combi on )
3. Nope no false alarms yet (and no alarms yet either!)

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[Paul and Kate]

Dealer fitted
On the ceiling above seating area
Never gone off
Sticker on the alarm says change 13/05/21
Five years after pick up date

 

[wasp]

On another note do not use your gas cooking appliances to heat your MH they emit large amounts of carbon monoxide ,make sure you ventilate the vehicle when cooking, I know it`s a daft suggestion but, not everybody thinks about it especially our newish members

 

[Richard n Ann]

We had one with an LCD screen I fitted in the caravan. Definitely better with the screen, while cooking you can see the ppm count go up and back down without alarming.
The one in the van now hasn't got a screen and has never gone off. I'll replace it with a better one soon, it's 3.5 years old and I put new batteries in it earlier in the year. It didn't chirp, I decided to test them and they were quite low.

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[Jim]

We've all got them in the van (I hope) . However if you are ever holidaying or away on business in hotels make sure you take a portable CO detector with you.

 

[Mikey RV]

Fitted mine myself, in the bedroom, not far from kitchen etc.

 

[Linda18]

Self fitted when I bought the van, as was the smoke alarm. CO alarm went off once when I was driving - no idea why - has not gone off since. Fitted to the outside of the bathroom compartment, so up high and fairly close to the middle of the van - if I remember rightly the fitting instructions said to avoid fitting it close to roof / outside wall intersections.

I travelled to Spain this year and at each overnight stop I could smell exhaust fumes. I checked the exhaust and no problems. One day I started off and the van didn't have any power. I limped to the Peugeot garage. It was the air intake and a symtom is the escape of exhaust fumes into the cab.

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