Carbon Monoxide alarm going off.

[TimothySeader]

Hi I am new to the forum, and new to camping. We just bought a 5 year old camper. Keystone ultra lite. We have had 1 successful camping trim. I walked my camper today, and heard the carbon monoxide detector going off. I opened the windows for about 10 minutes but it kept going, so I disconnected my main battery cable and it stopped. Do you think the gasses from the toilet could set it off? The camper is 5 years old so I image the former owner who had it repo'd did not clean the tank. I don't smell any gasses from the toilet, but I don't know why else the alarm would go off. The propane is off.

 

[Alfa38User]

Hi, and Welcome Timothy

Are you sure it is a carbon monoxide alarm?? Most trailers and motor homes are not equipped with CO detectors. The alarm was most likely the propane (LP) alarm and those are installed by law in every RV. They operate on 12V and when you disconnected the battery it would stop as you found out.

LP alarms have a habit of being set off easily and not necessarily by escaping propane. Things like aerosol  cans, BBQ propane lighters, dogs passing wind, etc. Fumes from the toilet are not a likely source.

A low 12V battery will also cause an alarm.  If the trailer/ motor home has been stored for several weeks, the alarm itself will put a drain on  the battery (ies) in many cases, discharging it (them) past the critical point for setting off that alarm. (I always disconnect my LP alarm when storing the trailer for that reason, after all, there is no one there to hear it!!) ;D

Look closely at that alarm and let us know if it is the LP alarm. Check the battery (ies) for water level and charge. A voltage reading across the terminals of less than about 12.1 V is discharged a LOT and should be charged up by either plugging the trailer in where possible or removing the battery and charging it with an external charger at home.

If storing the trailer for longer periods, fully charge the battery and then disconnect it. That will save you a lot of grief, but don't forget to reconnect before towing. That battery is needed for the break-away braking system (if equipped) should the trailer become disconnected from the tow vehicle for any reason...

 

[John From Detroit]

A 5 year old MOTORHOME should have a CO detector.. Trailers I do not know.

How to tell the difference.

Propane is heavier than air, and thus the propane detector is near the floor, It has a number of alarm states.. One of 'em is "Low power supply" and it is normally powered off the house 12 volt system.. Note, this is a "Failure" type alarm in most cases (Beep, long pause, beep, long pause) where as "Explosive Gad Detected" is either a much faster beep or a continous beep.

Carbon Dioxide is a "near air density" gas and due to the fact that it is most commonly generated by things that are hot tends to accumulate near the ceiling, thus the CO alarm is either ON the ceiling or about a hand span below it.  Though it MAY be tied to the house power they often have internal batteries.

Finally there is a Smoke alarm, this one is normally ON the ceiling and again may or may not have internal batteries.

ALL of these have an anticipated life of between five and ten years... So if you are getting a fail type alarm it most likely needs replacement.

 

[Frank Hurst]

My propane detector will go off for seemingly no reason at times. However, aerosol sprays (Hairsprays), dogs & people passing gas and other gasses can cause the propane alarm to go off. When my alarm goes off I always (Unless DW has just sprayed her hair and I know the cause) evacuate the MH, open the windows and turn on the fans and then start looking for propane leaks. On our alarm there is a reset button which will stop the alarm for 30 seconds and then the alarm will sound again if the air is not clear. Over the past 20 years of motor homing with two different MH I have had this happen at least 5-6 time and have never discovered the cause.

Frank   

 

[Hfx_Cdn]

  As stated above, we have found the most common reason for the alarm to go off is when for some reason we have low house batteries.  That could be as a result of several things, such as a poor/dead battery, or you left a switch on.  Usually there is/are kill switches that will close everything down.

Ed

 

[Water Dog]

ALL of these have an anticipated life of between five and ten years... So if you are getting a fail type alarm it most likely needs replacement.

^^^This 

 

[TowKing]

CO, & CO2 detectors have life spans of 5-10 years. I had a 10 year, & it beeped to the minute, ten years later. My parents trailer is beeping now too, that's what we were told. End of life.
Also. CO (& CO2) is also heavy, (like propane) & the detectors should be placed near the floor.

 

[Isaac-1]

If it is chirping about every 30 seconds it is probably the end of life alarm, which goes off after 5 years on Safe-T-Alert brand detectors.

 

[NY_Dutch]

CO, & CO2 detectors have life spans of 5-10 years. I had a 10 year, & it beeped to the minute, ten years later. My parents trailer is beeping now too, that's what we were told. End of life.
Also. CO (& CO2) is also heavy, (like propane) & the detectors should be placed near the floor.

"Because carbon monoxide is slightly lighter than air and also because it may be found with warm, rising air, detectors should be placed on a wall about 5 feet above the floor. The detector may be placed on the ceiling. Do not place the detector right next to or over a fireplace or flame-producing appliance."

Where should I place a carbon monoxide detector? | US EPA

How does a Carbon Monoxide Detector work?From About.com (http://chemistry.about.com/od/howthingswork/a/codetectors.htm)Where Should I Place a Carbon Monoxide Detector?Because carbon monoxide is slightly lighter than air and also because it may be found wit

www.epa.gov

 

[Isaac-1]

There is some truth this last statement, however the devil is in the details, while Carbon Monoxide is lighter than air, it is only very very slightly lighter, so little that it takes highly controlled conditions to allow for it to stratify, meaning that something as simple as natural convective air currents are more than enough to stir it up and mix it with the rest of the room air. So while yes heat rises, and there may well be slightly higher carbon monoxide levels hugging the ceiling, in the real world there should be plenty of it throughout the entire air space in an RV to set off the CO alarm. On the contrast Propane is MUCH heavier than air and will settle to the lowest point it can reach, therefore if you buy a combination CO and LP detector, it is important you locate it close to the floor.

 

[alan6051964]

i see this is an old thread ?, but i wanted to toss this in. while camping in my brand new camper last fall ( deer season ), the propane alarm went off inside , i tried re-setting it, doors open, all that, but did not even smell any propane at all ?. hmmmm. what i did discover though !, stupid me had my generator sitting to close to the furnace outside, the exhaust was facing the burner exhaust on the furnace, hmmm, AH HA !, took me about 2 sec's to see that the exhaust of the generator was being sucked right back into the furnace, which is this case..is going right inside to the alarm..BINGO !. once i moved my generator away from the furnace exhaust, the alarm stopped going off !.

 

[ChasA]

Battery gas (hydrogen sulfide) will also set the propane detector off. Check your batteries.

 

[NY_Dutch]

i see this is an old thread ?, but i wanted to toss this in. while camping in my brand new camper last fall ( deer season ), the propane alarm went off inside , i tried re-setting it, doors open, all that, but did not even smell any propane at all ?. hmmmm. what i did discover though !, stupid me had my generator sitting to close to the furnace outside, the exhaust was facing the burner exhaust on the furnace, hmmm, AH HA !, took me about 2 sec's to see that the exhaust of the generator was being sucked right back into the furnace, which is this case..is going right inside to the alarm..BINGO !. once i moved my generator away from the furnace exhaust, the alarm stopped going off !.

Since the furnace only circulates inside air through the furnace heat exchanger back to the inside, I'd be a bit concerned that the combustion air intake that circulates combustion air past the burner back outside was capable of passing the generator exhaust inside to the LP detector.