Carbon Monoxide and Propane Gas Detector

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Tiercel

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 20, 2021
Posts
442
Location
Pennsylvania
The carbon Monoxide detector was dis connected. When I rewired it and replaced the blown fuse both the propane gas detector detector and the Carbon Dioxide detector started flashing green and red and chirping every several seconds. The instructions on the face of the detectors say “Red and Green = Replace”

Is it likely both of these are bad? Do I look for exact replacements? They are on the same circuit. Do they communicate with each other?
 

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Believe it or not they do expire, meaning you need to replace them. Look on the back for the date they were made. Then go on line and find your model. I think at 5-7 yrs is when they expire.
 
Units built since 2002 have a 5 year end of life timer which starts the countdown clock the first time they are powered up. I think the alarm will let you get up to an extra 30 days of service by pressing the cancel button once per day.

p.s. manufacture date is printed on the back
 
Thanks!

Without looking, I am certain these are original equipment on this 2000 MH. I will look into replacing them.
 
They started putting date count-down times on them when it became popular to sue manufacturer's even though the user failed to follow instructions or use common sense. Odds are the detectors are good for many more years, but the possibility that a sensor has failed or got weak is real after 5-7 years, so they play it safe. And afterall, your safety is what it's there for, right?
 
MTI makes a variety of single detection units and combo detection units. They make flush ones, surface mount models and different colors too. MTI is the major player in the LP and CO detector market.

https://www.mtiindustries.com/product-category/products/for-your-rv/

Look at the bottom center of the screen, there are FOUR pages of possibilities. If you are interested in the dual alarms, select that from the menu bar to get all the possibilities.

Once you find the model number you want search Amazon or other places on the internet for them.

Charles
 
I was just getting ready to ask about dual vs single alarms. Currently, I have a propane alarm mounted on the dining bench under the table about 8* off the floor directly over the propane tank compartment. Since propane is heavier than air this seems like the perfect spot. My carbon monoxide detector is mounted on the master BR wall about 55" above the floor. I would prefer to just mount a combo detector under the dining table but the furnace vents blow right where it is mounted. I am afraid very trace amounts of carbon monoxide will blow on it and set it off constantly if we use the furnace.

I know CO is slightly lighter than air but I read tests that confirm that it is negligible and even slight air currents mix it evenly from floor to ceiling so mounting height for CO does not matter. Any thoughts on dual vs single detectors? I think one end of the MH potentially behind closed doors is not the best place for the CO detector.
 
If a CO detector is mounted close to the floor and senses CO, you have a serious problem. The furnace is split in two. The combustion side and the heating side. They are separated so you should never get CO inside the RV. If you do get a alarm, that barrier has been breached. Do not run it until you have it inspected and repaired. We don’t want you to become a statistic.
 
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From what I have read it is important the LPG detectors are mounted low because propane is MUCH heavier than air and will hug the lowest point it can settle to, by contrast CO is every so slightly lighter than air, so close in fact that natural convective air currents are enough to blend it all together. Some will claim that CO is from combustion, so will be warm and will rise in a closed room, this may be right too, I personally suspect in the real world a ceiling mounted CO detector might go off a few seconds earlier than one near the floor, but it will not be enough of a difference to matter, as those convective currents that allowed the warm CO to rise, also blended it with the room air. Therefore if you have a Combo LPG/CO detector it should be mounted low near the floor.
 
I read of one study where a dozen detectors were installed on all levels of an almost airtight container and CO was slowly introduced, Even under those conditions, there was no pattern of the higher detectors going off earlier.
 
My coach has separate detectors. Propane near the floor in the galley, CO on the wall in the stateroom. When I replaced them, I used the factory mounting positions for both, and then added a smoke detector on the ceiling just to add excitement at dinner time.
 
I have a MTI 35-742 which is a flush mount, you cut a rectangular opening and all but about 1/8 inch is in or behind the paneling. It has a flange to cover the hole edges. The surface mount is a 35-741 which only requires a hole for the wires and the screws, otherwise similar to the flush one. There are quite a few varieties and three colors, BR brown, BL black, WT white. My flush one replaced a surface mount LP only unit that was aged out.

I also have a First Alert smoke/CO detector that is ceiling mounted and battery powered. model SCO5CN First Alert battery powered combination smoke and CO detector. It was original equip in my trailer, this is a new one I installed as the old one was aged out.

Charles
 
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