Carbon Monoxide Detector Defective

[SEnfinger]

Opened up the 5ver to get it ready for our July 4th trip to Land Between the Lakes and heard the CO2 alarm going off. Of course the first course of action is to decipher the flashes and chirps and compare them to the alert codes on the back. Two flashes, two chirps every 30 seconds equals END OF LIFE. Of course we are only 9 months into our rigs warranty and these are supposed to last at least 6 years according to the website (Costar Model 9RV). Tried power off and new battery but same result. End of life alert. The good news is our great Montana Dealership in Nashville, Cullum and Maxey, accepted the detector with battery without having to drive the whole rig in for troubleshooting and a new one is on order. Having now researched these on line I have discovered there are quite a few RV'ers out there with preliminary failures. So I will be testing mine more often, once my new one arrives.

 

[DQDick]

Propane detectors also seem to end their lives prematurely.

 

[DPAM]

Ours started chirping when our 3150RL was 2 yrs old. The warranty states the unit will be pro-rated and you have to pay the difference. I checked at several dealers and they sell them at a very expensive price ($75 - $100). We found some at Walmart for $30.00, but they don't cover the footprint of the original. We then started to pay attention to what a CO2 unit does. We don't have a internal generator and we don't burn wood inside the trailer and we don't sleep with the tow vehicle hooked up and running. So we decided to do without replacing the CO2 unit. I noticed in most new trailers there is not a CO2 unit.

Just my 2 cents worth.

 

[8.1al]

You have a stove, oven and furnace that produce CO. A faulty furnace can be deadly.

 

[Bigmurf-JAY]

Are we talking CO2 or CO here?

 

[moutard2]

On the subject of CO detectors, I've done a bit of research as to the positioning of the detectors and it appears that those in the bedroom of the 3750FL model at least are not in the optimum location. Mine for instance is about 6 inches from the ceiling whereas according to the experts, it should be somewhere between 3 and 5 feet from the floor. I'm not an expert on the subject by any measure but I am wondering about this. Any experts out there?

 

[8.1al]

quote:Originally posted by bigmurf

Are we talking CO2 or CO here?

You're right, it should be CO

 

[moutard2]

quote:Originally posted by dpam
I noticed in most new trailers there is not a CO2 unit.

Your CO2 detector is probably just beneath your stove. Your CO detector is probably in the bedroom. All trailers made these days MUST HAVE both.

 

[2Wanderers-MOC]

First thing I did when getting ready for our first trip was to replace the carbon monoxide detector and the smoke detector. I also bought a very large fire extinguisher which I mounted in the basement, street side, for quick access on or off the highway. I've seen trailers burnt to the ground alongside the road and had a broken propane line in the stove with resultant fire in a poptop trailer many years ago. Be prepared when it comes to fire safety.

 

[Ozz]

I would suggest always having a working Propane detector and a combination CO and Smoke detector in the RV, If your CO detector quits, get a combo smoke and CO detector, they are $54.00 at Lowe's.
Moutard2, good call. If they suggest that location, I would try and place it there. I think ours is where it is, because it 'Looks nice' at that location.