Carbon monoxide detector issues

[MiniMe]

Not sure if this should be posted under Electrical or Appliances, but has anyone had issues with the stock Safe-T-Alert CO detector? The original one that came with the TM started alarming a while back on a trip during the night while using the propane heater. We/dog woke up, felt fine, didn't smell/notice anything. Aired the TM out and shut off the heater/tanks for safety. I had the dealer replace the detector with a brand new one when we had a servicing/maintenance done. I put the unit in our detached garage and I could later hear the detector intermittently beeping, sometimes alarming inside. Our TM is always stored with the propane tanks shut, toilet/tanks empty, interior cleaned and there are no gas appliances in this garage. I had to just disconnect the battery completely to stop the beeping as it was loud enough to hear outside the garage with the door shut. Then I disconnected just the detector wiring from battery power (so I could still charge the battery) and purchased a plug-in wall mount detector for when we're actually using the TM. Neither the dealer nor Safe-T-Alert support could help me troubleshoot so that was about $75 down the drain. It's been a while so the "new" detector is out of warranty, but if anyone has any ideas of what else could possibly have caused this issue, please let me know as none of the typical causes apply to my situation.

[Shane826]

A couple things…

First, of course you didn’t smell anything. CO is completely odorless.

Note these detectors do have a shelf life and then they start to malfunction. But if you’re still getting beeps after replacing it, I’m guessing the issue isn’t actually the detector. Do you have a good 12V battery hooked up to the camper? Mine will beep if it doesn’t have a solid 12V source, even if it’s plugged into shore power. Kinda a low battery alert.

[Bill]

The detector will trigger on a number of unexpected things. For example, a common item is hair spray. I suspect that other aerosol products will also do it. Deodorant? Room deodorizing spray? Cleaners of various kinds?

Your first step might be to clean everything out of your bathroom, and see if the alarming quits. If so, start putting thing back, one by one until you find the offender.

If no good, start removing other things. Bag of self-lighting charcoal briquets? WD-40 spray? You get the idea.

If you find the offender, let us know.

Bill

[MiniMe]

I know CO doesn't have an odor. That's why we aired out the TM and shut everything off to be safe. This was during a trip in the middle of the night too so we had to hunker down with the blankets until we could leave in the morning.

When I had the TM serviced, I also had the dealer install brand new batteries so that wasn't the issue.

I don't use hair/deodorant sprays and clean with a Lysol/water mix. We don't keep any chemicals/solvents, etc stored in the TM besides the toilet deodorizer.

After a trip, I always vacuum/clean the entire interior to keep bugs/rodents from moving in and wash the exterior, but then the TM is always allowed to air/dry out for a full day before closing up for storage.

It just seems odd that even after servicing, replacing the batteries, and replacing the CO detector that I was still having issues with the random beeping. Maybe the new detector was just defective? If I wanted a replacement unit, I would've had to pay to ship it to Safe-T-Alert so I opted to purchase the plug-in detector instead.

So for now, this is still a mystery!

[Bill]

Seems odd that two detectors in a row exhibited this behavior. In fact, it suggests that the detectors are not at fault.

In addition to the examples I gave, a number of aerosol products use propane, butane, or a similar gas as the propellant. Have you ever tried spraying mosquito repellent past a lighted candle? Take a look at the MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) for Deep Woods OFF!

Did you try my suggestion of taking a lot of stuff out of the TM?

Bill