Where to mount CO detector?

Dave Faust

Where should I mount my CO detector, high or low?

Mark Hunt

CO alarm


Mount it high, near sleeping areas.

Mark H

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Steve Ebels_2

In the bedroom

Or you could place it in the bedroom.

Or, if you have more than one, you could put them in the bedrooms.

On the other hand, you could put the detector in the bedroom.


Seriously, the best place for a CO detector is in your bedroom. This is because it will alarm (if it works) and wake you up if there is a CO incident while you're sleeping. If you are awake, you will typically notice a CO event before a standard type detector goes off. You'll probably smell the flue gas associated with CO entering your home and have time to get out. If it happens while you're sleeping, you wake up dead. Not a good thing.

Get a good CO detector. Not a HD or hardware store unit. They are a waste of money. We had two incedents in December where a brand new CO detector never gave a peep during an event. One house had 13ppm in the ambient air and the other was over 25. The homeowners in both cases had been feeling ill for weeks and their detectors never alarmed.

Dale

Your bedroom

It doesn't really matter where, so mine like most is near the floor since that's where the outlet is.I advise a normally unused outlet that you can see on a daily basis to see if the 00 has changed to anything else. When people die from CO it's while sleeping, alot of times while drunk, sad but true, so you want it to be as loud as possible. If you have a garage under the house, as I do, caulk every seam, floor and ceiling and put a detector near the hallway to your garage door too. Keep another opener transmitter or push button in the house and if the detector goes off DO NOT go into the garage without first opening the garage door remotely. Cars left running in garages kill more people each month that all heating equip added up kills in a year.

Bill_14

Somewhere

I have read that the monitor should be mounted at about eye level on a wall in the bedroom. Is this correct?

Bill

Chuck_12

proper consdieraitons for install CO detectors

The best places to install detectors is near any possible source (i.e., garages, gas appliances, fireplaces and flues)
One idea is to place IT where leaks can be present by appliances but not limited to fireplaces with gas logs, or seepage fom old flues or chimney housings. CO lies low and therefore better to have a mid height to low location for detection. Some would want to install at areas to protect the person such as a bedroom...that is fine for added protection, however it is best to detect the fumes at closer to source and not wait till it reaches the outpost of your sleeping area. (leaks dont always happen at nite time..do they?) As for a good brand?....I dont promote them but I have installed a many KIDDE.

jp_2

why high?

why should they be mounted high?

Mark Hunt

CO is


lighter than air and it rises and will concentrate near the ceiling.

Mark H

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Mark Hunt

Chuck


CO is lighter than air and it does not "lie low".

CO2 is heavier than air and will "lie low".

If you place a CO alarm near a flue in the basement, chnaces are that no-one will hear it if it goes off when they are sleeping.

Put one in a garage, and it will alarm every time a car is pulled in or out.(Assuming the alarm works)

As for CO alarms, UL listed alarms do not offer protection for infants, children, elderly, or sick people. Other than that, they're great.

Mark H

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Mark Hunt

That is


a good place, or you could set it on your dresser.

Mark H

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jp_2

has this been measured?

so, if thats the case, then any co2 generated in the house will be on the floor and will fill the basement?

I've heard this "lighter than air" before, but its really not that much lighter than o2, 2 grams per several billion billion atoms, 6.28 with 23 zero's behind it. watch dust in the sunlight near a window!

I've wanted to know this reasoning for a while.

Mark Hunt

Yup


and CO2 will pool near the floor.

This explains why combustion numbers go down the tubes when an appliance is not venting properly.

The CO goes up, and the CO2 drops and is pulled back into the burner for combustion. O2 is decreased so the burn goes from worse to worser(hahaha). The cycle repeats and the CO numbers go through the roof.

Mark H

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Weezbo

*~/:)

over the toaster

Dave Faust

CO info

Oops! I didn't mean to move this to the top of the list. I guess I don't know how to work this thing. Anyway here is a link to a CO site:
http://www.carbonmonoxidekills.com/index.htm
The stuff is lighter than air & in can also easily be entrained by rising warm air. Two reasons to mount a detector high. Keeping it out of my nephew's reach is another.

Bill_14

Per http://www.carbonmonoxidekills.com/index.htm

PLACEMENT OF CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTORS IMPORTANT

Proper placement of a carbon monoxide detector is important. If you are installing only one carbon monoxide detector, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recommends it be located near the sleeping area, where it can wake you if you are asleep. Additional detectors on every level and in every bedroom of a home provides extra protection.

Homeowners should remember not to install carbon monoxide detectors directly above or beside fuel-burning appliances, as appliances may emit a small amount of carbon monoxide upon start-up. A detector should not be placed within fifteen feet of heating or cooking appliances or in or near very humid areas such as bathrooms.

When considering where to place a carbon monoxide detector, keep in mind that although carbon monoxide is roughly the same weight as air (carbon monoxide's specific gravity is 0.9657, as stated by the EPA; the National Resource Council lists the specific gravity of air as one), it may be contained in warm air coming from combustion appliances such as home heating equipment. If this is the case, carbon monoxide will rise with the warmer air.

For this reason, the makers of First Alert (R), the leading brand in carbon monoxide detector technology, suggests mounting the detector on the ceiling. This also puts the detector out of the way of potential interference, such as pets or curious children.

Mark Hunt

A few more


CO Experts

CO Headquarters

Both have good info.

Mark H

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Weezbo

Seems......

i have the first 4 symptoms....Iam apathetic at times...disorientated ....usually,amnesia...got a bottel of amnesia in the bathroom for up set somache,and something i thought was particularily interesting Hi Poki nesia *~/:) I like Gumby and poki.....and i can only think the burnt toast and coffee has counter balanced the other symptoms except for the elated one ....

Dave Faust

Thanks!

Thanks for the CO links. They are much more sophisticated than the one I offered.

jp_2

co=N2

this I'd like to read up on, goes against everything I've learned about gases(be it not that much). nitrogen is the same weight as CO, but it is dispersed evenly everywhere even though its nearly 78% of lower atmosphere???

I can understand confined pooling of gases but open air has me puzzled?

correction, O2 is 4 grams per mole heavier than CO, not 2 as I stated earlier.

Tom_35

Weezbo


Weezbo, please write a book---I'll buy the first one.

Tom A.

Chuck_12

thankx for correction

I stand corrected and know to adjust my detectors i have installed. Most were installed in 42" high outlets or less in the rooms near the furnace the upstairs hallway to bedrooms, the living room due to fireplace and off the kitchen due to interior grille/range. Would it be wise to have them installed higher in these rooms. (these models plug directly into wall outlets)