NSI 3000 vs. COExperts

Dan_15

Which do you like better and why?

Uni R

It's fashion...

Everyone here raved about the the COexperts so I bought one. By the time I got it, everyone here was raving about the next one. So far the COexperts hasn't registered a thing ever. I need to take it into the garage this winter and spark up the snowblower with the door closed just to test the tester! ;-)

Jim Davis_3

NSI 3000 - CO Experts

Digital readout- NSI3000 = 5ppm COex = 10ppm
Highest readout- " = 999ppm " = 70ppm
lst Alarm level- " = 15ppm " = 25ppm
Memory - Both
Battery Operated - Both
Warranty - NSI = 2 years COex = 1 year
Distribution - NSI = Contractors and Certified Students Only
-COex = Contractors, Pilot & Airplane products sales companies, Code Officials, Medical Personnel, Fire Dept., Builders, Manufacturers etc. Offered on the internet!!

CO Experts does calculate possible or theoretical Blood levels (CohB)which have little diagnositic value for HVAC contractors.
CO experts does give hours and minutes of how long ago the alarm went off if nobody is home to call you and give you the time. But if nobody is home to hear it does it make a noise?

They are the two best on the market but one is a little better than the other but then I am partial.

Bob W._3

And since you won't sell your product to anyone other than cetified HVAC techs, we that aren't (but are still interested in our family's survival) will buy the other one, which is probably the best we can do.

DIYPeter

So?

Sell me one. I dare you ;-) Why can't I buy one? There's no certified place within many zip codes. Really. My emailed request has gone un-answered.

Constantin

Spot-on

Not everyone is served by a NCI-aware technician. My HVAC-contractor couldn't or wouldn't buy the NSI-3000 either.

When I contacted the NCI-certified technicians listed on the NCI site in the Seattle area to have an CO audit done at a friends house (the furnace install scared me), I got zero responses. Perhaps the summer of 2004 was an especially busy one for the HVAC companies in Seattle.

This is not to knock NCI, they're a great organization and are pushing the industry in the right direction. It's just one anecdote of how frustrating it can be for a consumer to get a comprehensive CO audit done. Thus, I use CoExpert detectors because I have no other option of obtaining a low-level CO detector for my friends (I use them as baby-shower gifts) and my family.

Perhaps as more technicians and companies wake up to the opportunity of preventing CO poisoning will the average homeowner have an easier time getting professional (i.e. audit, remediation if necessary, and low-level CO detector) protection.

Mark Hunt

Nothing wrong with the CO Experts


I have sold quite a few. I have also sold the NSI 3000 and I like those as well.

PLEASE follow the instructions that come with the CO Experts monitor to the letter! Most important is if that alarm goes off, get out of the house immediately! DO NOT call anyone from inside the house! Just get out. These alarms DO NOT give "false alarms". When they go off, you have an issue.

Now you are safe from "Acute CO poisoning" but will you do if you start seeing smaller levels of CO in your home? Chronic CO poisoning ruins thousands of lives a year. Repeated exposure to lower levels of CO can cause long lasting effects on your health. Parkinsons, Alzheimers,S.I.D.S to name a few. Do you KNOW a technician in your area that will be able to correctly identify the source AND correct it? Do not assume that this is common knowledge among plumbing and heating contractors because it is not. Doesn't matter how long they've "been in the business" either. Most PHVAC contractors have as much knowledge about CO as the average non-contractor.

Sad but true.

Mark H

To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"

Dan_15

Yeah, mine too. There is a "consumer" section on the NCI website but they dont respond to email. I plan to call tomorrow and speak to a live person. Does the NSI 3000 have a limited lifespan as the COExperts does?

Bill_14

Co Experts

The first batch we purchased from NCI were several weeks late with their promised delivery (last year) and when we received they were all defective. Needless to say, our confidence was destroyed and we moved on to CO Experts.

However, I would listen to Jim Davis...he's the best.

Bill

jp_2

got a better one

I ordered a 3000 from a local contractor. NCI billed the contractor and never sent the unit. called NCI and they didn't have any paper work but they had their money.
they will sell to a plumber but not someone who has more knowledge, what a joke!

Constantin

It is my understanding...

...that the life of these low-level monitors is limited by the chemistry of the sensor, just as O₂-sensors in combustion analyzers have to be replaced every couple of years, regardless of how much they were being used.

If both units use the same approach to measuring CO, it stands to reason that the usable sensor life will be similar.

Mark Hunt

All Co sensors


will only last about 5 years. That is 5 years from date of manufacture, NOT date of purchase. All of this is subjective of course, depending on the environment where they are placed.

The big problem with the over the counter types is that they give a false sense of security to consumers via the "test" button. As long as you have a good battery, you'll get a tone when you push the "test" button. But this does not test the sensor, it only tests the circuit. Pushing the "test" button is no different than ringing your door-bell. It proves nothing except that the alarm circuit is good. The sensor could be as dead as Abraham Lincoln but the circuit is still kicking. Now you have an "end of life" detector!!

Mark H



To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"

Jim Davis_3

You do not have to be certified

I said contractors and or Certified persons. We train & certify Home inspectors, Fireman etc. that are not contractors and these are the only non HVAC types we sell to. When our customers buy the NSI from us they would like some assurance that their customer can't look it up on the internet, see the price or buy somewhere else cheaper. Knowing how to investigate an alarm at 15ppm may not be as simple as one might think. I would say 9 out 10 CO stories I read about homes, buildings, schools, etc. after severe poisonings, most state the source of CO has yet to be found or no one is sure. It is even more amazing that after a deaths the source is still not located.
Over 90% of HVAC contractors say they don't like Low Level CO alarms because they go off too often??? Yeah, I wan't one for my house but I don't want my customers to have one. If it goes off they will think I messed something up!
We don't believe any homeowner should need an alarm if their equipment and building is serviced correctly, but everybody does stupid things. Unfortunately not one of my students in over 20 years has been able to tell me after they were asked, that they were sure any of their customers had safe operating equipment.
I have no problem with the CO Experts just the business practices of the company.

Jim Davis_3

DIYPeter, Constantin etc.

DiyPeter, don't know where you E-Mailed but if it was here it was never received by me.
Constantin, I don't think we had any listed Certified techs in the state of Washington in 2004. When I did a class in Seattle most of the students were from out of state. We can only the provide the information, we can't make people use it. Many times we find contractors saying they do not have the mechanical expertise, ability or confidence to change their old habits and think they have less liability doing things wrong because that is what everyone else does.
Bill, the self-checking CO sensor circuit was over sensitive but we had similar problems with a few shipments in the beginning from CO Experts, but all problems have been resolved.
NSI3000 sensor is expected to last 5-6 years and is checkable with smoke from a match.

Bob W._3

I don't doubt that it is difficult to find the source of low level CO. I have witnessed warm days where all the flue gas on my water heater was spilling right into the basement - a temporary condition. I have had a CO detector go off on the fumes from carpet glue. However, we all know that safe equipment can become unsafe in a hurry, like a blocked or partially blocked flue. I have a 450,000 BTU boiler in my basement that can put a lot of CO in my home in a hurry. Why wouldn't I want the best protection available?

John R. Hall

Story idea

Might be a good idea for The NEWS to revisit this topic and discuss these two detectors and the NEED to TEST, TEST, and RE-TEST both the equipments AND the techs. Thanks for the fodder.