CO Alarm question

michaelgordon

Hi all

im looking for some guidance. My CO alarm went off earlier it beeped and the alarm light flashed but im not sure there is a problem. While tidying up today i moved the alarm on top of my av amp (same position just slightly higher) the amp gets very warm indeed and is positioned about 20 cm under the tv which also gets quite warm and the room was about 26-27 C at the time it went off, the alarm itself was warm. i moved it off the amp and put it back in its normal position and reset it using the test button. Since resetting it has been behaving normally as it always has with the power light flashing every min or two. I feel fine and think that the direct heat to the alarm may have interfered with its normal operation, this was roughly 1700 -1730 and the alarm has not sounded again and im hoping if there was a co build up the the alarm would have sounded again (like smoke detectors do if they are silenced).

alarm is a firehawk 07B

G_M

Heat should not set it off.

Are you sure it was not a 'low battery' warning?

Is it located high enough? (see http://www.co-bealarmed.co.uk/how-to-stay-safe/fit-an-alarm/)

If in doubt, buy a 2nd alarm and/or get your boiler serviced.

michaelgordon

its only 6 months old pretty sure battery ok and hasnt gone off since think it just may have been interference with the operation

C_Mababejive

Surely the alarm isnt fitted as per instructions in that it is possibly way too low?

michaelgordon

the alarm can be fitted to a wall but is also free standing. the instructions say if on ceiling sholud be 300mm from walls and if fitted to was should be at least 150mm from ceiling but higher than any door and 1 - 3 m from source but nothing more specific than that. then under portable use it says Place the alarm in your chosen position in free air with no local obstructions and close to the front edge of shelves and surfaces

its this one alarm

st999

Could it have been fumes from the amp or TV?

My CO alarm starts to beep if a plug in air freshener is plugged in near it.

I contacted the manufacturer and they confirmed that some plug in air fresheners adversely affected them.

michaelgordon

i think it had to be something like that. i bought another alarm yesterday morning and it has a digital display which read 0 even after a couple of hours burning before i went out yesterday. it has a history function so wil keep my eye on this as well but think everything is ok

C_Mababejive

I think that CO alarms can behave in such a spurious fashion that I wouldnt bother having one as they are more trouble than they are worth.

mardatha

Our gas alarm ( I use an LPG cooker) goes off when I make soap, when I use wipes to clean near it, and when I use bleach. It ends up switched off more than is it on!

C_Mababejive

Indeed.Did you know that some CO and smoke alarms can now be networked to monitoring centres. What will happen when the smoke alarm/CO alarm flags at the centre and the occupier cannot be contacted?

Will they
a) leave it and hope for the best

or

b) phone 999 and send the emergency services on a wild goose chase?

alanq

When British Gas came to fix a fault with my mother's boiler I got them to fit a new CO detector. (The kitchen is very small and the list of places where one shouldn't install a detector was such that I couldn't find anywhere in the kitchen to fit an alarm so I thought best leave it to the "experts").

The BG engineer located the new detector above the kitchen doorway outside of the kitchen. I queried this as it seemed to me that above a doorway was one of the listed unsuitable places. He assured me that it was OK. Another BG engineer who came a couple of months later for the boiler's annual service agreed.

About 3 months after the detector was "fitted " (slapped on to the wall with double-sided sticky tape) it periodically began to emit a beep every minute or so and the fault light flashed before returning to normal operation. This is supposed to signify a faulty alarm not that CO has been detected. The alarm was supposed to last 7 years and had no replaceable batteries. I reported this to BG and they promptly exchanged the problem detector for another of the same kind.

All has been well until about 3 months later the problem has recurred.
So has BG got a dodgy batch of detectors or incompetent engineers?