Carbon Monoxide safety and alarms 23 October 2022 at 8:03PM edited 29 October 2022 at 12:03PM in Energy 24 replies 887 views

ariarnia

i'm not old enough to remember all of it. i just remember it felt quite quick from front seats to having them in the back to having to wear them in the back. but googling it that was 10 years time flies!

BUFF

molerat said:

i really like the legislation scotland introduced maybe last year about alarms. and that it included carbon monoxide alarms. i hope they do something similar here. 

What ?  Insisting that a perfectly adequate system that can cost as little as around £25 is not good enough and one that costs  £200 is the minimum acceptable standard with little proof it is that much superior especially in respect to CO. Another of their spending other people's money policies.

pre-Covid & Ukraine war & resulting supply chain issues you could do it for under £100. Alarms need to be replaced every ~10 years anyway as that is the detector life.

It was driven by the fire service (they often found alarms with flat or removed batteries at scenes of fire). How much is saving 1 life (or hospital stay) worth?

molerat

BUFF said:

molerat said:

i really like the legislation scotland introduced maybe last year about alarms. and that it included carbon monoxide alarms. i hope they do something similar here. 

What ?  Insisting that a perfectly adequate system that can cost as little as around £25 is not good enough and one that costs  £200 is the minimum acceptable standard with little proof it is that much superior especially in respect to CO. Another of their spending other people's money policies.

pre-Covid & Ukraine war & resulting supply chain issues you could do it for under £100. Alarms need to be replaced every ~10 years anyway as that is the detector life.

It was driven by the fire service (they often found alarms with flat or removed batteries at scenes of fire). How much is saving 1 life (or hospital stay) worth?

And now they find disconnected mains alarms in the bin / shed at the end of the garden.  Nothing much has actually changed.  A big part of the SNP rhetoric was "after Grenfell" - what has a fire in a high rise block with a multitude of failures got to do with the needs of a detached house ?

Apodemus

molerat said:

BUFF said:

molerat said:

i really like the legislation scotland introduced maybe last year about alarms. and that it included carbon monoxide alarms. i hope they do something similar here. 

What ?  Insisting that a perfectly adequate system that can cost as little as around £25 is not good enough and one that costs  £200 is the minimum acceptable standard with little proof it is that much superior especially in respect to CO. Another of their spending other people's money policies.

pre-Covid & Ukraine war & resulting supply chain issues you could do it for under £100. Alarms need to be replaced every ~10 years anyway as that is the detector life.

It was driven by the fire service (they often found alarms with flat or removed batteries at scenes of fire). How much is saving 1 life (or hospital stay) worth?

And now they find disconnected mains alarms in the bin / shed at the end of the garden.  Nothing much has actually changed.  A big part of the SNP rhetoric was "after Grenfell" - what has a fire in a high rise block with a multitude of failures got to do with the needs of a detached house ?

Never mind the detached house.  I had to fit six alarms to meet the spec in a very small 2-up, 2-down cottage: 1 heat detector in kitchen; smoke detectors for top and bottom hall; smoke detector for lounge; CO detector for kitchen (boiler located there) and CO detector for lounge (open fire).  All the fire detectors needed to be linked alarms, despite each alarm being clearly audible in all the other rooms of the house. 

The general idea is good, but the implementation is a bit over the top!  A Fire Service inspection would never have suggested quite so many alarms!

ariarnia

ot but can you get wired in fire and co detectors? google keeps coming up with separate units and i dont know if thats my google skills or theres a reason they dont make them together. 

[Deleted User]

ariarnia said:

ot but can you get wired in fire and co detectors? google keeps coming up with separate units and i dont know if thats my google skills or theres a reason they dont make them together. 

Yes, several.

Examples:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ei3028-Powered-Multi-Sensor-Carbon-Monoxide/dp/B07HZ3PSWM
https://store.google.com/gb/product/nest_protect_2nd_gen?pli=1&hl=en-GB

It should be acceptable to use 10-year battery ones though, because the CO sensor has an expiry date (often thought to be about 10 years).

molerat

Deleted_User said:

ariarnia said:

ot but can you get wired in fire and co detectors? google keeps coming up with separate units and i dont know if thats my google skills or theres a reason they dont make them together. 

Yes, several.

Examples:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ei3028-Powered-Multi-Sensor-Carbon-Monoxide/dp/B07HZ3PSWM


It should be acceptable to use 10-year battery ones though, because the CO sensor has an expiry date (often thought to be about 10 years).

That's the one the council have fitted in my daughter's house.

1 x heat & CO plus 1x CO, 3x smoke and a wireless control unit to match.

BUFF

ariarnia said:

ot but can you get wired in fire and co detectors? google keeps coming up with separate units and i dont know if thats my google skills or theres a reason they dont make them together. 

there is also the mains-powered Nest Protect.
They don't do a heat alarm though which still rules out Nest for a whole house system compliant with current Scottish law.

maisie_cat

We have 4 smoke detectors and 3 CO monitors here, but we have a wood burner and a wood pellet stove for heating/HW. 
Here in Wales new builds and conversions require sprinkler systems but only rental properties require CO monitors and I think that's a little odd

C_Mababejive

maisie_cat said:

We have 4 smoke detectors and 3 CO monitors here, but we have a wood burner and a wood pellet stove for heating/HW. 
Here in Wales new builds and conversions require sprinkler systems but only rental properties require CO monitors and I think that's a little odd

There has been a massive increase in the use of open flued wood burners and similar and as you have done, people would be wise to have a CO alarm if they have one. If people dont have one but their adjoining neighbour(s) do have one, then also get an alarm for your home. It is not uncommon for people to be able to smell their neighbours wood burner. This could be an indication that the shared adjoining chimney is leaking and it could leak CO into your property. 

If your CO alarm goes off and your neighbour has a wood burner, let them know. In emergency call the fire brigade and if someone is suffering ill effects, you may need medical assistance.

There has been a massive increase in the use of open flued wood burners and similar and as you have done, people would be wise to have a CO alarm if they have one. If people dont have one but their adjoining neighbour(s) do have one, then also get an alarm for your home. It is not uncommon for people to be able to smell their neighbours wood burner. This could be an indication that the shared adjoining chimney is leaking and it could leak CO into your property. 

If your CO alarm goes off and your neighbour has a wood burner, let them know. In emergency call the fire brigade and if someone is suffering ill effects, you may need medical assistance.