These carbon monoxide detectors (Kidde 7DC0)

[nairb123]

I finally set up my Kidde 7DC0 carbon monoxide detector.   With new batteries.  I was expecting a small amount? but the detector sits there showing zero.

I have put it at floor level and at head height......... still zero.

 

So I held it in the exhaust from the generator running on the bank.  Beep loudly giving a high reading.  When it had setteled down I put it back in the cabin with the log fire running and it still sits there at zero.

 

Am I lucky or is the NEW detector faulty.   Is zero normal - and good

Ta

Nairb

[ditchcrawler]

Why do you want CO in your cabin

[Alway Swilby]

Zero must be good surely?

[nairb123]

Yes, zero is what we need.  It's just for some reason I was expecting a small amount from the morso 1410.  But maybe

there is none in the cabin.  Plenty from the genny exhaust which is expected.

 

If zero is showing, then it might be true.  The device is brand-new.  Maybe I should stop fretting.

 

[ditchcrawler]

12 minutes ago, nairb123 said:

Yes, zero is what we need.  It's just for some reason I was expecting a small amount from the morso 1410.  But maybe

there is none in the cabin.  Plenty from the genny exhaust which is expected.

 

If zero is showing, then it might be true.  The device is brand-new.  Maybe I should stop fretting.

 

What did the one you replaced show?

 

[George and Dragon]

Zero is what I'd want. CO isn't a normal constituent part of the atmosphere.

[nairb123]

I have only just gotten round to unpacking it.  It came with the new bss last year.  So I have no example to go by other than buying another.  Being a landlord for years I used to have a spare lying around.  But I'm not a landlord any more otherwise I would have tried 2 or 3 of these things.

 

Yes............ zero is good.

Having been on this boat for 28+ years, it's not killed me yet as far as I know.

 

[ditchcrawler]

12 minutes ago, nairb123 said:

Yes, zero is what we need.  It's just for some reason I was expecting a small amount from the morso 1410.  But maybe

there is none in the cabin.  Plenty from the genny exhaust which is expected.

 

If zero is showing, then it might be true.  The device is brand-new.  Maybe I should stop fretting.

 

What did the one you replaced show?

 

[nairb123]

1st one fitted.

 

[Chewbacka]

Looking at their web site it seems that values less than 11ppm display as zero, so don’t expect a tiny number

[ditchcrawler]

4 minutes ago, nairb123 said:

1st one fitted.

 

OK they have been a requirement on boats covered by the BSS for some years

[Momac]

 

1 minute ago, ditchcrawler said:

OK they have been a requirement on boats covered by the BSS for some years

Since April 2019

 

[Alan de Enfield]

36 minutes ago, nairb123 said:

I have only just gotten round to unpacking it.  It came with the new bss last year.

 

 

 So you've been operating your boat for at least a year with an invalid BSSC - lucky you have not had to make an insurance claim.

[Jen-in-Wellies]

1 hour ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

 

 So you've been operating your boat for at least a year with an invalid BSSC - lucky you have not had to make an insurance claim.

With CO, it is the next of kin making the insurance claim. ☠️

[nairb123]

3 hours ago, Chewbacka said:

Looking at their web site it seems that values less than 11ppm display as zero, so don’t expect a tiny number

That make a lot of sense.  I was expecting values of between just above zero and maybe less than 15 or so.  In a house, a value of zero makes more sense due to its volume.  In a confined space of the boat, I expected to see A number.  But it's sitting here near the morso and shows zero, and so far has done so where ever I put it.

Panic over.

[Momac]

11 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

 

 So you've been operating your boat for at least a year with an invalid BSSC 

It does seem remarkable that anyone  would have a CO alarm  on a boat for a year and not remove it from the packaging.

For me the BSS requirement is irrelevant. CO can cause brain damage, not necessarily death. I have seen the life changing results of this.

As a result of seeing the people who were disabled by CO I've had a CO alarm on board from before it was a BSS requirement . 

 

 

 

[Alan de Enfield]

1 hour ago, MartynG said:

It does seem remarkable that anyone  would have a CO alarm  on a boat for a year and not remove it from the packaging.

For me the BSS requirement is irrelevant. CO can cause brain damage, not necessarily death. I have seen the life changing results of this.

As a result of seeing the people who were disabled by CO I've had a CO alarm on board from before it was a BSS requirement . 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[magnetman]

It is true that the CO causes issues. I think it might be responsible for my health problems (mobility issues before age 50) because many yars ago I used to run a generator on the back deck of my narrow boat regularly and yes I did get headaches. Didn't link it with the generator at the time. Very bad head splitting migraine type headaches. I also had RBD sleep disorder which is a bit displeasing.

 

CO is nasty stuff. I now have two CO monitors with numerical readout in each boat. Usually at zero but occasionally go up if the flue on the fire gets slightly  blocked up. Probably too late but as I have the children with me on boat occasionally I feel it a bit inappropriate to mess with their brains too much.

 

I don't use or need a generator any more as the big solar does the job.

 

 

 

[Iain_S]

On 09/03/2023 at 23:45, nairb123 said:

That make a lot of sense.  I was expecting values of between just above zero and maybe less than 15 or so.  In a house, a value of zero makes more sense due to its volume.  In a confined space of the boat, I expected to see A number.  But it's sitting here near the morso and shows zero, and so far has done so where ever I put it.

Panic over.

When the stove is going, air should be getting drawn in through any imperfect seals, with any CO going up the chimney. Bit like a leak in a fuel pipe before the pump will pull air in rather than let fuel out (so long as the leak is above the level of fuel in the tank)

[magnetman]

9 minutes ago, Iain_S said:

When the stove is going, air should be getting drawn in through any imperfect seals, with any CO going up the chimney. Bit like a leak in a fuel pipe before the pump will pull air in rather than let fuel out (so long as the leak is above the level of fuel in the tank)

 

If the internal diameter of the flue is reduced by sooting up this reduces the available room for the gases to escape which results in reduced efficiency of the combustion process. Once the combustion process is compromised the problem can rapidly escalate and any leaks in the fire itself will release Carbon Monoxide. 

 

I had an alarm condition once on a CO alarm in one of my boats when a buildup of deposits in the flue suddenly broke up and descended onto the baffle plate thus blocking the flue pipe. 

 

If the fire is always kept very hot and no inappropriate fuels are ever used then it probably won't be an issue but flues can fur up and the reduction in diameter can be significant. 

 

a 4 inch flue (lets say 100mn ID for argument). 5mm of furring would reduce the flue diameter by ten percent. It doesn't seem a lot but lets say a 10mm buildup. 20mm? 

 

It does happen. 

[nairb123]

I and others had convinced me that I was living in a death trap.  One that I have lived in, and used as a holiday home for the last 28 (ish) years without any noticeable issues.

I expected to see the co monitor to give a reading, maybe a worrying one, but so far with the morso running and cooker on for 25 mins there has only been a zero reading.  I did put the monitor near the generator just to check,  and it did beep until put in fresh air again.  So it does seem to be working.

 

It will be interesting to see over time how representative these past days are

 

I have joined the converted.  Maybe I will get one for the bedroom as well.

[MtB]

3 hours ago, nairb123 said:

I have joined the converted.  Maybe I will get one for the bedroom as well.

 

Good idea. In fact by the bed is the best place to put a single CO alarm if you only have one, in my personal opinion. Fix it to the wall at about pillow height.

 

Bear in mind that perennial philosophical question... "If you die in your sleep, is it true you won't know anything about it until the morning?"

 

 

Edited March 11, 2023 by MtB
Fiddle with it...

[LadyG]

I have two and have never managed to set them off, I think it is vital to keep one as you sit by the stove, and take it to the bedroom at night, but I think most likely source might be a neighbour engine or generator