Carbon Monoxide Alarm Relevations!!!!!

[alvicchas1]

Hi All,

My carbon monoxide alarm died after seven years!!! Got a super duper new one with a 10 year lithium battery. The trad boat layout stern to bow is engine room, bedroom, corridor with toilet/shower room to one side, galley, main living cabin with solid fuel stove.

I fitted the alarm in the bedroom on the bulkhead leading to the corridor and shower/toilet with a view to being warned if CO was coming from the stove. Yesterday - 300 hour service for the engine including a new diesel fuel filter with some diesel spillage - cleaned up as well as possible but with some lingering diesel smell.

In the evening charged the batteries in the engine compartment from shore power via a good quality boat battery charger. The door from the bedroom to the engine room is a pretty snug fit and there are some gaps around the rear engine room doors and hatch that I have always relied on for ventilation.

Bedtime!!! Just about to fall into bed and the CO alarm goes off. Warm night - no stove on - what's going on????? Reset alarm and minutes later it goes off again. Remembered I'd left the charger on so switched it off and  even though CO alarms don't sense gas, switched gas off at gas bottles. Cream crackered by this time so moved alarm to bow end of main cabin and went to bed.

This morning I could only assume that something from the engine room had triggered the CO alarm so put the alarm in the engine room with the battery charger switched on. Within minutes the alarm was going off again. Contacted the alarm maker and apparently sensitive CO alarms are triggered by hydrogen from battery charging and even un-burnt diesel fumes.

Whereas hydrogen is not detrimental to health, unless the amount is enough to exclude air for breathing, and is only explosive in high concentrations I was totally surprised that enough had entered the bedroom area to trigger the alarm.

Message!!??!! - make sure battery charging areas are well ventilated and don't leave battery chargers on at night. I'll be charging with rear engine room doors partly open in future and fully cleaning up diesel spills.

Sorry that the scenario has taken so long to explain but I think that the information could be useful and food for thought.

 

 

[WotEver]

14 minutes ago, alvicchas1 said:

make sure battery charging areas are well ventilated

I'm pretty sure this is part of the BSS check list. 

[Onewheeler]

It is a well known issue that hydrogen can trigger CO alarms (and other gases, including hydrogen sulphide, so don't fart near it and don't blame the dog). Google "carbon monoxide detector hydrogen interference".

Martin/

[Neil2]

41 minutes ago, Onewheeler said:

It is a well known issue that hydrogen can trigger CO alarms (and other gases, including hydrogen sulphide, so don't fart near it and don't blame the dog). Google "carbon monoxide detector hydrogen interference".

Martin/

Well I didn't know about this, I naively assumed a carbon monoxide alarm would be triggered by carbon monoxide.  

[Rickent]

My alarm was triggered last year whilst overnight charging batteries that turned out to be creamed.

[Irob]

I went away from the boat in the marina for a week. My neighbour phoned me to say my gas alarm has been squealing last 24 hours and can be heard far and wide. He poked his head through my pidgeon box, the alarm is in the bedroom, and could smell no gas or smoke. The squealing took 2 days to stop, plenty of annoyed neighbours. I returned, it was the low battery alarm on the gas detector !!!  Be warned.

[Machpoint005]

I take the battery out of my CO detector when leaving the boat at the marina.

[WotEver]

1 hour ago, Machpoint005 said:

I take the battery out of my CO detector when leaving the boat at the marina.

Many of the new ones don't permit that. They have a 10 year (or 5 year or whatever) battery that's sealed inside. When the battery is flat you replace the detector. 

[BruceinSanity]

16 minutes ago, WotEver said:

Many of the new ones don't permit that. They have a 10 year (or 5 year or whatever) battery that's sealed inside. When the battery is flat you replace the detector. 

I take them off the wall and shove them in a freezer bag in a drawer if I'm going to be away from the marina for any length of time (i.e. days rather than hours.)

[rusty69]

1 hour ago, Machpoint005 said:

I take the battery out of my CO detector when leaving the boat at the marina.

Same here. There is nothing worse than listening to somebody elses low battery alarm sounding all night.