CO detectors

[jd-science.livejournal.com]

i'm looking for information about the new law requiring CO detectors to be installed. i heard there were some discount coupons floating around... any other homeowners out there who can help me with this? also, are these easy to install yourself? thanks.

Comments

[ron_newman]

It's been years since I bought mine, but you can probably get it at any hardware store, maybe even a drugstore. You just put in a battery and plug it into the wall.

[rmd.livejournal.com]

yeah, the ones i bought plug in and have a battery backup in case the power goes out (although they're not inteded to run just on battery without being plugged in).

[shu-al.livejournal.com]

This webpage (http://www.mass.gov/dfs/osfm/pubed/firesafetytopics/carbon_monoxide_safety.htm) I think is what you're looking for, there's a pdf file called "Consumer's Guide to Mass. Requirements for CO Alarms".

[chenoameg.livejournal.com]

Re: installation -- they're just like smoke alarms. You attach them to the wall. You can also get battery operated ones.

Massachusetts state law requires carbon monoxide detectors as of March 31, 2006.
When you sell a house after this date the fire inspection will check for CO detectors. (If you have a large building and are hardwiring them you have until January 2007).


http://www.mass.gov/dfs/index.shtm
Says:
For buildings with fossil-fuel burning equipment or enclosed parking areas, the new regulations require carbon monoxide detectors on every level of the home and within ten feet of each sleeping area [1]and in habitable portions of basements and attics. The CO detectors may be:
• Battery operated with battery monitoring; or
• Plug-ins with battery back-up; or
• Hard-wired with battery backup; or
• Low voltage system; or
• Wireless, or
• Qualified combination (smoke/carbon monoxide alarm)
Acceptable combination smoke detectors and carbon monoxide alarms must have simulated voice and tone alarms that clearly distinguish between the two types of emergencies. The State Building Code mandates that only photoelectric combination alarms are permitted within twenty feet of a bathroom or kitchen.

[1] Defined as 10 feet in any direction from the bedroom door in the code:
http://www.mass.gov/dfs/osfm/fireprevention/cmr/527031.pdf

Consumer Reports advice for placement: "For multilevel homes, consider an interconnecting alarm at each level to warn you of problems in remote parts of the house. Choose a central location outside or withing sleeping areas and other living space. Don't put alarms inside garages, where initially high CO from car exhausts can trigger false alarms, or near doors and windows, where fresh air can cause a misleading low reading"


Consumer Reports (9/05 issue) likes American Sensors AC Digital & Battery Backup CO920.
http://www.smokesign.com/12plugcarmon1.html
(There are also much cheaper models available.)

[denonymous.livejournal.com]

So far as I know, it's better to have it nearer the floor than the ceiling, as CO is heavier than air (as opposed to smoke). We bought one, put a battery in, and it's sat on the kitchen floor ever since.

At one point we fired up our kichen's part-of-the-gas-stove-space-heater thing, and it went off shortly thereafter. I guess it works, though we haven't fired up the stove heater since.

YMMV.

[laklare.livejournal.com]

Be sure to change the cartridge inside...they only last a couple years.

[push-stars.livejournal.com]

Be careful though,
I just put one in myself. Here is what I followed, there is more good info in the link:

"When considering where to place a carbon monoxide detector, keep in mind that although carbon monoxide is roughly the same weight as air (carbon monoxide's specific gravity is 0.9657, as stated by the EPA; the National Resource Council lists the specific gravity of air as one), it may be contained in warm air coming from combustion appliances such as home heating equipment. If this is the case, carbon monoxide will rise with the warmer air.... For this reason it suggests mounting the detector on the ceiling."

http://www.carbonmonoxidekills.com/placement.htm

[ron_newman]

What is a cartridge? The instructions for mine (a 'Nighthawk') don't say anything about any replaceable parts.

[laklare.livejournal.com]

Perhaps you have a different kind than mine. Sounds like yours is better!

[twe.livejournal.com]

That's a really pretty icon you have there.