|
|
 Carbon Monoxide Gas Alarm Causes
Why does the CO alarm keep going off?
|
InspectAPedia tolerates no conflicts of interest. We have no relationship with advertisers, products, or services discussed at this website.
Carbon monoxide CO alarm sound-off troubleshooting: this document discusses the causes of CO alarms going off - when a carbon monoxide alarm sounds you should assume there is dangerous carbon monoxide gas (CO) present. But other things might set off some alarm and not all of them are CO hazards. Beware that the production of dangerous carbon monoxide gas in a building is usually not constant - it can start and stop. So even if someone tests and does not find CO gas present, especially if your CO alarm has been sounding, you can NOT assume that conditions are safe in the building, and further expert visual inspection of heating equipment, chimneys, etc. are in order.
For example, simply closing the door to a boiler room where gas fired equipment is operating can cause sudden production of CO gas if there is insufficient combustion air when the door is closed. Yet when someone opens the door to inspect the area, more combustion air is provided. CO production may stop.
Green links show where you are. © Copyright 2013 InspectAPedia.com, All Rights Reserved. Author Daniel Friedman.
What Makes a CO Detector Alarm Go Off
IF YOU SUSPECT CARBON MONOXIDE POISONING GO INTO FRESH AIR IMMEDIATELY and get others out of the building, then call your fire department or emergency services for help. Links on this page also direct the reader to carbon dioxide gas information in a separate document. Seek prompt advice from your doctor or health/safety experts if you have any reason to be concerned about
exposure to toxic gases. Carbon monoxide poisoning can be fatal but exposure at lower limits can produce flu-like symptoms
and headaches that are often mistaken for ordinary illness.
Carbon monoxide detector alarms may sound for a variety of reasons, but until you have diagnosed for sure why a particular alarm has sounded, you should assume that it has detected dangerous carbon monoxide indoors and you should follow our safety advice above.
Here are some causes of Carbon Monoxide Detector alarms sounding:
- The CO alarm has detected carbon monoxide in the building at a dangerous level. The alarm may sound if there is a sudden surge of high concentrations of CO or it may sound if lower levels of CO have been present for a longer period.
- Heating system malfunctions or malfunction in other gas or oil burning equipment (such as a space heater or a water heater) can produce dangerous levels of carbon monoxide indoors
- A blocked chimney flue can cause dangerous backup of carbon monoxide gas indoors
- Inadequate combustion air can cause production of dangerous levels of CO indoors
All of these conditions are dangerous. Follow our safety advice above
- Other indoor contaminants, including smoke, other particles, chemicals, and gases might cause some models of smoke alarms or carbon monoxide detector alarms to sound.
- Beeping or chirping from a CO carbon monoxide detector alarm, a sound that is not continuous but sounds every few minutes, may indicate a dead or dying battery - replace the battery; if the alarm is in doubtful condition replace it.
Safety Suggestions: Install Carbon Monoxide Detectors in addition to Smoke Detectors
Carbon monoxide detectors are inexpensive and readily available, both as a battery-operated
unit and as a unit that plugs into an electrical outlet in the home.
No home should be without this safety protection,
and homes with gas-fired equipment (natural gas or LP propane), space heaters, or other sources of risk should be
extra cautious. Smoke detectors do not protect against carbon monoxide poisoning, and the opposite is also true. Carbon
monoxide detectors do not warn of smoke or fire
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about CO detectors - why CO or carbon monoxide alarms may be sounding off
Question:
I just bought a carbon monoxide detector about a month ago and when I came home today it was chirping and displayed LB for low battery. I was wondering if the alarm could of went off while I was at work and drained the battery and that's why it was chirping. - Jona 2/8/2012
Reply:
Jona, chirping from a CO alarm means that it needs a new battery. The chirp is a signal, not a cause, of low battery problems.
Question:
why don't manufacturers of smoke alarms make them easier to read, instead of beige raised lettering on a beige background ? hard to replace battery when you cannot read directions - PoliceFan123 8/21/2012
Reply:
Police: I agree that some embossed plastic instructions are hard to read. I suspect the underlying reason that these notes are not made in a different color combines an aesthetic opinion (for lettering on exposed surfaces) along with a wish to keep the product cost low as possible.
Here's a tip: before installing your next CO alarm or smoke detector, if you want to make its plastic embossed indicators, arrows, or instructions easier to read in the future, try just touching the raised lettering or symbols with a magic marker.
...
Ask a Question or Search InspectApedia
Questions & answers or comments about the behavior of CO detectors: what sets off carbon monoxide detectors, and is it always CO?
Ask a Question or Enter Search Terms in the InspectApedia search box just below.
Technical Reviewers & References
Related Topics, found near the top of this page suggest articles closely related to this one.
- Sampling for gases in air such as VOC's, MVOC's, toxic chemicals, and combustion products.
Unfortunately no single test or tool can detect all possible building contaminants. We use methods and equipment which can test for common contaminants. If the identity of a specific contaminant is known in advance we can also test for a very large number of specific contaminant gases in buildings.
We use gas sampling equipment provided by the two most reliable companies in the world, Draeger-Safety's detector-tubes and Drager accuro� bellows pump, the Gastec� cylinder pump and detector-tube system produced by Gastec or Sensidyne, and we also use Sensidyne's Gilian air pump. For broad screening for combustibles and a number of other
toxic gases and for leak tracing we also use Amprobe's Tif8850. All of these instruments, their applications, and sensitivities (minimum detectable limits) for specific
gases are described in our Gas Sampling Plan online document.
- Air Pollution Toxicology: APTI Course SI:300, Introduction to Air Pollution Toxicology, US EPA Air Pollution Training Institute, Environmental Research Center, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, Sept. 1993, web search 08/28/2010, original source: http://yosemite.epa.gov/
- CCSP, 2008: Analyses of the effects of global change on human health and welfare and human systems. A Report by the U.S.
Climate Change Science Program and the Subcommittee on Global Change Research. [Gamble, J.L. (ed.), K.L. Ebi, F.G. Sussman,
T.J. Wilbanks, (Authors)]. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, USA. Web search 08/28/2010, original source: http://nepis.epa.gov/
- Gas Exposure Hazard Levels: for Toxic Gas Exposure to Ammonia, Arsine, Arsenic, Bromine, Carbon Dioxide, Carbon Monoxide, Hydride, Ozone - allowable exposure levels and hazard levels
- Carbon Dioxide Gas Toxicity hazard level, poisoning symptoms, & testing
- Health Effects of Carbon Dioxide - see "National Advisory Committee for Acute Exposure Guideline Levels (AEGLs) for Hazardous Substances; Proposed AEGL Values, Federal Register Document", http://www.epa.gov/EPA-TOX/2002/February/Day-15/t3774.htm note that these are proposed guidelines
- Carbon Dioxide CO2: Geologic Sequestration Health Effects: "Vulnerability Evaluation Framework
for Geologic Sequestration of Carbon
Dioxide", US EPA, EPA430-R-08-009, July 2008, web search August 2010,original source: http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/downloads/VEF-Technical_Document_072408.pdf
- Carbon Dioxide CO2: Geologic Sequestration, U.S EPA, web search 08/28/2010, original source:
http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/co2_gs_tech.html - GTSP, 2006: Carbon Dioxide Capture and Geologic Storage: A Core Element of a A Global
Energy Technology Strategy to Address Climate Change (PDF, 37 pp., 6.05 MB, About PDF).
April 2006, JJ Dooley et al. Global Energy Technology Strategy Program (GSTP)
- IPCC, 2005: Special Report on Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage, Special Report of the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Metz, Bert, Davidson, Ogunlade,
de Coninck, Heleen, Loos, Manuela, and Meyer, Leo (Eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, The
Edinburgh Building Shaftesbury Road, Cambridge CB2 2RU England
- Carbon Monoxide Gas Toxicity hazard levels, poisoning symptoms, & testing
- Fluorine, Its Compounds, and Air Pollution,: a Bibliography with Abstracts, US Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27711, December 1976. Web search 08/28/2010, original source: http://nepis.epa.gov.
NOTE: because the EPA's original source of this document in PDF format is damaged we have created a text image file, converted to a new PDF for readability.
- Formaldehyde: US EPA. UFFI (Urea Formaldehyde Foam Insulation) was previously considered a hazard (formaldehyde outgassing). Subsequent research virtually closed concern regarding this material; however formaldehyde appears to remain a health concern for sensitive individuals.
- Greenhouse Gas Overview: Carbon Dioxide: U.S. EPA, web search 08/28/2010, original source:
http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/co2.html
- Nitrogen Oxides: Air Quality Criteria for Oxides of Nitrogen, Vol III of III, US EPA, EPA600/8-91/049cF, August 1993, web search 08/28/2010, original source: http://nepis.epa.gov [Large PDF 25MB]
Key chapters in this document evaluate the latest scientific data on (a) health effects of NOx measured ill laboratory animals and exposed human populatIOns and (b) effects of NOx on agricultural crops, forests, and ecosystems, as well as (c) NOx effects on visibility and nonbiological materials. Other chapters describe the nature, sources, distribution, measurement, and concentratiOns of NOx m the environment These chapters were prepared and peer revived by experts from various state and Federal government offices, academia, and private industry for use by EPA to support decision makIng regarding potentIal risks to public health and the enVIronment Although the document IS not intended to be an exhaustIve literature reVIew, It IS intended to cover all the pertinent literature through early 1993
- Ozone Warnings -
 Use of Ozone as a "mold" remedy is ineffective and may be dangerous.
- Sulfur dioxide & other Oxides: Air Quality Criteria for Particulate Matter and Sulfur Oxides, Vol. III, US EPA, Environmental Criteria and Assessment Office, Research Triangle Park NC 27711, Dec. 1982, EPA-600/8/2-029c. Web search 08/26/2010, original source: http://nepis.epa.gov [large PDF]
- Jennifer Moore, Sales Administrator, Nextteq, LLC, Tampa FL, www.nextteq.com 813-249-5888. Nextteq is the master Distributor for Gastec in the United States. According to the company's website, Gastec Gas Sampling Pumps are the industry’s first and only pumps to provide on-the-spot measurement of ambient temperature. [Private email, JM to DF 5/23/08]
- "Choosing and Using a Carbon Monoxide CO Monitor," Dan Friedman, The ASHI Technical Journal, Vol. 2 No. 1, July1991
- "Heat Exchanger Testing, Who's Right?" Dan Friedman, The ASHI Technical Journal, Vol. 2 No. 1, July1991
- "Case History: LP Gas Leak - Using the TIF 8800", Dan Friedman, The ASHI Technical Journal, Vol. 2 No. 1, July1991
- Dräger MSDS for Dräger CH25301 Air Current Tubes, Page 1 of 2.
Dräger MSDS for Dräger CH25301 Air Current Tubes, Page 2 of 2.
Watch out: the Dräger air current tube or "smoke tube" # CH16631 produces a sulfuric acid gas sulfuric acid H2SO4 /SO3 that is dangerous to life and is highly corrosive. Take a look at our copy of the Dräger MSDS for their CH25301 Air Current Tubes. We stored this MSDS in the box with the rubber bulb and tube cutter provided by Dräger. These air current monitoring tubes are provided with rubber caps so that the tube can be "stopped" or shut down when not in use. But the sulfuric acid was so corrosive that it not only caused the rubbger caps to disintegrate, it actually "burned" or oxidized our copy of the MSDS paper form!
- "Table Z-1 Limits for Air Contaminants, 1910.1000 Table Z-1" OSHA standard for air contaminant limits (http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=STANDARDS&p_id=9992) - includes for CO2, Carbon dioxide.........| CAS No. 124-38-9 | 5000 ppm | 9000 mg/m3 limits for carbon dioxide as an air contaminant.
- ...
Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair
 The Home Reference Book - the Encyclopedia of Homes, Carson Dunlop & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, 25th Ed., 2012, is a bound volume of more than 450 illustrated pages that assist home inspectors and home owners in the inspection and detection of problems on buildings. The text is intended as a reference guide to help building owners operate and maintain their home effectively. Field inspection worksheets are included at the back of the volume. Special Offer: For a 10% discount on any number of copies of the Home Reference Book purchased as a single order. Enter INSPECTAHRB in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space. InspectAPedia.com editor Daniel Friedman is a contributing author.
Or choose the The Home Reference eBook for PCs, Macs, Kindle, iPad, iPhone, or Android Smart Phones. Special Offer: For a 5% discount on any number of copies of the Home Reference eBook purchased as a single order. Enter INSPECTAEHRB in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space.
|
|
Mobile View
