Ok Bill, we put smoke detectors up high because smoke is hot and rises, but what about carbon monoxide detectors? Is CO lighter, heavier, or equal to air....what is the best height to place a detector? Last year i bought a Costar model P-1, (radio shack if i remember right), that is small, (about the size of a deck of cards ), and can be worn on a belt if you want, and have had it in the bedroom on the nightstand. Haven't had too much concern about it because we usually have the windows open part way or all the way at nite but now we are in an area where it is starting to be chilly at nite and we are starting to close the windows. Will probably be another month or so before we leave for warmer climates so i thought i would check with the barth tech guru for his wisdom.

CO is heavier, but there is more to it than that. Convection and entropy mix it and move it around. So, any location is a good location. Lower might be a little better, though, as long as it doesn't get kicked or blocked by anything.

The instructions for my First Alert detector say not to install it on outside walls. Wall or ceiling mounts are mentioned with no mention made of height.

This is a very serious issue, as CO damage to your body is cumulative. I am such a nut that I removed our furnace and do not sleep with any heat.

Here is my next one: http://www.aeromedix.com/index.php?_siteid=aeromedix&_sessid= 28e944710cbfcf4278aa67df9836be92&action=sku&sku=coex

[This message has been edited by bill h (edited September 11, 2005).]

Not to downplay CO as an issue(Tere's going out to buy a detector tomorrow), but when I went to the U of M in Ann Arbor in 1956, I pledged a fraternity, Delta Tau Delta, and one of my pledge duties was to wake up the Brothers. And I'd go up to the third floor, which had absolutely no heat whatsoever, and in the winter sometimes, there would be snow on the beds and there the Brothers would be, snoring away. Bill, you would have been in Heaven.
JIm
,

Or maybe Shadow Man would have been in Heaven.

quote:

Originally posted by humbojb:
........................ in the winter sometimes, there would be snow on the beds and there the Brothers would be, snoring away. Bill, you would have been in Heaven.
JIm
,

Nah, I wouldn't have been in Heaven. I'd have been in bed with the windows closed so the snow couldn't get in.

But seriously, we are snug as bugs in a rug under our down comforter with no heat. We are a little bit sissy, though, and haven't been below the teens.

As bill h says, this is a very serious issue. One very important distinction that needs to be made is that CO does NOT accumulate in the blood or any other organ. CO will be flushed free from the body within hours of proper treatment with oxygen or even breathing clean air.[Assuming one lives long enough to receive proper treatment] What is often perceived as accumulation of CO is actually the cumulative affect of the CO on the brain and nervous system, along with the rest of the organs that keep our bodies cruising along. I'd like to submit 2 links here. The first is to the formost expert on Carbon Monoxide probably in the whole world.
http://www.coheadquarters.com/CO1.htm
The second is an article I did and an interview with this extraordinary doctor.
http://insidethepitbox.com/oct/dz030126.html
These links pertain to racing but must be of concern to campers exposed to CO also. I hope you find them informative if not entertaining.
Shadowman, Dr Penney is very accessable and I'm sure he would give you all the info you're asking about and more.

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Dan & Suzy Z
'81 Euro 28


[This message has been edited by Danny Zeeff (edited September 11, 2005).]

Good links, Danny, and thanks for the correction. I was taught the other way years ago, and my son was taught that way in Navy dive school, but later was taught your way at BUDS, so at least the Navy is now up to date. I wonder if the Army ever got the word. I will edit my post for accuracy.

Thanks guys, more info than i needed to answer my questions but thats cool because i can learn more about it. Cold & Snow.....NOT my idea of heaven!!!!!!!! I don't like it to get below 60 degrees out. We lived on Maui for almost 11 years.....now that was as close to heaven as i will probably ever get! Went to visit a friend here one winter a long time ago....we had 6 inches of snow on the ground with 20 degree weather and he was under his truck fixing something. I thought he had died because he wasn't moving at all. I had on a down jacket, gloves and a hat and was freezing....he had on jeans,t-shirt and a light Levi jacket, and......was sound asleep! Woke him up and he said he had gotten a little tired so just took a little nap. I thought he had frozen to death.

This is copied directly from the link that billh put up above. It was a ways down the page so you may have missed it but it is VERY important and something I would bet no one here would have known.
IMPORTANT NOTE: We recommend that any CO detector (including the CO Experts model we sell) should not be left for any extended period of time in aircraft that are not hangared or vehicles that are not garaged. The interior temperatures of closed aircraft or motor vehicles left out in the sun can easily reach 120°F or more, and such temperatures can result in accelerated evaporation of the electrolyte in electrochemical CO sensors and premature failure of the detector. A few days now and then is no problem, but if the aircraft or vehicle is to be stored out of doors for a week or more, the detector should be removed and kept in a more temperate location. Because of its larger-capacity sensor, the CO Experts Model 2004 can tolerate more abuse than most CO detectors, but ultimately its sensor life will be shortened by prolonged exposure to high temperatures. Cold temperatures generally have no adverse effect on these units.



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Dan & Suzy Z
'81 Euro 28

I did see that but as you say, i had never heard that before. Good to know.

Consumer Reports found a best buy in the Kidde Nighthawk model KN-COPP B