Consumer Homes.

Question:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> I have a question on where to install Carbon Monoxide detectors. > Some models on the market are to be installed on the ceiling and > some are to be plugged in to an electrical outlet on the wall. > Which place would work best?  Basically, is Carbon Monoxide > lighter than air or heavier or is it that same? > Thanks.  Any info will be appreciated. > Pete >Well, the instructions that came with our First Alert Model FACO carbon >monoxide detector says that a CO detector should be installed _inside_ >each bedroom, _outside_ each bedroom area, and on every level of the >home.   >They say to install CO detectors on the ceiling or on the wall at least >5 feet above the floor.  They say to install a CO detector at least 3 >feet (horizontally) from the highest point of any peaked, sloped, or >gabled ceiling. >They say to install a CO detector at both ends of a bedroom hallway if >the hallway is more than 40 feet long. >They say to install CO detectors in rooms where CO sources are located. >I guess that would mean the furnace room if the furnace burns fuel, the >room where a non-electric water heater is located, the room where a >gas-burning clothes dryer is located, and the kitchen if the stove is >anything except electric. >You might want to check around the Web for a First Alert or other CO >detector Web sites.

They say to install an awful lot of detectors.  You’d think they were selling them or something. IMO, an ordinary house shouldn’t need more than about three max:  One near furnace room, one just inside door to garage, and one in the general area of sleeping rooms. Dan Hicks Hey!!  My advice is free — take it for what it’s worth! http://www.millcomm.com/~danhicks

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<lots of stuff about installing CO detectors snipped…> > They say to install an awful lot of detectors.  You’d think they were > selling them or something.

Hehehehe… that’s exactly what I was thinking when I typed all those recommended locations out of the First Alert instruction manual. > IMO, an ordinary house shouldn’t need more than about three max:  One near > furnace room, one just inside door to garage, and one in the general area > of sleeping rooms.

I agree, although perhaps the kitchen (with gas burning appliances) might be good, too. Same for laundry room if it has a gas dryer _and_ is a considerable distance from the furnace room. -Len

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> I have a question on where to install Carbon Monoxide detectors. > Some models on the market are to be installed on the ceiling and > some are to be plugged in to an electrical outlet on the wall. > Which place would work best?  Basically, is Carbon Monoxide > lighter than air or heavier or is it that same? > Thanks.  Any info will be appreciated. > Pete

Well, the instructions that came with our First Alert Model FACO carbon monoxide detector says that a CO detector should be installed _inside_ each bedroom, _outside_ each bedroom area, and on every level of the home.   They say to install CO detectors on the ceiling or on the wall at least 5 feet above the floor.  They say to install a CO detector at least 3 feet (horizontally) from the highest point of any peaked, sloped, or gabled ceiling. They say to install a CO detector at both ends of a bedroom hallway if the hallway is more than 40 feet long. They say to install CO detectors in rooms where CO sources are located. I guess that would mean the furnace room if the furnace burns fuel, the room where a non-electric water heater is located, the room where a gas-burning clothes dryer is located, and the kitchen if the stove is anything except electric. You might want to check around the Web for a First Alert or other CO detector Web sites. -Len

Response:

>I have a question on where to install Carbon Monoxide detectors.   >Some models on the market are to be installed on the ceiling and >some are to be plugged in to an electrical outlet on the wall.   >Which place would work best?  Basically, is Carbon Monoxide >lighter than air or heavier or is it that same? >Thanks.  Any info will be appreciated.

Carbon monoxide is about the same weight as air, so there’s no advantage to installing the detector high vs low.  Avoid dead air areas such as the dead ends of hallways.  Put the detector somewhere on a path between probable CO generators and sleeping areas. For only one detector, I favor an AC model with battery backup. Dan Hicks Hey!!  My advice is free — take it for what it’s worth! http://www.millcomm.com/~danhicks

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for those concerned about zero redaings,  ace hardware sells a test kit. it’s a plastic bag and small CO source. pat PS wear earplugs for the test. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > CO is close to the density of air so it won’t particularly rise or fall. > Get a detector (like one of the NightHawks) that has a digital readout > and put it someplace where you will see it every day.  I put one in our > bedroom on top of the headboard of our bed (it’s 7′ high and quite wide) > angled so you can see it from either the bedroom or the bathroom.  I > also put one by our furnace. > — > Bill Seurer           Compiler Development             IBM Rochester, MN > Bill_Seurer AT us.ibm.com                          BillSeurer AT aol.com

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I have a nighthawk as well but didn’t read the manual as thoroughly as you did and don’t feel like digging it out.  It’s been on for several months and the reading has never been anything but zero.  I guess that means either nothing is getting out of the furnace or there is nothing to read.  I hope it’s the 1st one – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->   I have mine plugged into the receptacle next to the furnace. > — > To respond replace X.net with Prodigy.net > We have a Nighthawk CO dector that plugs into the wall. It specifically > states in the owners manual to never place it in the same room as the > — > Machelle Simon-Grech          |The opinions above are mine| > Ford Motor Company            |and only mine. They have   | > Visteon – Glass Division      |nothing to do with that of | > Go Wings! 97 & 98 Stanley Cup Winners!

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I have a question on where to install Carbon Monoxide detectors.   Some models on the market are to be installed on the ceiling and some are to be plugged in to an electrical outlet on the wall.   Which place would work best?  Basically, is Carbon Monoxide lighter than air or heavier or is it that same? Thanks.  Any info will be appreciated. Pete

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>I have a question on where to install Carbon Monoxide detectors.   >Some models on the market are to be installed on the ceiling and >some are to be plugged in to an electrical outlet on the wall.   >Which place would work best?  Basically, is Carbon Monoxide >lighter than air or heavier or is it that same? >Thanks.  Any info will be appreciated.

It’s about the same density. I put ours about 8 inches from the floor because thats where the outlet is. Chris

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Assuming your heat source is powered by electric, I’d say your best bet is plugging the detector in the wall.  If the juice goes off, you have no chance of exposure anyway.  I have mine plugged into the receptacle next to the furnace.  That way I figured I’d be safer than putting it in any other place in the house.  Of course I’m not a scientist so I can’t answer your question about density.  Just my 2 cents…. > I have a question on where to install Carbon Monoxide detectors. > Some models on the market are to be installed on the ceiling and > some are to be plugged in to an electrical outlet on the wall. > Which place would work best?  Basically, is Carbon Monoxide > lighter than air or heavier or is it that same? > Thanks.  Any info will be appreciated. > Pete

– To respond replace X.net with Prodigy.net

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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > Assuming your heat source is powered by electric, I’d say your best bet > is plugging the detector in the wall.  If the juice goes off, you have > no chance of exposure anyway.  I have mine plugged into the receptacle > next to the furnace.  That way I figured I’d be safer than putting it in > any other place in the house.  Of course I’m not a scientist so I can’t > answer your question about density.  Just my 2 cents…. > I have a question on where to install Carbon Monoxide detectors. > Some models on the market are to be installed on the ceiling and > some are to be plugged in to an electrical outlet on the wall. > Which place would work best?  Basically, is Carbon Monoxide > lighter than air or heavier or is it that same? > Thanks.  Any info will be appreciated. > Pete > — > To respond replace X.net with Prodigy.net

We have a Nighthawk CO dector that plugs into the wall. It specifically states in the owners manual to never place it in the same room as the furnance and it should be at least 200 feet from the furnance. Because the furnance does give off CO (small amounts) but it’s more concentrated the closer you get to the source of the CO (the furnance). So you could get a false alarm of a high count rather than a "truer" reading of what it really is the rest of the house. Another bit to this story is we had at first bought a First Alert CO dector and it gave us so many false alarms. It even went off while we were having a new furnance put in (there was technically no furnance in the house even when the thing went off) so we called First Alert and they admited that alot of things can make there brand go off … paint fumes, varnish, dirty laundry "fumes" (hate to smell that laundry, perfume, etc. So we got rid of that brand right away. I thought it was Consumer reports that said the Nighthawk was the "best" brand. We haven’t had any problems with it yet. We have it in a bedroom "near" the heater vent (but not in the direct flow of the vent). — Machelle Simon-Grech          |The opinions above are mine| Ford Motor Company            |and only mine. They have   | Visteon – Glass Division      |nothing to do with that of | Go Wings! 97 & 98 Stanley Cup Winners!

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