CO Alarm

Good Grief

Good Grief

New Member
Mar 26, 2008
314
Lusby, MD
Boat Info
290 Sundancer 1998
Engines
4.3L V-6's w/ Alpha 1 Gen 2 drives
Last night we docked about 8pm, :smt038 ran shorepower, closed the windows and turned the A/C on. Cooked dinner outside :thumbsup:, ate, went up to the restaurant, listened to the band :smt038, had a few beverages :smt043 and returned to the boat about midnight. At 12:15am we turn in... at 3am I'm awoken by the mid-berth CO alarm :huh: (?), we were in the forward berth, the forward berth CO alram was NOT on, I go check it out, it's a go-no go, doesn't provide a value or concentration :smt009 , I silence it, grab some covers and after opening some ports, we head topside to continue our sleep. We did NOT have our generator running nor did any one at the pier have any generators/engines running. Looking for clues :smt100, sources, test device etc... to validate the alarm or invalidate the monitor. Where should I start?
 
I like to carry a couple of battery powered units with displays for 2 reasons... 1. Provide additional coverage in the cockpit/cabin and 2. Be able to validate a situation like you describe.

Do send your CO detectors for service (Re-Certification) each year as recommended in the service manual (assuming you have the Fireboy Xintex Co Sentinel type)

http://www.fireboy-xintex.com/manuals/CMD4MR.pdf

Finding a source of a true CO alarm can be as tough as finding a leak at times. The manual link above has some ideas on potential false alarms.

I am glad everything was ok.
 
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Looks like my other post didn't make it.

My CO sensors (3) went off when MM changed my batteries, they left a note that they unplugged them! When I plugged them back in sure enough all would alarm. I finally figured out with the help of the generator not starting and running that these senors are all networked together and if alarming will shut generator down and not allow it to run/start until the alarm is removed. They also have a low power mode to alert to a low battery condition. When MM unplugged them they unplugged the network cable not the power cable, so they remained in the alarm mode, I simply cycled my main battery power solenoids to reset them.

Pretty crafty devices and SR has done a good job in helping prevent any CO accidents with this setup. Just wish they would document the operation of this.....they probably did and I just didn't read it. Also MM service should be aware of this operational mode.

Mike
 
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Had this problem this weekend. CO alarm went off during the day while gen was running. I did everything, opened hatches, shut off gen, turned on fans and power vents, 15 minutes later the alarm is still sounding. I took a battery operated fan and held it in front of the unit for several minutes, still didn't shut off. Finally I unplugged it and plugged it back in and it stopped.

There was absolutely no way that after I did all that CO could have still been present. Anyone have any ideas as to what may have caused it not to reset? Could the unit be faulty? The boat's 3 years old and I doubt the previous owner every had it re-certified. No doubt I'd rather it go off than not, but when its pretty obvious that CO could no longer exist and its still sounding, this causes me concern. Also, on the breaker panel there is a red CO button, what the heck is that for?

How difficult is it to replace one of these alarms, anyone know or done it?

Thanks.
 
I have 3 types of CO detectors (original SR 12v, 9v and 120v with battery backup) If one goes off I check the reading of others before rulling it out as a false alarm. If you have only one, it makes it difficult to troubleshoot.
 
Hi Scott and Peg,

Does your marina have fishermen come and go? Our marina has a constant problem of fishermen coming in. They cast and find fish right under the boats. I think as we keep the boats in the same spot and via turning the propellers as we come and go we make uneven bottoms and that attracts pan fish like perch and bluegill.

We had a similar situation to what you described this past Friday night. We have 3 CO detectors. We used the generator in the evening, miles away from the marina, returned to the marina and went to bed around midnight. Detector went off about 4 1/2 hours later.

I opened the hatch and side windows, ran a fan, etc. Eventually we pulled the batteries out of the mid birth detector, my wife took it out into the cockpit, shook it in the air, reinstalled the batteries and replaced it.

The next morning we were in the clubhouse talking to our slip neighbor and guess what? Their detectors went off about the same time.

Saturday night we used the generator again. Saturday night no alarm. When we are out on our own we have never had it go off.

It’s my guess that there was a small amount of CO and it did not come from our boat but from a fisherman.


EDIT: Just something else that I found odd. The mid birth detector went off, right next to our 7 and 4 year old kids. The alarm did not wake them up. We picked them up and that woke them but the alarm did not. The alarm wakes up adults but not kids. No, the kids are not hard of hearing.
 
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These might be "latching detectors" which means once they are active in alarm they must be reset manually regardless of the amount of CO present. This would be a safety feature. Anyone know if this is true?

Mike
 
mawyatt said:
These might be "latching detectors" which means once they are active in alarm they must be reset manually regardless of the amount of CO present. This would be a safety feature. Anyone know if this is true?

Mike
Click to expand...

I don’t know, however, this thread has caused me to think about CO detectors.

I have had boats at the marina where I could hear a alarm going off with no one on the boat. Of course I did not go in their cabin to see if it was the CO detector. I alerted the marina office and went about my business.
 
Wow! I appreciate all the knowledge and insight :thumbsup:. The Marina we were at had no fisherman traffic, at 3 am there wasn't much of anything going on, except on my boat :smt009

I was unaware that CO detectors should be calibrated yearly :wow:. I doubt ours have ever been calibrated, not even sure how to go about it :smt017. It would probably be cheaper to upgrade to a more accurate/user friendly model then to remove/ship/calibrate/install the ones we have now.

Would anyone mind posting manufactureres and models of CO detectors they have had success with.

Does it make a difference if it is a home CO dector or does it need to be for marine u$e?

I've seen a few articles on Kidde detectors (recommend by consumer research) but not much else.

Thanks again!
 
I have contacted Fireboy-Xintex and am awaiting an answer. When (if) I receive one I will surely share it here.

Another consideration here is (and this has been a post of its own) whether or not to run the blower while the gen is running. I usually keep mine running, but cannot discern if that helps or not.
 
I had this problem. My solution was to close my cabin hatch, crack my berth window, and ensure that I run my engine blower at speeds less than 7 mph...solved the problem.
 
Good Grief

MY CO detectors went off for two reasons A) weak batteries( mine are hard wired) b) I stored some cushion covers in the stateroom and they had diesel fumes in them. The hydro carbon leaching out of the covers were sufficient to set the CO detectors.

Mr Salt
2001 540 Cockpit Motor Yacht
Caterpillar C-12s
 
last weekend my CO went off loud and long b/c of strong following wind and 2 footers in the bay (which forced me to close the hatch and cut off cross ventilation of the cabin). once we opened the hatch the alarm stopped chirping in about 5 mins. btw no one was riding in the cabin.

later that night (actually at 1am the next morn) the stupid thing went off again, reading 44 (parts per million?). all doors and hatches closed, both ac units on, no genny on , no one on their boat within 5 boats either side, and about 10 hours after the trip that caused the alarm to trip.

never happened before (and we've slept on the boat just about every summer weekend since 2004). we all woke up alive (after i pulled the battery out and we all went back to sleep). interestingly, my 11 yo daughter never heard the alarm.
 
Still awaiting an explanation from Fireboy-Xinex, however, I am having difficulty believing that my alarm went off due to CO. Again though, I'd rather have it go off and be alive, than it not and we not be!!!!!
 
Ron, how many CO units do you have? Did all of them go off?

When you were underway was the cabin door closed when you sealed the hatch and ports?
 
alex, i have one unit. it's a battery operated one (3 AA batts). it is mounted in the forward companionway (three steps down) which is where the original one was.

the salon door was open while we were underway. it's pretty much always open as we dont run with the AC on. no one stays inside the boat while we're underway. my crew (Lil and Krissy) are always with me on the bridge. i guess they dont want me to feel lonely!
 
While researching causes and solutions I came across an article on the USCG site and subsequently many other sites talking about the "station wagon effect". If you aren't aware of it, it's probably a good article to read, just google "uscg station wagon effect" and you'll get plenty of hits. What appears to be a safe way to cruise the waterways could set you up for a bad night...
 
i dont think you'll find any boater who isnt familiar with the "station wagon effect" and how dangerous and deadly it can be. most of the people on these boards either travel with all doors and hatches battened down, or with everything open to provide cross ventilation. teak surfing, swimming behind the boat and sleeping with the genny on are all hazards that people are well aware of. what is puzzling here is why, hours and hours later, (after all internal combustion engines have been shutdown, bilges and cabins aired out and alarms stifled) do these units to start buzzing again.
 
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