CO Detectors

Anyone know if there is any problem in buying a battery operated "home" CO
detector and mounting it under your seat or somewhere inconspicuous? What
is the difference between a "home" unit and an "aviation" unit?

Now before you get crazy and call me cheap...I know that the credit card
pill type is only a couple dollars, but it does not provided an audible
alarm and a problem may go undetected for some time. Any other "aviation"
detector with an audible alarm is near or over 180 smackers. This is in
contrast to a "home" battery operated CO detector that you can buy for 6 to
12 dollars. What is the difference other than one is marketed to aviation
consumers and the other is targeted to home-owners?

Kobra

Kobra wrote:

Anyone know if there is any problem in buying a battery operated "home" CO
detector and mounting it under your seat or somewhere inconspicuous? What
is the difference between a "home" unit and an "aviation" unit?

Now before you get crazy and call me cheap...I know that the credit card
pill type is only a couple dollars, but it does not provided an audible
alarm and a problem may go undetected for some time. Any other "aviation"
detector with an audible alarm is near or over 180 smackers. This is in
contrast to a "home" battery operated CO detector that you can buy for 6 to
12 dollars. What is the difference other than one is marketed to aviation
consumers and the other is targeted to home-owners?

I've bought a few of the $25+ units from Wal*Mart. Never seen any of the
6 to 12 dollar CO detectors. They fit nicely up over the glove box in
most Cessnas. Up under the seat in a Tri-Pacer... ;-)

Kobra wrote:
Anyone know if there is any problem in buying a battery operated "home" CO
detector and mounting it under your seat or somewhere inconspicuous? What
is the difference between a "home" unit and an "aviation" unit?

There's a lot of what appears to be useful information at http://aeromedix.com
under the description of their "CO Experts Model 2004". Of course, it's not an
unbiased source.

"Dave Butler" wrote in message
news:1107206122.745358@sj-nntpcache-3...
Kobra wrote:
Anyone know if there is any problem in buying a battery operated "home"
CO
detector and mounting it under your seat or somewhere inconspicuous?
What
is the difference between a "home" unit and an "aviation" unit?

There's a lot of what appears to be useful information at
http://aeromedix.com
under the description of their "CO Experts Model 2004". Of course, it's
not an
unbiased source.

The gist of it is that the home units are typically set to alarm at levels
(75-100ppm?), even though impairment begins at much lower levels. They also
have a 1-minute or longer sampling frequency so they will not react
immediately to changes as you make them (such as shutting off the heater or
opening a window). Aeromedix claims this is useful because it can allow you
to troubleshoot what is causing the CO infiltration more effectively. As
Dave points out, Aeromedix is not unbiased.

My opinion, which is worth every penny you're paying for it, is that the
Aeromedix detectors are probably quite good, and at $180 are perhaps a wise
idea particularly if you fly up high where there's less O2 to begin with,
but if you're not going to spring for it, you're better off with a Wal-mart
unit than the credit card or especially nothing at all.

-cwk.

Dave Butler wrote:

Kobra wrote:

Anyone know if there is any problem in buying a battery operated
"home" CO detector and mounting it under your seat or somewhere
inconspicuous? What is the difference between a "home" unit and an
"aviation" unit?

There's a lot of what appears to be useful information at
http://aeromedix.com under the description of their "CO Experts Model
2004". Of course, it's not an unbiased source.

http://aeromedix.com/aeromedix/art/co/#electronic

Here's what they say about "home" units...

Kobra wrote:
Anyone know if there is any problem in buying a battery operated "home" CO
detector and mounting it under your seat or somewhere inconspicuous? What
is the difference between a "home" unit and an "aviation" unit?

Now before you get crazy and call me cheap...I know that the credit card
pill type is only a couple dollars, but it does not provided an audible
alarm and a problem may go undetected for some time. Any other "aviation"
detector with an audible alarm is near or over 180 smackers. This is in
contrast to a "home" battery operated CO detector that you can buy for 6 to
12 dollars. What is the difference other than one is marketed to aviation
consumers and the other is targeted to home-owners?

Kobra

Figuring my life was at least worth the price of a headset and that if
I bought something decent it should last for many years, I bought the
industrial grade monitor made by Quest ($295).

An industrial grade monitor also has the ability to do time weighted
averaging and short term exposure and updates once a second. The
averaging capability means you don't have to be continually watching
the instantaneous levels and almost every airplane I have rented has
had detectable levels of CO.

I use the belt clip to attach it to either the seat belt or seat belt
retaining loop (depending on the plane) where I can glance down at it
once in a while.


--
Jim Pennino

Remove -spam-sux to reply.

I bought one of the Aeromedix units for $99.

Works great (no I don't work for them, own stock, or any of that other
disclaimer stuff).

Very interesting to watch it operate. In the winter, when you typically
don't have any vents open, on climb-out the unit will start chirping at
about 500' AGL. Mine starts chirping at 10 ppm. Gets up to about 55 ppm.
This occurs because, since no vents are open, there is actually a slight
vacuum in the cabin which sucks in exhaust from the tailcone area.

If you crack ANY air source, including from the heater itself (i.e., wrapped
around the muffler), the reading goes to "0" in a minute or two. Any vent
source that will pressurize the cabin will do.

Very sensitive. About the only bad thing (if you want to call it that...) is
that you cannot leave it in the plane all of the time. If it regularly gets
"baked" at temps over 120F (i.e., in the spring/summer months if you leave
it in a sealed-up plane) the sensor life is dramatically shortened.

Carl

"Kobra" wrote in message
...
Anyone know if there is any problem in buying a battery operated "home" CO
detector and mounting it under your seat or somewhere inconspicuous? What
is the difference between a "home" unit and an "aviation" unit?

Now before you get crazy and call me cheap...I know that the credit card
pill type is only a couple dollars, but it does not provided an audible
alarm and a problem may go undetected for some time. Any other "aviation"
detector with an audible alarm is near or over 180 smackers. This is in
contrast to a "home" battery operated CO detector that you can buy for 6
to 12 dollars. What is the difference other than one is marketed to
aviation consumers and the other is targeted to home-owners?

Kobra

On Mon, 31 Jan 2005 18:56:53 -0600, "Carl Orton"
wrote:

I bought one of the Aeromedix units for $99.

Works great (no I don't work for them, own stock, or any of that other
disclaimer stuff).

Very interesting to watch it operate. In the winter, when you typically
don't have any vents open, on climb-out the unit will start chirping at
about 500' AGL. Mine starts chirping at 10 ppm. Gets up to about 55 ppm.
This occurs because, since no vents are open, there is actually a slight
vacuum in the cabin which sucks in exhaust from the tailcone area.

You have a leak, get it checked out.


If you crack ANY air source, including from the heater itself (i.e., wrapped
around the muffler), the reading goes to "0" in a minute or two. Any vent
source that will pressurize the cabin will do.

Very sensitive. About the only bad thing (if you want to call it that...) is
that you cannot leave it in the plane all of the time. If it regularly gets
"baked" at temps over 120F (i.e., in the spring/summer months if you leave
it in a sealed-up plane) the sensor life is dramatically shortened.

Carl

"Kobra" wrote in message
...
Anyone know if there is any problem in buying a battery operated "home" CO
detector and mounting it under your seat or somewhere inconspicuous? What
is the difference between a "home" unit and an "aviation" unit?

Now before you get crazy and call me cheap...I know that the credit card
pill type is only a couple dollars, but it does not provided an audible
alarm and a problem may go undetected for some time. Any other "aviation"
detector with an audible alarm is near or over 180 smackers. This is in
contrast to a "home" battery operated CO detector that you can buy for 6
to 12 dollars. What is the difference other than one is marketed to
aviation consumers and the other is targeted to home-owners?

Kobra

What about the one from Costar for $49? It has a red light for status and
visual alarm, a loud audible alarm, and small. I put mine under the throttle
quadrant in my Warrior where it's in line-of-sight as well as right above
the heater outlet (AKA foot oven). I have second-hand info that it works
well in aircraft.

Marco Leon

"Kobra" wrote in message
...
Anyone know if there is any problem in buying a battery operated "home" CO
detector and mounting it under your seat or somewhere inconspicuous? What
is the difference between a "home" unit and an "aviation" unit?

Now before you get crazy and call me cheap...I know that the credit card
pill type is only a couple dollars, but it does not provided an audible
alarm and a problem may go undetected for some time. Any other "aviation"
detector with an audible alarm is near or over 180 smackers. This is in
contrast to a "home" battery operated CO detector that you can buy for 6
to 12 dollars. What is the difference other than one is marketed to
aviation consumers and the other is targeted to home-owners?

Kobra




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Kobra wrote:
: Anyone know if there is any problem in buying a battery operated "home" CO
: detector and mounting it under your seat or somewhere inconspicuous? What
: is the difference between a "home" unit and an "aviation" unit?

There are a few differences. I have a "home" unit that reads PPM on its
display in 1 ppm increments with a much faster response time than the UL
requirements - that is, the display is fast and the alarm is according to UL
specs. If I leave it outside (in the plane) overnight in the winter it
doesn't work correctly. I leave it my flight bag and bring it to the airplane
when I fly. I don't think that any battery operated unit would work well
in the low ambient temps we've been having.

Has anyone used the clock/CO meter/OAT gauge/Voltmeter that's been
advertised in the magazines? It looks like a nice product...
--
Aaron C.