Carbon Monoxide Detector?

I looked up the AC article from Oct 2000. Here is verbatim what they
said.

"The Underwriters Lab standard, which was recently revised upward,
requires CO alarms to signal well ahead of the onset of symptoms for
the "average" person. (That in itself may be a moving target, since
response to CO varies by individual.)
Specifically, UL requires an 85-decibel alarm signal to sound within
189 minutes if 70 parts per million CO is detected. If the level is 150
PPM, the alarm limit is 50 minutes and it's 15 minutes at 400 PPM.
The old requirement was 90 minutes for 100 PPM and 35 minutes for 200
PPM. "

About the dead stop spot detector;

"Having seen these in dozens of aircraft, nary a one darkened, we
assumed they were nothing more than a feel-good gimmick, albeit a cheap
one. That's hardly the case, however. When exposed to CO in our test
device, the Dead Stop turned noticeably darker after about five minutes
of exposure at around 125 PPM, a low to mid-level of CO. At 500 and
above, the patch darkens fast enough to watch, turning pitch black."

Like a poster said, the electronic ones can be useful for finding
leaks, and if you feel that the spots are not sensitive enough for you.
But I think the spots have good value and are hardly worthless. Every
airplane should have at least as much onboard.

Jonathan Goodish wrote:
In article ,
"Morgans" wrote:
Another informal survey.

How many of you have, and use a battery powered Carbon Monoxide Detector
when you fly?

Why, or why not?


Yes. The "why" should be obvious, particularly if you fly a
single-engine airplane with cabin heat provided by the muffler shroud.

The cardboard dots and most of the "Home Depot Specials" are almost
worthless. You need an electronic monitor that will display low levels
of CO, starting at 10ppm or lower, and alarm at those lower levels.

The CO monitor that Jay Honeck linked to is a very good one. Aeromedix
used to sell an imported Senco detector that alerted at low CO levels,
but I believe that Senco went out of business or was acquired by someone
else (this is the detector that I'm using). The key is to avoid the
purchase of a detector that is UL listed or approved to US residential
standards, because those detectors will alarm only at fairly high CO
concentrations.



JKG

wrote:

But I think the spots have good value and are hardly worthless. Every
airplane should have at least as much onboard.

I used to put a new one in the plane every Fall.

George Patterson
Drink is the curse of the land. It makes you quarrel with your neighbor.
It makes you shoot at your landlord. And it makes you miss him.

Morgans,

How many of you have, and use a battery powered Carbon Monoxide Detector
when you fly?


One here.

Why, or why not?


Cheap insurance in northern Germany, where the heater is often on. Did the
research, which made it obvious that the card board "spots" are next to
useless.

--
Thomas Borchert (EDDH)

In article . com,
wrote:
"The Underwriters Lab standard, which was recently revised upward,
requires CO alarms to signal well ahead of the onset of symptoms for
the "average" person. (That in itself may be a moving target, since
response to CO varies by individual.)
Specifically, UL requires an 85-decibel alarm signal to sound within
189 minutes if 70 parts per million CO is detected. If the level is 150
PPM, the alarm limit is 50 minutes and it's 15 minutes at 400 PPM.
The old requirement was 90 minutes for 100 PPM and 35 minutes for 200
PPM. "

70ppm is way, way too high for prolonged exposure in aircraft at
altitude. In cruise, you should see ZERO.

Personally, my subjective observation is that AC is sometimes right and
sometimes wrong with their conclusions. Often, they don't provide
enough information, or provide incomplete information, so it's difficult
to make an informed decision. I suggest that you look up some of Mike
Busch's old articles from AvWeb (back in the good old days) for some
additional analysis on the subject of CO detection.






JKG