Forum Discussion

tulegit's avatar
tulegit
Explorer
Jan 09, 2013

Carbon Monoxide issue with new TH

So on our trip over the holdays, aside from our water issues(posted in another thread) we had the carbon monoxide alarm go off both nights!

1st night we had the heater on (temp was in 20's), water heater on and then I turned on the generator (located in my truck bed) and after a few minutes the alarm went off. I killed everything and opened the door. Reset the alarm and it kept going off. I even turned off the propane at the tank. Finally I hit the battery kill switch and that reset the alarm and it didn't go off anyomore. I stayed up until 3 am just to monitor everything. Then I ran the heater and it didn't go off

2nd night same thing. Heater and water heater on, then turned on genny and alarm went off. This time I killed everything. opened the door and every single window. That reset the alarm and it didn't go off again. Then turn on heater a little while after that.

1st night I thought it could have been a malfunction but looks like the detector is doing its job. However, during the day I run all though things (heater, water heater, generator) and nothing happens.

Any ideas whats going on? Is this even suppose to happen? Generator is located outside in my truck bed.
Toy Haulers
  • Y-Guy's avatar
    Y-Guy
    Moderator
    Jan 09, 2013
    The sensors can be bad as well, that's not unheard of.

    Was this your first trip or have you camped before without this type of issue? There are several things that have been brought up that can be a cause. By the fact you said you started the generator and the alarm went off makes me point to that direction.

    I don't know exactly what generator you have but I'm assuming its a contractor style, sort of like this one:


    I'd try a few tests, just hook up someplace like you were camping see if all works normal, then fire up the generator and see if the alarm triggers again.

    My gut is thinking that that generator is kicking out a fair amount of exhaust and it's getting picked up by the sensor. You might try disconnecting the truck and moving it to see if that helps. I'd also suggest one of the Honda/Yamaha inverter style generators that might be quieter and produce less exhaust, but that's premature right now.
  • tulegit's avatar
    tulegit
    Explorer
    Jan 09, 2013
    Both my 6volts are literally brand new and they had plenty of juice left during the incidents. Also the generator was on so wouldn't that eliminate the battery causing a malfunction on the detector?
  • BobWanderer's avatar
    BobWanderer
    Explorer
    Jan 09, 2013
    I would bet on the genny, but don't rule out the water and space heaters.
    I know its not the same issue, but if our water heater kicks on when the entry door is open and the wind is blowing the "right" direction, the alarm will go off. What I am saying is there can be many things to look for as the cause.
    I would have a tough time sleeping knowing something wasn't right, I know that once our smoke detector battery was low and it was beeping, I removed the battery and did not have a spare, I could not sleep the entire night, just thinking about it.
    Hope you find the problem soon.
  • tulegit's avatar
    tulegit
    Explorer
    Jan 09, 2013
    2chiefsRus wrote:
    we had a similar problem on our previous coach because the battery charger settings were wrong for the type of batteries we had. The batteries were almost boiling from being overcharged. The detector only went off at night because our battery usage was low overnight. Seemed to be fine during the day. Finally noticed a hissing sound when loading the coach up one day. The sound was coming from the battery compartment.


    I have two Energizer 6-volts froms Sam's club. The batteries are located outside by the propane tanks
  • tulegit's avatar
    tulegit
    Explorer
    Jan 09, 2013
    Y-Guy wrote:
    I had issues like this with our Raptor, but ours was built in and a home made Genturi vent solved my problems. What type of generator do you have? Were you still connected to the trailer (or how close was the generator to the toy hauler)? Did you have any vents (roof vent?) or windows open, how about any storage doors? The good news is the alarm was doing its job, the challenge now is to find out where the fumes are getting in from or relocating the generator. If a slight breeze is blowing towards your RV it can be enough to set off the sensor (again a good thing).


    We have a portable Champion 4000 watt gen. It's strapped down in my truck bed and the truck/TH were still hitched up. The storage compartment was closed. Do you think its the gen and I can rule out the heater/water heater? Is this a warranty issue?
  • 2chiefsRus's avatar
    2chiefsRus
    Explorer
    Jan 09, 2013
    we had a similar problem on our previous coach because the battery charger settings were wrong for the type of batteries we had. The batteries were almost boiling from being overcharged. The detector only went off at night because our battery usage was low overnight. Seemed to be fine during the day. Finally noticed a hissing sound when loading the coach up one day. The sound was coming from the battery compartment.
  • Y-Guy's avatar
    Y-Guy
    Moderator
    Jan 09, 2013
    I had issues like this with our Raptor, but ours was built in and a home made Genturi vent solved my problems. What type of generator do you have? Were you still connected to the trailer (or how close was the generator to the toy hauler)? Did you have any vents (roof vent?) or windows open, how about any storage doors? The good news is the alarm was doing its job, the challenge now is to find out where the fumes are getting in from or relocating the generator. If a slight breeze is blowing towards your RV it can be enough to set off the sensor (again a good thing).

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