CO detectors and stinky trees

[Len_in_PHoenix]

Two days in and I just got my first lesson in "What not to do with your trailer."

One of the first things I did when we brought our trailer home was to hang a pine scented stinky tree inside. My son commented that this particular stinky tree was quite powerful. We've had all the windows open since we brought it home, but tonight I closed everything up for the night. About 20 minutes after the trailer was closed up, the CO detector started going off. There were no cars running nearby and the propane was turned off at the tanks, so I was at a loss as to why the detector was going off.

Thinking that I may have a faulty detector, I brought the unit into the house to see if it would go off again in a different environment. After an hour it was still silent. I went back out to the trailer to see if I could find anything and was struck by the overpowering smell of pine tree air freshener.

Time for an experiment....



I set the CO detector and the stinky tree on the back porch and waited. About 10 minutes later it alarmed. Lesson: CO detectors don't like stinky trees.

The stinky tree went into my truck and the now silent CO detector is back in the trailer.

Happy Motoring!

[mowin]

bsinmich wrote:
In my Mountain Aire the LP detector was set off a few times by our Dachshund sleeping by it and passing gas.

Now that's hilarious. What ya feeding him.. lol

[bsinmich]

In my Mountain Aire the LP detector was set off a few times by our Dachshund sleeping by it and passing gas.

[bcbouy]

mine goes off when i store firewood in my camper in those rubbermaid totes,especially if it's freshly cut.

[bukhrn]

My LP detector doesn't like my Grand Daughters hair spray either. 😉

[dewey02]

I think that CO detector was trying to tell you something.
Those stinky tree air 'fresheners" are very overpowering. And anything that smells that strong may not be good for you. I don't have any evidence that they are bad for you, but my eyes water and my nose burns when I'm around those things.

And yes, CO detectors react to many chemical smells other than just CO. Ours doesn't like the smell of RV antifreeze. It alarms each year when I winterize the P traps.

[Mr__Camper]

Get rid of the "air freshners." Problem solved.

[busterbrown73]

Good to know! We had a significant lesson learned over the weekend. Our 2 year old decided to turn one of the stove's burner knobs. My wife was in the bathroom and I was outside the trailer. CO detector alarmed. I opened the door and could immediately smell the propane. The wife said she couldn't smell a thing in the bathroom. The burner wasn't on for more than 5 minutes. It's wonderful to know the CO detector works. The smoke detector has been tested at almost every breakfast so far. It's almost a nuisance now.

[AJBert]

New one on me!