interesting issue with Propane / CO detector

[riven1950]

I have a new, 2017 TT with a combo Propane/CO detector. We have been camping with it since the last week in Dec.

One week ago, at 3AM of course, the propane alarm went off. I reset it and it would go the 5 minute reset period and start up again. No smell of propane. I was pretty sure there was no leak. After about 4-5 resets I turned off the propane and lit the range burner and ran it till the gas was out. Sensor still went off. I finally just disconnected the detector, again this was 3AM. Well, the next day I checked the voltage, about 13.3 at the detector. I hooked the detector back up. No alarm. Cut gas back on, no alarm.

Well, almost exactly one week later, last night, again at 2:30AM it went off again. I went through the same procedure as above. Alarm would not quit. I disconnected it again. This morning hooked it back up and no alarm. Waited 2 hours and cut gas back on. No alarm. It has now been about 12 hours and no alarm. Guess it is waiting till 2:30-3:00AM LOL.

Alarm is a safe t alert combo model which is pretty common. I read the paperwork and according to the indicator lights it is working properly. I think there is something wrong with the unit and disconnecting it somehow resets it. Really strange it has only gone off without stopping 2 days and they were 1 week apart.

Actually it has gone off about three times other than the above, but for known reasons. Once I had sprayed some ant spray and the other 2 times my GF was using some hairspray or something similar. So we know it does detect. In these cases venting the TT stopped the alarm.

Sorry for the long post but this is really weird. Anyone have a similar experience or advice?

[wa8yxm]

We call it a Propane alarm but in truth it is explosive gas.. These include
Propane (of course)
Butane (often used as propellent in ant spray et-al)
Alcohol
Gasoline
Methane ("Natural" gas) or "Beans Beans the Musical Fruit, the more you eat the more you toot, the more you toot the louder the alarm but beans won't do you harm)

and more.

[riven1950]

opnspaces, Thanks for the idea but it has always been the propane portion of the detector going off. It has different lights / sounds for co and they don't go off.

Yeah we are plugged in to 30amp pedestal.

I am going to call the company today or tomorrow.

[opnspaces]

I think you might have a bad detector. You mentioned that the fridge and water heater are not a problem with the batteries because they are on shore power. Which unless you are running a separate circuit, means you are plugged in. So the likelihood of it being a low voltage situation that resolves when you check in the morning would be very remote.

But also keep in mind that while you don't smell any propane, it is a dual detector and also detects CO which is odorless. Could there be a source of ignition outside your RV that is causing CO to waft in during the night? Does the campground have a backup generator or a trash incinerator that goes off at 3 am? I know it's a long shot but just something to think about.

[navegator]

Our cat curled next to the gas detector and let one rip, we had to peel the cat off the ceiling those suckers are loud, other than the cat turning it on the battery ran dry one cell sulfated and set the unit off, check battery's also for proper water fill, and cook the beans with out the onions, lees propane produced.

Another day I was visiting with my friend in his TT, his gas detector is at the end of the seat in the dinette, he let one loose and set the detector off methane is also detected, beans with onions again.

navegator

[pigman1]

riven1950 wrote:
Thank you pigman1. The paperwork does have a customer service number on it and I plan on calling the company first of the week. Oddly enough both of these problems were on Friday nights. I figured they would not be open over the weekend. I will explain to them and post back what I find out.

Amazing how these bloody things know just when 2AM and a weekend happen. Mine did the same thing. LOL

[cmarq]

Check the date on the back both Co and Lp detectors are only good for so many years. I have replaced both mine because they were over the age and going off.

[rockhillmanor]

jnharley wrote:
... We finally had to disconnect the wiring.

On that note I will just add that if you are buying a used RV? CHECK that the co detector is connected. Many owners do disconnect them by taking the hard wire off. Found that out on my first used RV. 😞

[jnharley]

Ours was pretty new when it went bad. We replaced it and no issues since then. Sometimes electronic equipment just fails even when new. Those things sure make lots of noise. I am sure the entire camping loop heard ours when it went off at night. We finally had to disconnect the wiring.

[naturist]

There are a couple details here folks should be aware of. The first is that you should never rely on your sense of smell with regard to the possibility of a propane leak setting off a gas detector. The reason is that the chemicals injected into the propane to make it smell, besides stinking, also anesthetize your sense of smell. In the short term, the smell is a tip-off and all is good. But if the gas builds up slowly enough, you won't be able to smell it at all. So when that detector goes off, you need to take it seriously, even if you can't smell gas.

Secondly, there are indeed things other than propane that will set the alarm off. Dog farts are one. We've an 80 lb black lab who camps with us, and every once in a while we get awakened by the propane alarm only to discover the dog is sleeping with her butt next to the detector. When that happens, the alarm sounds for 30 seconds to a minute, then shuts off. Then we get a whiff . . . .

Other things that will set it off, for instance, are aerosol sprays, many of which actually use propane as the propellant. And of course, it is possible to kill a gas detector if the solids being propelled get into the detector. Hairspray and deodorants are common offenders on both scores.

My daughter and son-in-law gave me a potato canon for Christmas: the explosive used to shoot the potato is Aqua Net hairspray, due to the propane. Easily throws a potato over 100 yards. (Pro Tip: never use hairspray with a lit cigarette in your mouth lest you make an ash of yourself.)

[tinstartrvlr]

Mine has done the same thing numerous times, with no gas present (shut off at tanks). Yet while lighting a Mr Buddy heater, where I could smell gas before it lit, no reaction from the sensor even though the heater was only a few feet away. They seem to be incredibly sensitive to methane as well (farts, black tank fumes drifting in through the roof vents, fumes from gray tank), anything in a spray can, etc. And in my case, it is always in the wee hours of the morning, when the air is very still. I finally got fed up with it and added a kill switch in the circuit so I can just shut it off, and reset it later. For the record, if propane is on, detector is active.

[rwynkoop]

I replaced my LP detector last year with a LP / CO detector and have the same problem.

I think the problem is low battery voltage. The manual says it is only good till about 7volts on mine.

I think my batteries were ****, because they would drop overnight to about 10v, and during the day recharge to 12.4 in just a hour or so.

I hate the design, should not alarm when power is low.

I have since replaced the original 9v battery-backed co unit just to be safe.

I have had to unplug mine(While still having a working battery-backed co detector) to sleep.

Robert Wynkoop

[rockhillmanor]

I switched to a generic brand of RV antifreeze and it set the CO detector off. :R

Check the voltage AT the converter.

[riven1950]

Thank you pigman1. The paperwork does have a customer service number on it and I plan on calling the company first of the week. Oddly enough both of these problems were on Friday nights. I figured they would not be open over the weekend. I will explain to them and post back what I find out.

[Fizz]

I set one off after spraying Scotch Guard on a seat cushion.
Heard about dog farts setting one off once