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Question on gas alarm

Guy_Roan
Explorer
Explorer
Can sewer gas set off the gas alarm ?

Guy
11 REPLIES 11

wa8yxm
Explorer III
Explorer III
Guy Roan wrote:
Can sewer gas set off the gas alarm ?

Guy


Sewer gas is mostly methane and ___anes are explosive for the most part. So yes. We call it a "Propane Detector" but it is truly and explosive gas detector.

Methane (Farts/Sewer)
Alcohol
Gasoline
Butane
Propane
and a host of other things that go BOOM if the air/fuel mix is right.
Home was where I park it. but alas the.
2005 Damon Intruder 377 Alas declared a total loss
after a semi "nicked" it. Still have the radios
Kenwood TS-2000, ICOM ID-5100, ID-51A+2, ID-880 REF030C most times

kedanie
Explorer II
Explorer II
How old is the alarm unit? They are only good for about 5 years. They don’t cost a bunch, replace the unit if it is older.

Keith
Keith and Gloria
2013 Tiffin Phaeton 36GH
2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland
USAF 1968-1976 Vietnam Veteran

Cummins12V98
Explorer III
Explorer III
MFL wrote:
Cummins12V98 wrote:
Guy Roan wrote:
Can sewer gas set off the gas alarm ?

Guy


Don't know but a broken bottle of Tequila sure can!!!


Storing a bottle of Tequila, where it can move around/break is dangerous! Just when you really need it, you discover that you are OUT!

Jerry


It was a sad day as it was the good stuff.
2015 RAM LongHorn 3500 Dually CrewCab 4X4 CUMMINS/AISIN RearAir 385HP/865TQ 4:10's
37,800# GCVWR "Towing Beast"

"HeavyWeight" B&W RVK3600

2016 MobileSuites 39TKSB3 highly "Elited" In the stable

2007.5 Mobile Suites 36 SB3 29,000# Combined SOLD

JimK-NY
Explorer II
Explorer II
MFL wrote:
I think the alarm going off, is likely the co detector. In that case anything having carbon monoxide would set it off.

Many times the propane and co detectors are incorporated in one unit.

Jerry


Not based on my experience. Every time I have had a false alarm the lights indicate it has been from the propane, not the CO, detector. I also have a separate CO detector. Except for using the test button it has never gone off.

MFL
Nomad II
Nomad II
Cummins12V98 wrote:
Guy Roan wrote:
Can sewer gas set off the gas alarm ?

Guy


Don't know but a broken bottle of Tequila sure can!!!


Storing a bottle of Tequila, where it can move around/break is dangerous! Just when you really need it, you discover that you are OUT!

Jerry

Cummins12V98
Explorer III
Explorer III
Guy Roan wrote:
Can sewer gas set off the gas alarm ?

Guy


Don't know but a broken bottle of Tequila sure can!!!
2015 RAM LongHorn 3500 Dually CrewCab 4X4 CUMMINS/AISIN RearAir 385HP/865TQ 4:10's
37,800# GCVWR "Towing Beast"

"HeavyWeight" B&W RVK3600

2016 MobileSuites 39TKSB3 highly "Elited" In the stable

2007.5 Mobile Suites 36 SB3 29,000# Combined SOLD

MFL
Nomad II
Nomad II
I think the alarm going off, is likely the co detector. In that case anything having carbon monoxide would set it off.

Many times the propane and co detectors are incorporated in one unit.

Jerry

jkwilson
Explorer II
Explorer II
magicbus wrote:
Interesting question. From an article on gas alarms:

“If you buy a residential gas detector system, make sure you get the right one, O'Shea said. Natural gas customers should purchase a detector that can sense methane gas, while propane customers should purchase a propane detector.”

So it would appear that a propane detector such as we have in our RVs would not detect methane, which is a component of sewer gas.

Dave


That may be dated information. It’s hard to even find a unit that doesn’t claim to detect both propane and methane. My suspicion is that they can only label them with a particular gas if it was tested by a standards organization for that gas but that most of them in general detect flammable gases and vapors regardless of the label.
John & Kathy
2014 Grand Design Reflection 303RLS
2014 F250 SBCC 6.2L 3.73

Bobbo
Explorer II
Explorer II
A few years ago, a poster to this forum had a dog with intestinal issues. He said that the dog regularly set off the propane detector.
Bobbo and Lin
2017 F-150 XLT 4x4 SuperCab w/Max Tow Package 3.5l EcoBoost V6
2017 Airstream Flying Cloud 23FB

JimK-NY
Explorer II
Explorer II
Over the years I have had all sorts of chemical set off the propane alarm. Those items have included hairspray, insect repellent, sulfurous emissions in Yellowstone, and caulk. The caulk was the worst. I used a large amount in the bathroom to add a slope to a small ledge. I had to disconnect the alarm for a great many weeks while it cured.

You may also get false alarms as the detector ages. The life expectancy of a propane alarm is about 5-10 years from the date of manufacture. Some seem to be overly sensitive or defective and give false alarms when they are relatively new.

magicbus
Explorer
Explorer
Interesting question. From an article on gas alarms:

“If you buy a residential gas detector system, make sure you get the right one, O'Shea said. Natural gas customers should purchase a detector that can sense methane gas, while propane customers should purchase a propane detector.”

So it would appear that a propane detector such as we have in our RVs would not detect methane, which is a component of sewer gas.

Dave
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