Carbon Monoxide alarm going off

[gitpicker2009]

I have two Carbon monoxide alarms. One just for CO and the other does CO and propane, and they're both going off.
The CO, made by Kidde, is reading over 350ppm.
What I don't understand is the TC camper is not being used, no generator, the propane tanks are closed and it's sitting under a carport as it always is.

I should add that they are both less than 2 years old!

I reset them both, and a couple of hours later, they're both going off.

Any ideas? Again, no gen running, no cars nearby, the TC is closed with a dehumidifier inside.

I'm stumped.

Thanks

[ticki2]

I’ll second the fire station . I’ve used them before and found them very helpful .

[Buzzcut1]

go by the local fire station and see if they have a gas detector ( most truck companies carry them, engine companies usually don't). If they do it will tell them what kind of gas you are dealing with and it can tell where the PPM concentration is highest in your rig. They would prefer no to respond to dead or sick people in your rig and should be happy to help.

[bighatnohorse]

The problem might go away when the pollen season is over.
And that might be why the alarm is okay when it's in the house, but not when it's outside.

[gitpicker2009]

I don't think replacing them is going to help. They went down when you aired out the camper. They went down to zero in the house. If they were faulty they would not have changed.

It won't hurt to pick up another detector and verify, but if the 3rd one goes off in the camper too, you can't just pass it off as a faulty detector anymore. One is possible. Two is unlikely. Three is unfathomable.

I agree, but I'm going to try. Then I'm going to start removing things.

[mkirsch]

I don't think replacing them is going to help. They went down when you aired out the camper. They went down to zero in the house. If they were faulty they would not have changed.

It won't hurt to pick up another detector and verify, but if the 3rd one goes off in the camper too, you can't just pass it off as a faulty detector anymore. One is possible. Two is unlikely. Three is unfathomable.

[3_tons]

Some auto shops have digital CO sniffers used for detecting CO in the radiator, possibly a smog shop as well (??) - you might call around for this…

3 tons

[opnspaces]

Is the TC plugged into power? I'm reading that battery outgassing can set them off as well.

[gitpicker2009]

I called Northwood (Arctic Fox) and they're stumped too.

I'm going to replace the units and see what happens.

[Bedlam]

Remove the propane tanks and spray soapy water over the valve to see if is leaking. With the propane sorce removed from the camper, see if you are still getting propane alarms. If so, it is not propane but some kind of chemical off gassing from material in your camper.

If the alarms stop, you have leak in your lines that did not show up until your propane bottle valves stopped sealing properly. This will be harder to diagnose since the lines run to fridge, stove, water heater, furnace and generator. I would try and make a fitting so that I could run a low pressure compressor into the propane lines and then use soapy solution to look for bubbles. I know there is a dye you can inject into the lines and search for where it is leaking, but I have source this.

[gitpicker2009]

Update: I brought the CO detector into the house and it went down to zero.
Took it back out to the coach and within minutes, the alarm is going off.

This is really strange.

I'm going to call Northwood (Arctic Fox) later and see if they can shed any light.

[JimK-NY]

Depending on where you are in Texas, it is likely hot and/or humid. Either can cause false alarms especially if the heat is causing some out gassing. I had issues with when I did a lot of caulking in the bathroom, also once due to painting the plywood under the mattress and another time with due to a strong chemical odor from a plastic shower mat. The propane detector is especially prone to false alarms even when new but similar issues can cause false CO alarms.

[opnspaces]

Maybe the CO is coming from outside the camper. Put the one outside upwind of the camper and see if it goes off or if he levels go down.

Or try turning the dehumidifier off and see if the levels go down.

[gitpicker2009]

Yes, I'm sure they're doing their job:). What I'd like to know is why??
What's causing this?

I thought about various fabrics "off gassing" etc, but there's nothing new in the TC. It's just sitting where it always sits waiting for use in Autumn.
Thanks for all the tips and advice.

[Scottiemom]

gitpicker2009 wrote:
Yup, I checked and replaced the batteries, and it's plugged into shore power.
Plus when I opened up the coach and ran the fans, the levels dropped and the alarms stopped. ??

So, do you think the detectors might be doing their job? We had a handheld propane detector we could use to verify. Is your propane low? Detectors can go off when the tank is near empty.

But the bottom line for me is. . . if you "cleared the air" and the alarms quit, there could just be a leak somewhere.

My parents bought a class B once and my sister and I both smelled propane when we went into the coach. My parents camped in it occasionally but never complained about it. My sister bought them a propane detector. We were all camping one weekend together and my sister asked why dad wasn't using the detector. He said "It doesn't work." She asked why he thought that. He said, "Well, everytime I put the darn thing up, it starts beeping." Duh Dad. You've got a leak like we've been trying to tell you. So my DH and BIL got to checking. There was a propane line under the coach that was leaking. Tightened it up and all was good to go.

I would have it thoroughly checked out. Maybe a propane company would do some tests for you.

Dale