CO/Gas Detector in Forester

[ETF]

Our gas detector went off all night, just one night, while we were in Colorado this past summmer. I took the RV into the dealer to have some other stuff done under warrenty and they checked it out. They said it was a loose wire that they recrimped and it was OK now. Well, no it's not. When we were in Fredericksburg over New Years it spent most of one freezing cold night going off repeatedly.

I reset it, shut off the propane, opened the door and vented the RV but it continued to go off at intervals. I didn't want to disconnect it because I have a thing about disconnecting safety devices but the alarm continually going off made for a long, chilly night.

My question is, "How sensitive are these detectors?". I'm fairly certain that there wasn't a leak in our unit but my neighbors furnace exhaust was directly across from our door. Could it have been picking up gas from his exhaust?. It only happened the one night but it was really annoying.

I'm looking for a hand held meter that I can use to check and verify the gas concentrations before I pull the wires on the sucker but I would really like to get to the bottom of it before I do anything that drastic. Does anyone have ay insight??????

By the way, it's a 2013 Forester 3011DS.

[Wiscampsin]

Sometimes they go off when the 12V battery is low.

[ETF]

That makes sense but unfortunately both batteries were fully charged.

I've been kinda sick these last few days so I haven't felt like messing with it but it gave me plenty of time to think about it and I still can't come up with a reason for it.

All I will say is that there is nothing more annoying that that alarm going off in the middle of the night when it's freezing cold outside.

[RamblerGuy]

LP/CO alarms are a frequent topic on this forum. There doesn't seem to be a good explanation of why they go off for no apparent reason. I understand that Forest River is putting the LP/CO alarm away from the door and the batteries now.

I replaced our original one when it was about two years old, but the one installed now seems to give false alarms, too. I had both the original and the replacement alarms go off when I had the propane tank turned off. My best guess is that it picks up hydrogen vapors from the batteries when they are overcharged. Other threads have stated that the WFCO convertor does not actually go to float mode when the batteries have reached full charge. I now disconnect the batteries if we will be plugged in for several days and no longer have alarms.

There have been several threads about the alarms. You can find them using the Search window at the top of this page.

[VinceU]

Originally Posted by RamblerGuy

LP/CO alarms are a frequent topic on this forum. There doesn't seem to be a good explanation of why they go off for no apparent reason. I understand that Forest River is putting the LP/CO alarm away from the door and the batteries now.

I replaced our original one when it was about two years old, but the one installed now seems to give false alarms, too. I had both the original and the replacement alarms go off when I had the propane tank turned off. My best guess is that it picks up hydrogen vapors from the batteries when they are overcharged. Other threads have stated that the WFCO convertor does not actually go to float mode when the batteries have reached full charge. I now disconnect the batteries if we will be plugged in for several days and no longer have alarms.

There have been several threads about the alarms. You can find them using the Search window at the top of this page.

I've had my Propane detector alarm to Air freshner, scented candles and the battery gas. Keep in mind any source of Hydro Carbon gas will set off the sensitive system, maybe even in your favor.

[bgilly]

Originally Posted by ETF

I reset it, shut off the propane, opened the door and vented the RV but it continued to go off at intervals. I didn't want to disconnect it because I have a thing about disconnecting safety devices but the alarm continually going off made for a long, chilly night.

My question is, "How sensitive are these detectors?". I'm fairly certain that there wasn't a leak in our unit but my neighbors furnace exhaust was directly across from our door. Could it have been picking up gas from his exhaust?. It only happened the one night but it was really annoying.

If alarming in error then you are no better off leaving it connected. Yes, its a safety device but a faulty safety device has no purpose.
In other words you stayed in the camper regardless suffering the nuisance of the cold temps and the alarm noise.
That's a hard call on what to do. I don't know if I would be able to sleep with a faulty CO or propane detector. I might not wake up to regret it.
That said and as others pointed out, CO is not the only product the sensor will detect and alarm on. So along with just flat out being faulty you have to investigate other culprits. Battery vapors being one of the easy ones but I had a bag of bananas set off the CO alarm in a former TT. Apparently from the gas they use to slow ripening. Also many cleaners will trigger the alarm.
Something often overlooked for CO is the refrigerator (when on propane) and the cooktop/oven.
A wall outlet type of CO monitor is a cheap backup.

Bobby

[ETF]

Some helpful replies, thank you.

I thought that the batteries were the sealed type and therefore would not "gas". I may be wrong so I'll need to check. They are in very close proximity to the detector.

One thing that I did notice was that when it went off in Colorado we were camped for one night close to the exhaust for a gas heater in the laundry. Also, when it went off in Fredericksburg after being "fixed" we were parked with our door almost directly opposite our neighbor's exhaust for his furnace and the wind was blowing in our direction. Are these things really that sensitive that they can pick up traces of exhaust gas?

I had a quick look on the subject but couldn't find anything. I'll do a more exhaustive search.

Thank you all for the ideas. I really hate to disconnect it because after spending my life working in the oilfield, I've seen people get killed or die because alarms have been switched off.

[bgilly]

Originally Posted by ETF

Some helpful replies, thank you.

I thought that the batteries were the sealed type and therefore would not "gas". I may be wrong so I'll need to check. They are in very close proximity to the detector.

One thing that I did notice was that when it went off in Colorado we were camped for one night close to the exhaust for a gas heater in the laundry. Also, when it went off in Fredericksburg after being "fixed" we were parked with our door almost directly opposite our neighbor's exhaust for his furnace and the wind was blowing in our direction. Are these things really that sensitive that they can pick up traces of exhaust gas?

I had a quick look on the subject but couldn't find anything. I'll do a more exhaustive search.

Thank you all for the ideas. I really hate to disconnect it because after spending my life working in the oilfield, I've seen people get killed or die because alarms have been switched off.

Well as I tried stating before; am improperly working monitor/alarm isn't any good either so switching off the monitor that isn't working properly doesn't make any difference. If it's not working -turned on you are not any safer.
The sensitivity is based on the level of CO in the air the monitor is installed. This site will help explain more on carbon monoxide and monitoring devices:Carbon Monoxide Questions and Answers | CPSC.gov

On the batteries; mine are "sealed" - no caps or ports to the individual cells but it does have a small vent in the sidewall of the battery near the top. I believe it is known as a regulated vent port that vents when pressure increases inside the battery.

Bobby

[VinceU]

Originally Posted by bgilly

Well as I tried stating before; am improperly working monitor/alarm isn't any good either so switching off the monitor that isn't working properly doesn't make any difference. If it's not working -turned on you are not any safer.
The sensitivity is based on the level of CO in the air the monitor is installed. This site will help explain more on carbon monoxide and monitoring devices:Carbon Monoxide Questions and Answers | CPSC.gov

On the batteries; mine are "sealed" - no caps or ports to the individual cells but it does have a small vent in the sidewall of the battery near the top. I believe it is known as a regulated vent port that vents when pressure increases inside the battery.

Bobby

I think at the outset of this thread, the op has been refering to a CO/gas meter as in propane I think. Sounds as though its alarming on low levels of hydro carbons and although over sensitive, it may still be working.

[bgilly]

Originally Posted by VinceU

I think at the outset of this thread, the op has been refering to a CO/gas meter as in propane I think. Sounds as though its alarming on low levels of hydro carbons and although over sensitive, it may still be working.

Could be but the OP listed both propane and CO. Both are a concern and shutting off the propane should clear either (propane or CO). My sticking to CO is that it is invisible and odorless where propane is invisible but in concentration you will know its presence but the odor.

Bobby

[danyliz]

We purchased a 2011 Forest River Forester 3011 dsf in January 2011.

It all started in August 2011...
we had been having problems with our LP/CO Detector Combo Unit in our Forester 3011 DSF. The LP / CO detector kept going off at all hours. Took it in to the dealership twice to do tests for leaks, replacing combo unit, etc... No luck. We had followed all troubleshooting instructions from the manual, asked the company's rep for assistance & reached out to people in the Forest River Forum. We thanked everyone for their tips; but most of all to the person on the FR forum who told us to separate both units. Somehow, the LP/CO detector combo unit wasn't working properly in our motorhome; even with a brand new one that was put in. Finally, on the third time into the dealership in April 2012, we told them to separate both units & place them in different areas. We recently got back from a 6 week trip & it worked like a charm.

September 18, 2013

The problem continued...

9:00 pm
Propane Detector went off for the first time since it was separated from the combo unit (April 2012).
We checked & follow through for any propane leaks. We have no pets, no aerosol sprays, no traffic giving off fumes, etc. No signs. It continued to go off 3 more times until we took out the fuse for the evening.

September 19, 2013

In the morning (10 am), we turned the propane off, we put the fuse back on; so the propane detector is back on.
Reviewed the manual---
Propane Gas Alarm
MODEL 30-442 USER’S MANUAL

September 20, 2013

Propane Detector went off for the second time @ 12:15 am. We took out the fuse for the evening.

September 21, 2013

In the morning (9 am), we put the fuse back on; so the propane detector is back on again.

October 28, 2013

We took the RV to get it serviced & the LP detector was replaced once again with a new one. We are so careful with our surroundings of what is causing it to go off. It's just not a good place to have an LP detector in a Forest River Forester 3011 dsf.

[Hmnbrdlady]

My combo alarm kept going off for no apparent reason. I had my Lp system checked for leaks. Finally we replaced the alarm only to have the same thing happen a year later. The next time I replaced it, I had them make a plug in system for it, so that if it went off again, I could just unplug it. I also bought a CO2 alarm and mounted it to the wall as my back up.

[ETF]

Thanks for all the replies. You've all given me something to think about.

It hasn't gone off while sitting in the driveway since we've been home. It's so random that it's difficult to troubleshoot. I rumaged around in the shop and found a 110v CO detector that I know works and I've mounted in it the unit. I'm in the process of researching propane detectors and I'll get one of those too. At least I'll be able to confirm the readings when the alarm goes off.

A couple of you mentioned pulling the fuse in order to shut it off. Where is the fuse located? It's not marked in the fuse block. It's been too cold to mess with it too much but it seems to be direct wired to the 12v system. I suppose that I could cut the wire and install a fuse or a switch to shut the thing off if and when it wakes us up again in the middle of the night.

[danyliz]

On our 2011 Forest River Forester 3011 dsf; it is located in the bedroom area. At the foot of the the queen size bed--bottom section panel of the bed. There is a fuse panel that runs several our lights in/out of our RV.

Hope this helps.

[VinceU]

Originally Posted by ETF

Thanks for all the replies. You've all given me something to think about.

It hasn't gone off while sitting in the driveway since we've been home. It's so random that it's difficult to troubleshoot. I rumaged around in the shop and found a 110v CO detector that I know works and I've mounted in it the unit. I'm in the process of researching propane detectors and I'll get one of those too. At least I'll be able to confirm the readings when the alarm goes off.

A couple of you mentioned pulling the fuse in order to shut it off. Where is the fuse located? It's not marked in the fuse block. It's been too cold to mess with it too much but it seems to be direct wired to the 12v system. I suppose that I could cut the wire and install a fuse or a switch to shut the thing off if and when it wakes us up again in the middle of the night.

It can be a direct feed from the battery to prevent accidental disconnect. It will have an inline fuse. Fuses like this are always close to the battery.

[ETF]

Yea, I know where the fuse block is located on the bed but I can't see a dedicated fuse in there for the alarm. That's why I assumed that it was hard wired to the battery in order to prevent it being turned off.

It's supposed to warm up a little in a few days and I'll get back to tracing wires to see where it goes.

[Displaced2]

Mine did the same thing. One night only. My RV mech said it was the additional heater that set it off.