gas detector going off

[PHS79]

Tonight I let the dog out as I was heading to bed and I hear this load pitch squeal and traced it to the camper, I was just in there about 1.5 hrs before this putting some stuff away and everything was normal. I went in and the gas detector is going off, light was red, for some reason. I know its not because of LP because the tanks are not on the camper, they are in the garage, I got them filled the other day and just haven't put them back on. I know the camper battery isn't dead as it was on a battery tender in my basement all winter long and the camper has been plugged into shore power since I installed the battery about 3 weeks ago. I pulled the mounting plate off hoping to find a plug for the alarm and when took the plate off I happen to flip the detector over and the light is now green. So I left the plate off and the detector sitting on the floor incase it happens again.

So WTF is going on here? Is there a way to rest the alarm? Should I replace the detector?

[Iggy]

Bad detector or it just needed to be reset and tested.
Propane stays close to the ground so if you don't have them hooked up to the rig I say its a bad detector.
I have also heard they go off with many different sprays cans that may leak.
Other than that I run out of answers

I just remembered someone mentioned that over charging the batteries that are low in liquid will cause gases that will set it off.


Good luck.

[crunchman12001]

I have heard others say that dog farts set it off too... Really!

[KyDan]

If the RV is new and closed up tight it's possible that out-gassing of the
adhesive in the wall panels and plywood floors as well as foam in cushions and mattress -might- have caused it.

I don't know if there is a re-set for your alarm other than fresh air....

Ventilate the RV and see if it happens again is all I can suggest.
We have MaxxAir vents or covers over all our ceiling exhaust fans. We leave
them open all the time unless we're camping in really cold weather. The are
for sure open while the trailer is parked.

[PHS79]

Thanks for the replys everyone.

The camper is 2 yrs old and I have the Maxxair covers over both the ceiling vents, both of which are open and have been since I put it in storage 6 months ago.

[PHS79]

Brief little update. I had a neighbor check to see if it was going off at all today, he said he checked on it twice and nothing. I was in the camper tonight and the light is still green and no sound, so I really have no idea what made it go off at 10pm last night. On Friday we leave for our first camping weekend of the year, just incase the alarm goes off again I am going to keep the drill and my leatherman close by, because if it goes off again the wires to the alarm are getting cut.

[Old car]

We have a 2012 Windjammer and had similar issues. I would remove it and it would stop. I put it back in place and on our next trip out, Saturday morning, it would go off again. Remove it--it stops. Same thing happened about 3 trips in a row. Finally on a long trip to South Dakota it went off and wouldn't stop. I cut the wire leads and that fixed it for sure.

While at an RV show this past winter I happened to catch a FR rep and mentioned it to him. He said that they got in a bad batch and my trailer fit in that time frame. FR replaced it for free.

[papamcgown]

I've had ours going off on prior camper & this one too when the battery gets really low while not in use....I recently had my dealer install a battery cutoff for use when camper is in storage.

[awwall]

I don't think you used any...but, hair spray will set them off. The stuff is powered by a propane propellant. Another prospect is a battery that is gassing, giving off h2 gas.

Just food for thought

[PHS79]

Originally Posted by awwall

I don't think you used any...but, hair spray will set them off. The stuff is powered by a propane propellant. Another prospect is a battery that is gassing, giving off h2 gas.

Just food for thought

No need for hair spray for me, I look like a cue ball without a hat on!

The thing that is so strange about this is that the camper is parked along side our driveway, no one had been in it since I was about 1.5hrs earlier and no propane tanks on board. I am really starting to think that its a defective detector, especially now since Old Car said he had something similar on his 2012 also. Since ours is a 2012 and Old Car said that the FR rep told him that they had a bad batch of detectors go it, its totally possible that ours may be one of the bad ones. Only time will tell what is going to happen.

[Edgycanuck]

This past weekend we left the campground in jasper, all was quiet stopped in town gassed up all was good. Gassed up again on the road all was good. Get home and talking to the neighbors with it still hooked onto the truck it starts going off....what the hell is that??? I go into the trailer sure enough it's the detector, with red light on. I silence it park it in the driveway plug into shore power grab some tools to tear it apart and see go into the trailer and its quiet and green......on my 2012 microlite. Does that replacement include Canada? 😳

[Old car]

Don't know how far replacement covers. My unit was built in April 2011 and I was very surprised that after two full years that FR still sent it to me no charge. I simply asked the rep if they had heard of any issues on this problem and he volunteered all the information about a bad batch and that my unit fit into the timeframe.

[Iggy]

Originally Posted by Edgycanuck

This past weekend we left the campground in jasper, all was quiet stopped in town gassed up all was good. Gassed up again on the road all was good. Get home and talking to the neighbors with it still hooked onto the truck it starts going off....what the hell is that??? I go into the trailer sure enough it's the detector, with red light on. I silence it park it in the driveway plug into shore power grab some tools to tear it apart and see go into the trailer and its quiet and green......on my 2012 microlite. Does that replacement include Canada? ��

It is defective. What else do you want to hear?
Contact FR and let them know you want a replacement.
Or better yet try contacting the company that made it and see what they say. Who knows they may send you a new one if you tell them about your frustration.

[melang54]

How to silence rv propane alarm

[Evereddie]

This is where I find real fault and huge oversight in Forest River, and my half assed dealer, Out of Doors Mart. These things are false alarming like crazy. I finally cut my wires so we could get a full nights sleep. Has Forest River or my dealer sent out a recall notice on this critical life saving devices' problems? No chance in hell.

[Weezer]

We had our propane alarm go off for the first time last night. Already hooked to shore power, water heater and fridge on electric.

It went off when I was running the faucet in the kitchen, bleeding out the air, and had the water turned to hot.

Sneak opened the door to let it air out, reset it and all is good since then. We figure it was particulates in the air from the forceful blow of heated water/air through the faucet.

[00buck]

It happened in my 21 FBRS a few weeks ago. I checked connections and found nothing. Aired out the trailer and haven't had a problem since. Sometimes stuff happens.

[dashonthedash]

Originally Posted by Old car

We have a 2012 Windjammer and had similar issues. I would remove it and it would stop. I put it back in place and on our next trip out, Saturday morning, it would go off again. Remove it--it stops. Same thing happened about 3 trips in a row. Finally on a long trip to South Dakota it went off and wouldn't stop. I cut the wire leads and that fixed it for sure.

While at an RV show this past winter I happened to catch a FR rep and mentioned it to him. He said that they got in a bad batch and my trailer fit in that time frame. FR replaced it for free.

Sorry to reply after all this time, but I had a similar problem with my 2011 Georgetown detector going off in the middle of the night. My dealer couldn't find the problem, so I endured it for the past 3 years, figuring something was setting it off. Recently, I replaced it at my own expense and now the detector is fine. Do you know the time frame for this "bad batch"? I believe the old detector was manufactured in November or December, 2010.

I just checked my past emails and noticed that I commented on this very same problem to the FR warranty rep last year when I was dealing with the orange hydraulic line issues. At that time, he didn't mention anything about a "bad batch" but claimed it was likely an issue of "low battery voltage", which it wasn't. I wish I could prove fraud.