Some Alarm Activated

[lamokadave]

Out for the 2nd time in our Geo Pro fbs. Needed the furnace one chilly morning.
It fired right up and delivered heat in a reasonable time. After running a few minutes however the cabin smoke alarm went off. B4 you ask, definitely not the Co alarm. I didn't sense any smoke inside, and the external exhaust was blowing very hot air. There was a bit of an order inside, perhaps an oil like smell.
I'm assuming I was burning off some oil residue froma new piece of equipment.
Any other thoughts?

[BooBoo23]

You are correct in assuming the smoke alarm went off because of the oil burning off of the cold rolled steel in a new furnace. Maybe the dealer should have warned you about it.

[bikendan]

Yep, very common in new RVs.
Dealers are supposed to inform newbies during the walkthrough.

Lucky for me, I had researched various RV forums before buying and read about running the furnace BEFORE going camping.

[TitanMike]

If the smoke detector is one installed at the factory i't probably an "Ionization Detector" type which is cheap and most prone to false alarms. Not recommended for installation in residential kitchens due to the fact that just hot metal (like a toaster or oven) can set it off and drive everyone nuts. Batteries get taken out because they are so annoying and then you have NO protection.

Best smoke detectors use dual sensor technology, ionization chamber and photoelectric sensor. The Kidde PI9010 is considered by many to be the best.

FWIW, an RV is almost ALL kitchen when it comes to false alarms from Smoke Detectors.

Also worthy of note, the LP sensor is most likely the lowest cost unit available, as well as a CO detector if so equipped.

I like to replace all these with higher quality units rather than take chances with safety.

The smoke detector FR installed in my Micro Lite is so sensitive that even when hood fan is on, bathroom Maxair fan is on, windows open, it sounds off whenever I use the stove/oven. It's going bye-bye this week.

Note: the reliable life of a smoke detector is only 10 years. Beyond that it may have enough buildup of dust and "gunk" that it no longer will sense smoke. New ones are being built with sealed Li Ion batteries and when they signal end of life you just replace the whole thing, not just the battery.