Carbon Monoxide Detector

[Hitch girl]

Hello fellow campers,

We just upgraded to a new-to-us travel trailer (Jayco 28BH, 2010) in August 2013. Took the trailer out three times last year and had problems with our Carbon Monoxide detector going off in the middle of the night on all trips. Every time it went off we did the routine checks of propane tanks, etc and didn't find any issues. The first time it went off, we thought that it might have been triggered by the heater, the second time we blamed it on the dog sleeping too close to the detector, the third time we were so frustrated that we just disabled it. I will buy a plug in detector for this summer but realize that it won't work if the power goes out. Has anyone else run into this problem and if so do you know of any permanent fixes?

Thanks!

[Threebutchers]

You mentioned the year you bought the TT - but not how old it actually is. It probably just needs replacing - they don't seem to hold up very long.

Another issue could be low 12V voltage (If you dry camp without hook-ups and your battery goes low).

When sniffing for propane....check low to the floor. Try a little ventilation in the winter when using the heater

Good Luck

[Jayco 228]

We had a brand new one going off last year (1yr old trailer). It was a faulty detector and we had it replaced under warranty. You can buy a replacement one for under $80. My understanding is they only have a. 5 year shelf life and quite often they are already over a year old when they get installed into a trailer. Yours could be dated 2009 or older. There is a sticker inside with a date code. Sometimes I think it is the chemicals that off gas from the trailer that cause these to fail prematurely

[tinlizzie23]

We have a SafeTAlert model 30-442 detector that is undoubtedly the original installed in our 2004 Designer 5er. It has never gone off, and the green light still glows, which is supposed to indicate it is working.

I have heard from several threads on the JOF that around 5 years is the average lifespan. Could it be that this one is no longer functioning after 10 years, despite the green light, or do we have an exceptional one ?

[edatlanta]

There used to be an expiration date on the front of the detectors. Now the ones I have seen have a statement that says replace after 60 months in service. I'm on my third one in 4 years of full time use. I would be surprised, based on my experience, if any of the make it to 60 months.

And when mine failed they both did it at 3:00am. Go figure.