What are some good sources for carbon monoxide?

[Haertig]

Now here me out before judging. No, I'm not trying to kill anybody!

I would like to test my new portable CO detector. Pushing the "test" button is silly - that doesn't actually test the detection mechanism in any way ... it bypasses it!

I was thinking of putting the detector under some kind of glass dome (maybe a cake cover?) with a fire source. An incense stick, a cigarette, a piece of cardboard, a couple of candles - something like that. And letting the burn source run itself out of O2 and smolder out. Is that going to create a large enough amount of CO to trigger the typical home detector? I know they trigger on amount and time, so a low level of CO will take longer to trigger than a high level. I've never tried to intentionally create CO before, I usually try just the opposite, so I'm not an expert at it. I could call the suicide hotline and ask, but that would be tacky.

 

[Neb]

Now here me out before judging. No, I'm not trying to kill anybody!

I would like to test my new portable CO detector. Pushing the "test" button is silly - that doesn't actually test the detection mechanism in any way ... it bypasses it!

I was thinking of putting the detector under some kind of glass dome (maybe a cake cover?) with a fire source. An incense stick, a cigarette, a piece of cardboard, a couple of candles - something like that. And letting the burn source run itself out of O2 and smolder out. Is that going to create a large enough amount of CO to trigger the typical home detector? I know they trigger on amount and time, so a low level of CO will take longer to trigger than a high level. I've never tried to intentionally create CO before, I usually try just the opposite, so I'm not an expert at it. I could call the suicide hotline and ask, but that would be tacky.

A gas burner the burns with a yellow flame is producing CO. When burning blue it is producing CO2.

A candle?

Ben

 

[Sourdough]

A forced Air furnaces is a classic. I was selling a warehouse any the buyer wanted it checked, I had never considered it might be a problem. Turned out it had to be replaced. The company I had replace it said it is a very common problem.

 

[Sourdough]

Let your car run in the garage with the door closed till it goes off.

 

[backlash]

Take your detector to you car and hold it by the exhaust pipe.

 

[Weedygarden]

Take your detector to you car and hold it by the exhaust pipe.

That is what I was thinking. I wouldn't suggest going to the garage, running the car with the garage door closed to do this test, unless you were outside, but then, how would you know?

 

[Haertig]

In my case, our garage hasn't seen a car inside for years. It's too full of mystery boxes of the unknown. Like it's sister, the basement. And it's brother, the attic.

 

[Caribou]

Most CO detectors are set to alarm at a high CO concentration to prevent false alarms. At one point I sold CO detectors but they didn't meet certifications because they had too low an alarm setting. The alarm settings are made to go off after a certain amount of CO and for a certain amount of time. It is unhealthy for you to be in a testing environment where a CO alarm goes off. If your household alarm goes off get out of the house immediately, do not pass Go. Your life is at risk.

To check your detector properly you need a combustion analyser and the specifications for when your alarm is set to go off. A combustion analyser will measure the amount of CO, CO2, O2 and other combustion gasses. A Mosquito magnet works by producing CO. that might work as your CO generator.

https://www.amazon.com/Mosquito-Mag...d=1658291218&sprefix=mosquito,aps,165&sr=8-12
I have a combustion analyser and I had a Mosquito Magnet. I always just relied on the manufacturer.

 

[Haertig]

the specifications for when your alarm is set to go off

From the manual:

Brand: Kidde, Model: KN-COPP-B-LPM

Accuracy of Digital Display:
30-999 PPM +/-30%

Alarm Response Times:
70 PPM = 60-240 min., 150 PPM = 10-50 min., 400 PPM = 4-15 min.

I wouldn't call this thing the king of accuracy at +/- 30%. But I guess that's better than nothing. It's not designed as an accurate meter to report CO levels, it's just supposed to wake you and get you the hell outta Dodge before it's too late. It will display current CO level or max CO level since last reset. I got it for travel, AirBnB's and such. Runs on 3xAAA batteries. Fairly small - about the size of a 50 qty box of 9mm ammo. Plan would be to drop it in the room at check-in, then go have dinner, and come back afterwards and see if room is safe. The display should tell you the CO level almost immediately, but the alarm would be delayed per their specs. Then leave it in the room for the duration of my stay. The chance of running into CO on a vacation is probably really small, but there have been news articles recently reporting vacationers who have died. Cheap insurance for the $27 I paid for it. Assuming it actually works, which is why I want to test it with real CO, not just the test button.

 

[Caribou]

the display is excellent as long as you check it. 70 PPM for four hours!? You probably wouldn't hear the alarm. Excellent idea. The ones I sold had a display. It was my habit to check the display every time I walked past.

 

[Cascadian]

Every time we sprayed Lysol in the Rv ours went off. No idea how that works.

 

[Magus]

Ahem.
You need a CO2 canister like comes in a pellet gun and heavy work gloves.
Pop the top on the bugger and spray it at the detector from point blank.

Barring that, BBQ a brisket in the next room.