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CO detector

55-PA18A

55-PA18A

SPONSOR
Dillingham, Alaska
In a recent thread on desired mods, mention was made of a CO detector. I feel that's a pretty important piece of "equipment" to have. What CO detectors are members using now in their planes?

Rather than take that modification thread off into a different direction, I thought I would start a new one. It's been a number of years since I've seen any discussion about the various detectors that might be available. Any new brands/models/etc out recently?

Any opinions on the best place to put the CO detector? I've usually mounted it forward and just below the front throttle lever, figuring fumes coming in from the heater vent through the firewall would be detected. Plus it's out of the way and visible. Is that too low?

Cubus Maximus' photo in the modification thread shows one that looks like it's hanging from the aileron balance cable. That would certainly detect CO fumes rising up and at head level.

Considering the small size of the inside of a Cub, does it matter where you put it?

Jim W
 
55-PA18A said:
In a recent thread on desired mods, mention was made of a CO detector. I feel that's a pretty important piece of "equipment" to have. What CO detectors are members using now in their planes?

Rather than take that modification thread off into a different direction, I thought I would start a new one. It's been a number of years since I've seen any discussion about the various detectors that might be available. Any new brands/models/etc out recently?

Any opinions on the best place to put the CO detector? I've usually mounted it forward and just below the front throttle lever, figuring fumes coming in from the heater vent through the firewall would be detected. Plus it's out of the way and visible. Is that too low?

Cubus Maximus' photo in the modification thread shows one that looks like it's hanging from the aileron balance cable. That would certainly detect CO fumes rising up and at head level.

Considering the small size of the inside of a Cub, does it matter where you put it?

Jim W
Click to expand...

The white square ones like Cubus has in his picture work well as long as you put a fresh, unopened one on, with a date. Then don't be afraid to change it out for any reason. When they are exposed to CO, they will turn dark, but over the summer they start to darken, too. Not 100% sure if it's from low levels of CO or just exposure to air/sunlight. I'd feel a lot better if pilots were changing them out for a clean one.

As for placement, I don't believe that it's that critical except to keep it in your line of sight. If you want one near the heater outlet, go ahead and put one there. It's not going to hurt anyone. But if it's down low, it would be a good idea to put another one up on the instrument panel.

The high tech detectors, that continually sample the surrounding air, seem to be overkill for a small, single engine aircraft. Might be better suited to something that hauls eight or ten people in the cabin. Just my opinion though.

Web
 
A very scary personal experience regarding CO detectors. In 2012 I was flying my 12 from WA to AK with a pilot friend in the rear seat. We had put a battery operated audible CO alarm in the thing several years before, following the loss of a good friend who had crashed and expired from CO poisoning. While scud running about an hour south of Smithers BC, my friend in back said "what's that beeping". I had on a noise canceling head set and had not heard a thing. He had a non noise canceling set. I looked down at the CO detector and saw the red light flashing. I then tried to reset it thinking it was mal-functioning. It wouldn't reset. I then realized that I wasn't thinking very good and was already suffering the effects of CO. We flew on to AK with the windows and vents wide open. A very cold ride. When in Anc. found a major crack in one of the exhaust headers. I also had one of the cards with the colored pill inside plastic. When you're scud running, you aren't looking a the panel much. Had it not been for the audible alarm I don't think I'd be writing this.
Mike
 
85Mike said:
A very scary personal experience regarding CO detectors. In 2012 I was flying my 12 from WA to AK with a pilot friend in the rear seat. We had put a battery operated audible CO alarm in the thing several years before, following the loss of a good friend who had crashed and expired from CO poisoning. While scud running about an hour south of Smithers BC, my friend in back said "what's that beeping". I had on a noise canceling head set and had not heard a thing. He had a non noise canceling set. I looked down at the CO detector and saw the red light flashing. I then tried to reset it thinking it was mal-functioning. It wouldn't reset. I then realized that I wasn't thinking very good and was already suffering the effects of CO. We flew on to AK with the windows and vents wide open. A very cold ride. When in Anc. found a major crack in one of the exhaust headers. I also had one of the cards with the colored pill inside plastic. When you're scud running, you aren't looking a the panel much. Had it not been for the audible alarm I don't think I'd be writing this.
Mike
Click to expand...


Mike,
What brand and model battery operated detector did you have? Did the CO detector with the 'colored pill' turn dark?

Jim W
 
I have a couple of the aeromedix ones. I wouldn't recommend one for an airplane. Too bulky. Maybe it'd be good to test a suspected problem but it 's too much for everyday use. And if memory serves they don't work in cold temps, like when we'd most likely need one. I like the stick-on type.
 
55-PA18A said:
Mike,
What brand and model battery operated detector did you have? Did the CO detector with the 'colored pill' turn dark?

Jim W
Click to expand...

Jim, Don't recall the specifics on the detector as I no longer have the plane. Never looked at the pill. Was very busy flying, avoiding mountains.
MB
 
Jim
Don't recall the make and model as I no longer have the airplane. It was quite small, maybe 3x5x.75 inches. Had a clip to mount it to a fuselage tube and mounted just ahead of the door at knee height. Obviously worked for me.
Mike
 
I always keep a fine tip Sharpie in the truck and plane. With the disposable CO doo-dads I write the expiration date on it and stick it in plain sight. Pretty simple and extremely effective. Thanks for the thread. I need to pick up a few fresh ones for the fall and winter seasons.
 
I have a CO detector, purchased from Aircraft Spruce, http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/pspages/co300.php?clickkey=291541
I have it mounted via Velcro on the forward panel in my direct line of sight in order to read the digital read out. It also has an audible alert and a red light that alerts at the critical level. Generally speaking, if I do not have the forward cowl vent open, or at least cracked, it will register toward the 25+ parts per million. I have seen the red light once about two hours into a winter flight and at the time the vent was closed. As soon as I opened it the readings dropped into the 1-3 parts per million range. The unit is now part of my general instrument scan. Yes, you must replace it every several years, but at the price level, the security of detecting any significant amount is well worth it. It only takes one leak, other than normal fuselage swirling CO, going unnoticed to cause a major problem.
 
I have the same CO detector that BradleyG has & it seems to work fine. The battery lasted about a year. I clip the CO detector near the XM radio, so it puts it in my scan path. The highest I've seem the CO inside the Cub was about 3 ppm. Nice to know it's there & working.
windy
 
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