Kidde Carbon Monoxide Alarm

Product Information

Digital display models show levels of CO, displayed in ppm (parts per million). Anytime the alarm sounds, whether it is an alarm with a digital display or not, it should be treated as a potentially serious situation. The health effects of CO depend on the concentration and length of exposure (carbon monoxide concentration is measured in parts per million). According to respected CO alarm manufacturer Kidde, “a carbon monoxide detector is a time-weighted alarm that measures the buildup of carbon monoxide in a house. We recommend choosing carbon monoxide alarms that have the most accurate sensing technology available. Carbon monoxide poisoning is the leading cause of accidental poisoning deaths in America (Centers for Disease Control). At a minimum, industry experts recommend a CO alarm be installed on each level of the home -- ideally on any level with fuel burning appliances and outside of sleeping areas. Additional CO alarms are recommended 5-20 feet from sources of CO such as a furnace, water heater or fireplace. Alarms can alert you to a problems only after smoke or carbon monoxide reach their sensors. Choose locations free of obstructions, where the alarm will stay clean and protected from adverse environmental conditions. Do not place the unit in dead air spaces or next to a window or door. When the carbon monoxide alarm senses a dangerous level of CO gas, the unit will emit a loud alarm pattern. The alarm pattern is four short beeps – followed by five seconds of silence – followed by four short beeps.* This could mean that:

Get everyone outside of the home and call 911 from outside or from a neighbor’s home. If you are unable to leave the home to call for help, open the doors and windows, turn off all possible sources of CO while you are waiting for assistance to arrive, and stand by an open door or window. Under no circumstance should an alarm be ignored. Learning to identify why a carbon monoxide alarm is beeping is vital to help keep your family and your home safe.Everyone knows how important it is to have a smoke alarm in the home. If a fire breaks out while you’re asleep, the smoke it emits will set off the alarm, hopefully giving you time to get out before being asphyxiated by the fire’s deadly concoction of chemical gases.

The 7DCO comes with a ten-year lifespan and is BS EN 50291-2 certified for camping, caravanning and travel, or even use on a boat. As with all CO detectors, the Kidde provides end-of-life and battery warnings, along with the obligatory test/reset button for peace of mind. The only thing to watch out for is that it’s powered by a pair of AA batteries which need replacing roughly every two years We had no issues whatsoever during tests, but it means this alarm won’t be compliant with the new Scottish regulations. End of Life Warning – Seven years after initial power up, a Kidde CO alarm will begin chirping every 30 seconds. The chirp will not stop until the unit is powered off, and it’s vital to replace the carbon monoxide alarm immediately since it can’t detect CO when it enters end-of-life mode. Several things may be causing your Kidde carbon monoxide alarm to sound or chirp. Understanding what the beep pattern indicates is essential to keeping your home and family safe, especially if a CO beep is notifying end-of-life mode, since then it can no longer detect carbon monoxide. Never leave your car idling in a closed garage or use fuel-powered appliances or tools in enclosed, attached areas such as garages or porches. Carbon monoxide can seep into your home through vents and doors.The Peak Level feature is helpful in identifying if you have had a high CO reading since resetting the alarm (or if it happened while you were away from home). Concentrations of CO between 1 and 30 PPM can often occur in normal, everyday conditions. Concentrations of CO below 30 PPM may be an indication of a transient condition that may appear today and never reappear. Some CO conditions may start out as low-level leaks but could develop into CO concentrations that may become harmful. If this happens, the CO alarm will detect the dangerous level and sound an alarm, notifying you and others of the conditions. DO NOT ignore concentration readings above 30 PPM or a CO alarming device that is sounding its alarm. CO enters the body through breathing. CO poisoning can be confused with flu symptoms, food poisoning and other illnesses. Some symptoms include shortness of breath, nausea, dizziness, light headedness or headaches. High levels of CO can be fatal, causing death within minutes.* The Kidde KN-COPP-3 AC powered, plug in carbon monoxide alarm provides you and your family with warning signal to protect against dangerous levels of carbon monoxide in your home. This alarm is easily installed in any of your AC wall outlets. The digital display feature allows for easy viewing of carbon monoxide levels from 30-999PPM (parts per million). The KN-COPP-3 is UL listed and offers a 10-year life and a 10-year limited warranty. The one downside with this model is that it runs off a pair of AA batteries, which need to be switched out roughly every three years, making three changes during its lifespan. This isn’t a huge issue, but it means this model isn’t suitable for use in Scottish homes. It is, however, suitable for use in a boat or caravan, making it a good option if you need an alarm on your next boating or caravanning trip.

If you hear a long, continuous squeal, this may indicate that your alarm is signaling one of the following:

One Long, Continuous Squeal

Carbon monoxide is known as the silent killer because you can’t smell it, taste it or see it. Once it enters your bloodstream, it invades the red blood cells (haemoglobin), preventing them from carrying oxygen around the body. Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning include a flu-like headache, dizziness and nausea followed by tiredness, confusion, breathlessness, weakness, loss of muscular coordination and – dare I mention it – death. CO is so odourless that even dogs can’t detect it. How do CO alarms work? It’s also worth noting that the test button on these devices doesn’t actually test the sensor – it only makes sure that the circuit’s working. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) provides minimum recommendations for the home: Primary Fire Extinguishers - For your main home protection, install a 2-A:10-B:C rated extinguisher on every level of your home - no more than 40 feet apart. Include all locations where a fire may start. Furnaces, gas ranges or stoves, gas clothes dryers, water heaters, portable fuel-burning space heaters, fireplaces, generators, and wood burning stoves Alarm Malfunction – The alarm chirping every 30 seconds could indicate a unit malfunction. Call our Product Support when this occurs at 1-800-880-6788.

Don’t think that CO alarms are just for your home, either. They’re essential for caravans and motorhomes, and you might even want to take one on holiday if you’re staying in a cottage or self-catering accommodation. Are there any features worth looking out for? Your alarm may have detected carbon monoxide. Make sure that you know how to respond to a CO emergency. The Nest Protect is very easy to set up: simply remove the battery tab, launch the app, log in to your Wi-Fi, give it a name (kitchen, lounge and so on) and mount it in a suitably elevated place on a wall. Hint: If you installed CO alarms 5-7 years ago, it's time to install new carbon monoxide detectors.All of these concentrations are bad enough when you’re awake and realise that something isn’t quite right – especially if others are feeling a similar effect – but if you’re asleep, you may wake up with a severe headache and nausea and be incapable of even crawling for fresh air. Worse, you might not even wake up at all. Why should I be concerned? Most people will not experience any symptoms from prolonged exposure to CO levels of under, say, 40ppm. It depends on the length of exposure, but the real danger level starts at around 400ppm (two to three hours of exposure at this level can be life-threatening). To give you some idea of how dangerous higher levels of concentration can be, 1,500ppm could result in death within an hour and 6,000ppm within 15 minutes.