Very early this morning I had multiple CO detectors going off. One with a readout displayed 11 ppm. Yesterday evening I was charging a car battery in my attached garage and forgot to take it off until early this morning. Can a battery emit gasses that might trigger a CO alarm? The only item with a pilot is the HWT and the flue is drawing up smoke which I used to test. Levels went to zero after shutting down the charger and opening many windows but I am somewhat concerned as I never heard that a battery charging might cause this..
CO detectors going off
- Thread starter Lubener
- Start date
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- May 31, 2024
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It is stated here that hydrogen can set a false alarm.
https://hawkequip.com/hydrogen-gas-false-readings-carbon-monoxide-alarm/
https://hawkequip.com/hydrogen-gas-false-readings-carbon-monoxide-alarm/
Our only false alarm was when our dog nosed the test button. It read something like 1100 PPM (which is what it's supposed to read when you push the test button). But it really scared my wife who called me home from work to check things out.
It seems it made a faint buzzing noise and the dog being a dog decided to poke it.
It seems it made a faint buzzing noise and the dog being a dog decided to poke it.
Since multiple sensors went off, I'd say it was a real alert. Since, they went off after removing the battery charger, I'd say you found the root cause. I'd avoid charging batteries without suitable ventilation in the future. It's a valuable thing to learn. Thanks for alerting folks to this.
Some of them pair up so it one sounds they all do. Can't see a battery charging in a garage setting off a CO detector inside the home.
Thank you. I think you answered my question. The alarms have been silent after the battery was taken off the charger.
You're right. I was thinking of my house. The smoke alarms are hard wired together so when one goes off, they all go off. But my CO detectors are stand alone and plug into an outlet (receptacle).
You might also want to check the manufacturer date on the detectors. As they age, they may start giving false alarms... at 3am. Ask me how I know. Ours are linked, so if one goes off, they all go off.
I have a friend that had CO detectors go off early one morning. They're standing out front yard at 0600 as the fire department showed up. They went in with their sniffing equipment and it was their golf cart on the battery charger in the garage that set it off.
A CO detector should not alarm at 11ppm, that is very close to normal in most homes.
I am in the camp of the battery being the issue. The fact that both detectors went off is pretty definitive.
Mine are daisy chained together with both floors having a combo smoke/CO alarm in the system.
The first rule of responding to CO alarms is never trust the alarm, always verify with one or more known good units.
I am in the camp of the battery being the issue. The fact that both detectors went off is pretty definitive.
Mine are daisy chained together with both floors having a combo smoke/CO alarm in the system.
The first rule of responding to CO alarms is never trust the alarm, always verify with one or more known good units.
I had a recent false alarm for CO.
Called 911, Firemen responded, their sniffer said all is well.
I bought a new alarm.
Problem solved.
Called 911, Firemen responded, their sniffer said all is well.
I bought a new alarm.
Problem solved.
Yep. It was the firefighters responding to our alarms at 3am who looked at the manufacturer date and suggested replacing them, which I did that morning. I bought ones with integrated lithium batteries so I no longer need to worry about changing them on my birthday.
