I guess as long as it’s always showing 0 or 1 … not much could happen (my guess ..)
Flyer59 wrote:
I guess as long as it’s always showing 0 or 1 … not much could happen (my guess ..)
These sensors use heater elements. When the heater elements wears out, the detection becomes unrealiable. This is the reason quality products specify either a lifetime or calibration interval. When the heater is degrated it will give a lower reading. When the heater is gone, it always will read ok.
How do these sensors work and deliver the 1-2 year battery life, on a CR2-type single battery, if they contain a heater?
Peter wrote:
How do these sensors work and deliver the 1-2 year battery life, on a CR2-type single battery, if they contain a heater?
The heater is very small, only heating the sensor. It isn’t reading constantly, and when it is reading, the heater is not on all the time. Yours for example has a calibration interval, and replaceable sensors, which is a good thing.
Ok, thank you. Mine is still almost new, but i will remember that
The wall-mount one posted by Peter_Paul was marked to have a battery life of 5 years, and the instruction leaflet never mentioned calibration, so I assume it is supposed to be good at least for those 5 years lest it attract a nasty lawsuit by the disgruntled consumers.
I have tried to buy the calibration kit for my CO detector several times but have more or less given up now. It doesn’t seem to be available in Europe, and can’t be shipped from the U.S. as it is considered hazardous material. I had considered having it shipped to a US address where I had some other parts delivered on the occasion of my recent visit to the states, but even then adding the kit to the cart increased the shipping cost five-fold. I then figured it wasn’t worth the hassle.
Can a little calibration kit really be that dangerous or is it the usual regulatory approach where a few mg of CO are treated the same way as a great quantity of some highly toxic chemicals?
Ultranomad wrote:
The wall-mount one posted by Peter_Paul was marked to have a battery life of 5 years, and the instruction leaflet never mentioned calibration, so I assume it is supposed to be good at least for those 5 years lest it attract a nasty lawsuit by the disgruntled consumers.
This can be a dangerouse assumption. EU also wants new regulations for products for home appliances, as they current often don’t warn when they should. There is an EN standard for CO detectors, warnings are much higher when compared to aviation standards.
We can perform calibrations for these. Normally we do this for our own CO detectors, which have a recommended 1 year calibration interval, there is no reason why this calibration procedure wouldn’t work with other products.
The prevailing design requirement:
bq.Sec. 23.831
Ventilation.
(a) Each passenger and crew compartment must be suitably ventilated. Carbon monoxide concentration may not exceed one part in 20,000 parts of air. Quote
Jesse wrote:
EU also wants new regulations for products for home appliances, as they current often don’t warn when they should.
What more kinds of warning do they want? The documentation for home appliances these days are at least 50% warnings already (most of them completely pointless). And of the remainder most is information on how to contact the manufacturer from every single country in the EU + a dozen outside, leaving perhaps 20% of the paper volume for actual instructions on how to use.
