Re: ADT CO2 sensors reliable? Where to place?

["Robert L Bass" <robertbass1@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

> thanks for the replies guys. i think i will place one
> outside my bedroom, one and only one. my primary
> fear is a bad heat exchanger that incapacitates you
> while you sleep.

I had that happen to my furnace in a home I bought in CT some years ago.  The heat exchanger was cracked, allowing CO gas into the
house.  It gave us all headaches but fortunately there was no permanent damage.

A more common danger of CO infusion is a blocked or faulty damper.  This can happen to a gas furnace or a water heater.

Another problem sometimes occurs when the home is nearly air tight and there's a fire in the fireplace.  The fireplace is like a
bonfire with lots of convective airflow up the chimney.  The furnace fire, by comparison, is a very small flame with much less
convective flow.  The fireplace sends so much heat up the chimney that it causes a negative pressure in the house.  Outside pressure
tries to replace the lost air, pushing straight down the furnace flue.  Note that in modern homes there are actually two separate
flues -- one for the furnace and another for the fireplace.  The incoming air draws the furnace gas, together with lots of CO, back
into the house.

There are other possible sources of CO, including a car engine left running (a friend of my father died that way), improperly vented
gas heaters, stoves, etc.

If you're only going to install one CO detector, the location outside the bedroom is the best choice.  Best of luck.

--

Regards,
Robert L Bass

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