Propane/CO alarm going off? Casita 16'

[Lisle]

My propane was turned off for 2 weeks at the tank, but the alarm went off multiple times during the night one night. And there was no combustion going on in the camper -- no lighter, no candle, etc. This has happened several times. Seems like it happens when the windows are all closed because of cold or noise from other campers, even though I always leave the bathroom window open. When the alarm goes off, I've opened the door and put on the exhaust fan and fanned some fresh air at the alarm. That seems to reset it. Is it possible that it is me passing gas that is setting it off? Methane also detected by the alarm?

Right now, the propane is on and I've been leaving the window over the table open a couple of inches during the night, and the alarm hasn't gone off. However, it is getting too cold to do that all night here in northern New England.

Any thoughts on what is going on? Is this a malfunction or am I doing something wrong? It did seem that a couple nights when I'd eaten something that made me pass alot of gas, it happened more.

[Jon Vermilye]

Originally Posted by Lisle

My propane was turned off for 2 weeks at the tank, but the alarm went off multiple times during the night one night. And there was no combustion going on in the camper -- no lighter, no candle, etc. This has happened several times. Seems like it happens when the windows are all closed because of cold or noise from other campers, even though I always leave the bathroom window open. When the alarm goes off, I've opened the door and put on the exhaust fan and fanned some fresh air at the alarm. That seems to reset it. Is it possible that it is me passing gas that is setting it off? Methane also detected by the alarm?

Right now, the propane is on and I've been leaving the window over the table open a couple of inches during the night, and the alarm hasn't gone off. However, it is getting too cold to do that all night here in northern New England.

Any thoughts on what is going on? Is this a malfunction or am I doing something wrong? It did seem that a couple nights when I'd eaten something that made me pass alot of gas, it happened more.

Yes. Lots of different gasses will set off the propane detector, including hydrogen from charging batteries. A good bean dinner will do the trick!

[floyd]

Maybe its dirty or defective.?



Mine has never gone off because it is still in the blister pack on a shelf in the shop.

[Carl V]

I had a combined CO/LP detector in my Trillium. About a year ago the alarm went off at like 2 am. Boy that sure wakes you up! My dog was freaking out!
On this detector, the CO and LP alarms are different, and it was the CO alarm that sounded. However, there was NO combustion going on anywhere, we were on an electric site and all LP appliances were off, no pilot, nothing. Also my detector was fairly recent, just over 1 year old.
I pressed the button to mute the alarm, I ventilated the camper just in case, and we got back to bed. Some sort of false alarm I figured.

20 minutes later, we'd just fallen back asleep, the damn alarm goes off again...
Again we jump like 2ft above the bed, and now the dog is in total panic!
I mute the alarm again, check again on what could cause this or bring CO in the camper, and there is nothing!!
So I pulled the detector's fuse on the converter, left the trailer windows open just in case, and we tried to get back to sleep. It took a couple hours this time!

Once back home, I tried the detector again. It took some time but eventually the CO alarm sounded again, and eventually it started to flash an error code, indicating that it was faulty and needed to be replaced. That's still on my "to do list"...

And my dog still doesn't want to get in the camper!

[Stephen_Albers]

Check your manual. Most alarm instructions call for a periodic replacement since they go back from shelf life.

[Bing M.]

Originally Posted by Jon Vermilye

Yes. Lots of different gasses will set off the propane detector, including hydrogen from charging batteries. A good bean dinner will do the trick!

So will bad breath! My gas checker will activate from several gasses. Can follow a gas leak to its source. Not sure about BO tho! LOL

[ARVZ]

Carry an accurate CO meter/alarm like this and you can see what the actual level is and be informed at much lower CO concentrations, before you have suffered neurological damage. CO Experts – Carbon Monoxide monitors A lot of private planes carry these, for obvious reasons.


Standard CO alarms do not go off until you are close to dying.

[Lockman]

Had a similar instance happen last year. After just pulling into our camping spot somewhere in Kansas the co/propane detector was going off. I vented all the windows and that did not help. I used the campgrounds emergency phone and called the local Fire Dept. Told them its not an emergency so don't rush, but we will be outside waiting for them. They arrived in 5 min.and determined that it was most likely due to co from the TV exhaust. They made sure everything was OK before they left and the Captain gave me his personal cell phone # to call at any time if it happened again. Better to be safe than sorry. That's their job, so don't feel you would be bothering them, they rather you call them.

[Jann Todd]

Originally Posted by Lisle

My propane was turned off for 2 weeks at the tank, but the alarm went off multiple times during the night one night. And there was no combustion going on in the camper -- no lighter, no candle, etc. This has happened several times. Seems like it happens when the windows are all closed because of cold or noise from other campers, even though I always leave the bathroom window open. When the alarm goes off, I've opened the door and put on the exhaust fan and fanned some fresh air at the alarm. That seems to reset it. Is it possible that it is me passing gas that is setting it off? Methane also detected by the alarm?

Right now, the propane is on and I've been leaving the window over the table open a couple of inches during the night, and the alarm hasn't gone off. However, it is getting too cold to do that all night here in northern New England.

Any thoughts on what is going on? Is this a malfunction or am I doing something wrong? It did seem that a couple nights when I'd eaten something that made me pass alot of gas, it happened more.

It appears you have a 2018 trailer. So it is not old. They do go bad after a few years. There's an expiration date on them. We had the exact same problem and aired the trailer out but like you said a little while later it went off again. If it is under the bed like ours I think the lack of fresh air and the warm air from the converter nearby, hot water heater, etc caused it to go off. We never could remedy the problem so we removed the fuse and got a portable one to hang on the wall above the bed. Yes everything sets them off. Human or animal gas, hair spray, sometimes certain cooking fumes, cat box, animal breathing near it, etc. I think the ones in the Casita's are to sensitive. The remedy is to remove fuse and get a portable one for your safety.

[Jann Todd]

Originally Posted by floyd

Maybe its dirty or defective.?



Mine has never gone off because it is still in the blister pack on a shelf in the shop.

I believe she is talking about the built in one most likely under the bed. Leaving something important like a CO detector on your shelf is not safe. It has an expiration date so you are just letting it go bad for no reason. They are put into RV's for a reason. That reason is safety.

[Glenn Baglo]

That date on the back of the detector is not an expiration date. It is date of manufacture.

The propane detector is good for five years from the date it is hooked up to electricity.

I got this information from the distributor because I was concerned that I was paying for a new detector that was already six months old according to the sticker.

[floyd]

Originally Posted by Jann Todd

I believe she is talking about the built in one most likely under the bed. Leaving something important like a CO detector on your shelf is not safe. It has an expiration date so you are just letting it go bad for no reason. They are put into RV's for a reason. That reason is safety.

True it may go bad, I just accumulated it, so no loss.
I don't have one in my trailer and don't want one.
As much as I love ya, you're not invited to sleep in my trailer so... no worries!


Note to all...
Get one and use it if it helps you sleep better.
(anyone see the irony in that?)

[glens2422]

I had the same problem on a 2017 Liberty deluxe and tried everything mentioned above. Mine was the CO2 alarm...make sure you know which one is going off by the sound. Had to reset constantly at very inconvenient times. Called the manufacturer and was told it was very sensitive so I did not even drink a beer in the Casita for fear the alcohol would set it off. Finally called Casita and they sent me a new alarm and it has not gone off since. FYI you need a rivet tool to install the new alarm. Good luck.

[Glenn Baglo]

You may have a CO alarm or a propane gas alarm, or combo of the two, but I doubt you had a carbon dioxide alarm ( CO2 ) since that's what you exhale.

[glens2422]

Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo

You may have a CO alarm or a propane gas alarm, or combo of the two, but I doubt you had a carbon dioxide alarm ( CO2 ) since that's what you exhale.

Thanks for the correction

[Lisle]

Thanks for your replies. Yes, my Casita is a 2018, so the alarm should not be too old. And yes, it is CO and propane. I don't know if it makes a different sound for one or the other -- no mention of that in the manual. When it has gone off, it is usually in the night. The first 3 nights it happened, the propane tank was turned off and had been off for 2 weeks so I don't think propane set it off. And there was no smell of propane. With the propane heater and hot water heater off, and the refrigerator running on 120, I'm not sure what in the camper would have heated it up. I think I'll call Casita and see if they will send me a new one. It is REALLY not fun to be awakened in the middle of the night with the darn thing going off! And when it happened multiple times in one night!!!! Plus the next morning I had to apologize to the folks camping quite close on both sides of me for waking them up in the night, too.

[Glenn Baglo]

In the meantime, vacuum the face plate and wipe it with a damp cloth, which, according to the instructions for my propane detector, should be done weekly. I do it more like every six month.

[Jann Todd]

Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo

That date on the back of the detector is not an expiration date. It is date of manufacture.

The propane detector is good for five years from the date it is hooked up to electricity.

I got this information from the distributor because I was concerned that I was paying for a new detector that was already six months old according to the sticker.

You are right the newer ones are the manf date. They used to have the expiration date on some of the alarms. Now you have to figure out the month and year they will expire. Trust me they expire and start beeping almost exactly the month and year they are suppose to. Have had 3 of them do that. But at least we know they are doing what they are suppose to.

[gordon2]

Q: If two identical alarms are used, one powered up all the time and the other only powered up 50% of the time (and with no battery backup used), will the alarms signal end of life the same time? How do they know the date? Or do some judge age by the radioactive? Do they have internal clocks running on a separate power source?

[Jann Todd]

Originally Posted by gordon2

Q: If two identical alarms are used, one powered up all the time and the other only powered up 50% of the time (and with no battery backup used), will the alarms signal end of life the same time? How do they know the date? Or do some judge age by the radioactive? Do they have internal clocks running on a separate power source?

They must have an internal clock or some internal factor because in our motorhome it has died at the given time. We keep the power off in it unless we are traveling. So it is only powered up about 10% of the time.