How much carbon monoxide comes out of a car's exhaust?

carbon monoxide detectors ppm image

A87472

I think my new Fluke CO-220 carbon monoxide detector is broken. I put it at the exhast of my 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee and it only reported 10-15 PPM. That's impossiblly low, right?

Answer
I don't know what the exact numbers would be, but if the emissions system is working properly, I guess that would probably be correct. You need a carbon dioxide detector.

Is there a certain threshold before a carbon monoxide alarm will sound?

sarah

I've noticed my kittie carbon monoxide detector register several times but no alarm ever sounded, is this normal. first time it was 35. i figured the levels might be too low. today it registered over 100 and it never sounded off an alarm. There is no 1800 number i can call them to ask.

Answer
The alarm points on carbon monoxide detectors are not a simple alarm level (as in smoke detectors) but are a concentration-time function. At lower concentrations (eg 100 parts per million) the detector will not sound an alarm for many tens of minutes. At 400 parts per million (PPM), the alarm will sound within a few minutes. This concentration-time function is intended to mimic the uptake of carbon monoxide in the body while also preventing false alarms due to relatively common sources of carbon monoxide such as cigarette smoke.

From WIKI

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