Why does my carbon monoxide alarm keep going off?

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LoveuEndle

Everytime my mother cooks using the stove, the carbon monoxide detector goes off. It seems like every sunday when she cooks for a long period of time faithfully the detector goes off like an hour after the stove has been shut off. I take it down remove the battery and open the windows. about 20 minutes later i put it back up....no alarm goes off. the battery is new so that shouldnt be an issue. The only thing i am fearing is a possible gas leak. What should i do?

Answer
It could be a couple of things.
How old is the detector? They have a sensor that only lasts so long and they should be replaced every 5 years.
If your mother is cooking with gas is there an exhaust fan that removes the air to the outside of the house? If not it could be caused by the recirculation of the combustion air back into the flames.
A good flame should also be a light blue, if it is a lazy yellow flame then there isn't enough primary air (air that is mixed with the gas before combustion) if that is the case then you should ask someone who knows how to adjust it and they should also check for soot which may be evidence of flame impingement.
Gas, like electricity, it is safe if done properly but can be very dangerous if done wrong and Carbon monoxide is very dangerous and any warnings should not be ignored.

Can carbon monoxide get into the passenger cabin of your car?

Wolverine2

Hi:

I ask this question obviously because I tend to be a bit paranoid about things.

There is nothing wrong with my car as it is only about 4 1/2 years old and has slightly less than 14K miles on it and is in mint condition and practically as good as new and I take good care of it. It is a 2009 Ford Escape Limited with a 3.0L V6 engine.

Now the obvious question is, besides obviously doing something stupid such as sitting in your car with the engine running in an enclosed space or the exhausts pipe being snow plow clogged and such, is it possible for dangerous levels of carbon monoxide to leak into the passenger cabin?

I have heard the only possible other way that could happen is if there was a leak in the exhaust system even when in an open area driving or at idle? Is this true.

And if there was a leak in the exhaust system, is it likely that dangerous levels of carbin monoxide would build up in the cabin so fast that it would kill you before you even noticed anything was wrong in the middle of driving on the road?

And if there was a leak in the exhaust system, would your car tell you something was wrong right away or would you notice something was not right such as poor acceleration or something smelling or such. Or would a check engine light come or some other service type light come on?

I am not asking this question because I have noticed anything wrong with my car. In fact once again my car is in perfect shape, but this is a general question about any car, whether modern or older in the what if an exhaust leak happens?

I ask because why is there such a big deal about putting carbon monoxide detectors in homes of all types, but not of having one in your car?

I mean if there was improper or blocked ventilation on your gas furnace or incomplete flame burning, it would send carbon monoxide right into your house and make you sick or even kill you which would set off a carbon monoxide alarm so you knew to get out of there.

But a a leak in your exhaust system on your car, the carbon monoxide could come right into the passenger cabbin and you may not even know it as it is by itself odorless and it could kill you.

Or are there built in alarms in new cars? Or if not, is it a different reason in cars than homes? Such as maybe your car would act up in plenty of other ways before it would even be possible for enough dangerous levels of CO to build up in the cabin after an exhaust leak that you would know it needs to be fixed right away?


So the moral of the story is, can an exhaust leak go unnoticed and send carbon monoxide into the cabin and kill you. Is it something to be worried about and should the exhaust system be inspected ever year just in case. Or should I get a CO alarm and put it in my car?

Answer
Follow another car in traffic and you are breathing in his carbon monoxide.

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