CO Detector....Guaranteed to Fail
CO Detector....Guaranteed to Fail
I found this on another site...
What?s going on here? The answer is that carbon monoxide detectors do indeed have a limited life. Inside many detectors is an electro-chemical cell that reacts in the presence of carbon monoxide. It tends to be very accurate. But, over time, the chemical can degrade and its performance is diminished. Accordingly, a national safety standard for carbon monoxide detectors published by Underwriters Laboratories (UL) requires that manufacturers build in a warning system to alert consumers that the unit is no longer functioning properly.
8.1 The unit (including the sensor) shall have a specified lifetime of at least 3 years from the date of manufacture, or from the date the unit is placed into service.
38.1.6 The unit shall indicate end-of-life, based on the manufacturer?s specified lifetime, with an end-of-life signal (see 3.11). This signal shall be triggered either by an internal timer or by a self-diagnostic test(s).
3.11 END-OF-LIFE SIGNAL ? An audible signal, differing from the alarm signal, intended to indicate that the device has reached the end of its useful life and should be replaced. ? The end-of-life signal shall repeat once every 30 ? 60 seconds ?10 percent. ? UL 2034, Standard for Single and Multiple Station Carbon Monoxide Alarms.
So, no matter what brand of carbon monoxide detector you buy, the unit will automatically commit suicide at the end of its useful life.