Is Your Smoke / Carbon Monoxide / Gas Detector REALLY Working?

Our Original "Explosive Gas and Carbon Monoxide Alarm"

Do you have one of these or similar “Explosive Gas and CarbonMonoxide Alarms” in your condo, home, or RV? Have you tested it? If it screamswhen tested, does that mean it really works? Will it actually detect propane,butane, or carbon monoxide? 

When we purchased our condo unit in PuertoVallarta, we tested our First Alert Gas/Carbon Monoxide alarm, located underthe kitchen range, by pushing the Test / Silence button. It set off ahorrendous, alarming shriek. We incorrectly assumed that it would detect theseharmful, potentially fatal gases. 

We inadvertently put that Gas (Propane)Detector to a true test. I turned a burner on under a pot of water to cookspaghetti noodles. Then Jon and I went outside with glasses of wine to throwthe ball for Sophie while we waited for the water to boil.

Thirty minuteslater, I went inside to check the pot of water. The flame under the pan hadblown out or had never lit, and the apartment was FULL of propane gas! I couldsmell it, but the Gas Detector had not alerted us. A single spark would havecaused an explosion! 

Please read more about how we improved our condo's safety at: Retirement Before the Age of 59: Is Your Smoke / Carbon Monoxide / Gas Detector REA...