I searched high and low on the internet for help with an issue with our carbon monoxide alarm going off with no clear help available.
Pity I didn't find this discussion sooner! Seems to be a similar story.
Hopefully our own story may help someone. . .
We recently received a phone call from a site warden advising that the alarm in our caravan was going off.
On returning to the site we discovered it was the carbon monoxide alarm. I replaced the batteries which stopped the alarm.
With the benefit of hindsight I realised as we had been out all day we had opened the door and windows which of course ventilated the caravan.
At 3 in the morning the alarm sounded again. This was getting increasingly worrying.
I opened doors and windows, and removed the gas cylinder from the locker.
The next morning I decided to replace the alarm with a new one. Although more expensive I chose one with a digital readout.
We had another distrurbed night - the alarm sounded and indicated a reading of 54 (parts per million). Opening doors and windows reduced this to zero, but when the door and most windows were closed, this rose again to 30.
I could find nothing on the interenet to indicate where we might find a reason for this situation, and we were struggling to find an engineer to help us out
at short notice. Others on the site were aware of the issue, and suggested things we had already tried or considered. There were no nearby source of vehicle fumes, or apparent fumes from any other combustible source.
Almost as a last resort before finding a hotel until we could get an engineer, I removed the external ventilation panels of the fridge to check for dust or fluff. It was clean.
Then I decided to disconnect the electric hook up, to ensure no 240 volt appliance, or the cable itself, might be causing an issue.
I found the problem! Opening the battery compartment there was a strong smell, and the leisure battery itself very hot.
The battery condition indicator showed it needed replacing. This we did immediately - problem solved. But not without some concern during and after. Not only from a carbon monoxide risk, but also from the potential of the battery catching fire!
If you have a carbon monoxide alarm sounding like we did, check the battery - it may not be your issue - but don't ignore the alarm.
Ours went off while we were away earlier this year. As it happens, we had planned to take it for a service after our weekend away. It was a damaged pipe from the gas bottle.
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Rhian, wife, mother to 4 daughters, and now a caravan owner
2017
Riverside Caravan Park, Aberystwyth
Au Lac de Biscarrosse
2016
Stowfords, Devon
Trefalun Park, Tenby
Le Logis Du Brueil
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: carbon monoxide detector went off!!
