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Matt Kline · 03-29-2011, 06:34 PM

OK, I give up. How do you get the carbon monoxide alarm open to change the battery.
Yes, I see the arrow that says which way to twist it, but with all my strength I cannot budge the damned thing.
Am I missing something? And please don't say I'm missing my brain. I'm embarrassed enough to ask this question.
The brand is Costar and I find no help on their web site.

wasagachris · 03-29-2011, 06:37 PM

Sometimes there is a locking pin on the side that must be removed first.

Matt Kline · 03-29-2011, 06:45 PM

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU.
Yes, there was a pin on top that I pried out with a screw driver. How in the world was I supposed to know that?

wasagachris · 03-29-2011, 06:49 PM

ESP maybe or if the owners packet had instructions for the CO detector. LOL.

amm3824 · 04-20-2014, 09:40 AM

I too was going nuts trying to figure out how to remove the Costar. Gave it lots of muscle, to the point at which I thought bad things would happen to my hands if and when it broke apart, so I thought I'd check the forums, and found this thread.

Going back to look for that locking tab. Thanks!

I was getting tired of hearing it beep all winter long. Spring is finally here, just opened up the trailer for the first time in months.

Julie-Bob · 04-29-2014, 02:06 PM

How do we disconnect the CO detector when storeing the trailer, turn off battery sw at door and CO green light stills is on, so the power drain is there?

xrvr · 04-29-2014, 02:09 PM

You must be looking at the lp gas detecter which is hot wired to the battery. The co detector usually has a nine volt battery in it, at least on the older trailers. Jim

Julie-Bob · 04-30-2014, 08:17 AM

Will look hard at it for the battery if installed, the trailer is a 2009. If hard wired to battery. That means that I have to disconnect to stop the drain. However that stops the battery charging while I have it plug in while in storage.

dznf0g · 04-30-2014, 08:21 AM

It is code for the manufacturer for the LP detector to be on anytime batteries are in the unit or it is plugged into shore power. That being said, I moved my power feed wire for the detector to the downstream side of the manual cutoff switch so when the unit is in storage with a 15 watt solar panel, I can keep up with drain and keep the batts topped off.

aftermath · 04-30-2014, 08:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Julie-Bob

Will look hard at it for the battery if installed, the trailer is a 2009. If hard wired to battery. That means that I have to disconnect to stop the drain. However that stops the battery charging while I have it plug in while in storage.

If you have it plugged in while in storage, why are you concerned about a small drain?

I store mine where I can't hook up so I remove the batteries, bring them home and put them in the basement. It is a hassle for sure. I wish I could plug in and nor worry.

Jammer · 04-30-2014, 10:07 AM

I removed the propane detector and placed it in the trash. This has solved the battery drain problem as well as the false alarm problem.

A fact to consider is that, if disconnected from power from a period of weeks or longer, it will take several hours after being reconnected for a propane detector to stop alarming as it takes this long for the dust to burn off the sensing element.

The CO detector is another matter as they make a difference for safety.

Also, perhaps off topic, I have replaced my smoke alarm with a higher quality photoelectric one, and have fewer false alarms while cooking.

xrvr · 04-30-2014, 11:39 AM

You do not need a propane detecter? I prefer to have one! Jim

Jammer · 04-30-2014, 12:19 PM

In the absence of any report ever of an RV burning or exploding while occupied as a result of a propane leak inside the coach, I don't consider them to solve any problem I actually have.

They make sense on boats, where propane explosions are a serious problem.

xrvr · 04-30-2014, 01:14 PM

I would rather be warned if the trailer filled up with propane than wait until I am breathing it all in. Ever get the chance to breathe in any amount of propane!? It is poison. I am not as worried about an explosion as I am about breathing it. Jim

aftermath · 04-30-2014, 01:20 PM

Matt,

I am one of those who use the same logic when it comes to running down the road with your propane on and the fridge running. I don't think I would disconnect the alarm as you have done. When we picked up our 2006 it had been setting for a long time. I did experience the warning going off during the dead of night. After some research I found a solution.

The manual says to test it regularly. In doing so you will burn off the dust on the sensor that you talked about. I did this and have not had any problems since. I am glad you posted this since I haven't run the test this spring. I will do so today.

BeachHouse · 05-01-2014, 07:04 AM

Why do propane detectors and batteries in smoke detectors always and only fail at night? It is like they have special sensors that know when everybody is asleep.

Exactly 7 years after our propane detector was installed, it reached its end of life in the middle of the night. I didn't even know, at the time, that is was installed in an openable compartment. The only way to shut it off that I could find was to cut the wires. It seems like a flashing light for a few weeks before the noise happens would be a nice improvement.

As it happens, we were camping near four large RV supercenters all on one corner (south of Macon GA). None of them had the correct unit to match ours.

MrUKToad · 05-01-2014, 07:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matt Kline

OK, I give up. How do you get the carbon monoxide alarm open to change the battery.
Yes, I see the arrow that says which way to twist it, but with all my strength I cannot budge the damned thing.
Am I missing something? And please don't say I'm missing my brain. I'm embarrassed enough to ask this question.
The brand is Costar and I find no help on their web site.

I have a 2011 Airstream that came with a Costar CO alarm with a 9V battery.

As it happens, I've just had to replace it as the old one died. I was able to get a like for like so I can use the existing mounting ring. The Costar is supposed to have a life of 6 years but my original model only lasted three. Still, they're cheap enough to replace.

Julie-Bob · 05-01-2014, 09:14 AM

I store it in a storage yard that has 110v power available to all, however if one of the other RV's on the power feed that I 'm on, turns on a unit that draws a lot of power in his RV, it trips the breaker, and starts the drain on my batterys. I’m looking out for the possible dead battery and then the replacement cost.
I like the moving of the power feed to the CD to down stream of the battery cut off SW. Then I don't have to ever worry about not turning it back on. Thanks for the great fix.

MrUKToad · 05-01-2014, 10:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrUKToad

I have a 2011 Airstream that came with a Costar CO alarm with a 9V battery.

As it happens, I've just had to replace it as the old one died. I was able to get a like for like so I can use the existing mounting ring. The Costar is supposed to have a life of 6 years but my original model only lasted three. Still, they're cheap enough to replace.

Oops! Quoted the wrong message. In answer to how do you get them open - twist, VERY hard. It will go eventually.