Carbon monoxide detector keeps beeping when furnace turns on

[rubix]

" Homeowners should remember not to install carbon monoxide detectors directly above or beside fuel-burning appliances, as appliances may emit a small amount of carbon monoxide upon start-up. A detector should not be placed within fifteen feet of heating or cooking appliances or in or near very humid areas such as bathrooms."

http://www.homesafe.com/coalert/detect.htm

 

[shekondar]

CO detectors do go bad sometimes. The last time mine went off, it was in the middle of summer and I hadn't used the furnace for several months (and I didn't have anything else that used gas). Bought a new detector with a display - it showed zero (while the old one was still beeping like crazy).

Still, get it checked ASAP.

 

[sandorski]

OP hasn't replied in awhile!

 

[dethman]

Originally posted by: sandorski
OP hasn't replied in awhile!

probably passed out in the living room.

 

[KingofCamelot]

Originally posted by: dethman

Originally posted by: sandorski
OP hasn't replied in awhile!

probably passed out in the living room.

Should have listened to ATOT.

 

[isasir]

Originally posted by: NascarFool

Originally posted by: MX2times

Originally posted by: NascarFool


EDIT
I highly recommend CO detectors. The best on the market is a NightHawk. In my professional opinion, the worst is First Alert.

And how have you come to this conclusion?

Ummm . . . . maybe from being an HVAC tech for 15 years. NATE certified and EPA certified.

What separates the best from the worst? I think I have Nighthawk in the basement and First Alert upstairs in the house. My main concern of course is that both detect CO, which I'd like to think they both would do, which is why I"m curious what makes one better than the other.

 

[AndrewR]

Originally posted by: BD2003
Am I the only one that thinks its funny that the CO alarm is going off, and the first thing he thinks is, "it must be broken"?

What's funny is that I was right. Technician came out later in the morning, and air tested fine. Since the alarm wasn't constant, and the alarms were both acting strangely (though only one was beeping and even then very infrequently), it didn't seem like a serious alert. Also, since I opened a window downstairs for several minutes (friggin' cold!), and it had no effect, there didn't seem to be a problem.

The guy installed a temporary detector in a wall socket until they can fix the other one. These are new buildings, and they've apparently had problems like this before.

 

[sandorski]

Someone's hacked AndrewRs account! He's just getting cold and already people are taking advantage! The shame!! :|

 

[RU482]

Originally posted by: AndrewR
It's only ONE beep when the gas furnace turns on (been monitoring it for 30 min or so), and it doesn't beep again until the furnace shuts off and restarts. The "Move to Fresh Air" light is blinking but very faintly, almost invisibly if the lights are on.

I'm going to call maintenance here in a few minutes, but I'm curious if anyone else has run into a similar problem. One of our neighbors apparently did, but it's a little early to go ask them about it!

We're in a 2-story townhome.

replace the damn battery.
If you're still in doubt, replace the alarm.

Also, make sure to let alot of fresh air in

 

[AndrewR]

Originally posted by: redly1

Originally posted by: AndrewR
It's only ONE beep when the gas furnace turns on (been monitoring it for 30 min or so), and it doesn't beep again until the furnace shuts off and restarts. The "Move to Fresh Air" light is blinking but very faintly, almost invisibly if the lights are on.

I'm going to call maintenance here in a few minutes, but I'm curious if anyone else has run into a similar problem. One of our neighbors apparently did, but it's a little early to go ask them about it!

We're in a 2-story townhome.

replace the damn battery.
If you're still in doubt, replace the alarm.

Also, make sure to let alot of fresh air in

There is no damn battery -- it's hard wired.

 

[RU482]

Originally posted by: AndrewR

Originally posted by: redly1

Originally posted by: AndrewR
It's only ONE beep when the gas furnace turns on (been monitoring it for 30 min or so), and it doesn't beep again until the furnace shuts off and restarts. The "Move to Fresh Air" light is blinking but very faintly, almost invisibly if the lights are on.

I'm going to call maintenance here in a few minutes, but I'm curious if anyone else has run into a similar problem. One of our neighbors apparently did, but it's a little early to go ask them about it!

We're in a 2-story townhome.

replace the damn battery.
If you're still in doubt, replace the alarm.

Also, make sure to let alot of fresh air in

There is no damn battery -- it's hard wired.

Dude, you're already killing brain cells
Sell that fvcking dump

 

[NeoPTLD]

How old is the furnance? If there's a hole in the heat exchanger, the gas from combustion can get into your house.

 

[nissan720]

Watch out for your CO and smoke detectors if they are hard wired, that is what we use in the older university apts. If the power goes out and there is a fire you are just screwed.

The residents of the apts are not real happy when I tell them this but, now we have some newer units with a battery built in.

 

[0roo0roo]

Originally posted by: AnnihilatorX

Originally posted by: NascarFool

Originally posted by: MX2times

Originally posted by: NascarFool


EDIT
I highly recommend CO detectors. The best on the market is a NightHawk. In my professional opinion, the worst is First Alert.

And how have you come to this conclusion?

Ummm . . . . maybe from being an HVAC tech for 15 years. NATE certified and EPA certified.

Nah the best detector is a live hamster. Put it in a cage near the furnace

hows that work?

 

[talyn00]

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo

Originally posted by: AnnihilatorX

Originally posted by: NascarFool

Originally posted by: MX2times

Originally posted by: NascarFool


EDIT
I highly recommend CO detectors. The best on the market is a NightHawk. In my professional opinion, the worst is First Alert.

And how have you come to this conclusion?

Ummm . . . . maybe from being an HVAC tech for 15 years. NATE certified and EPA certified.

Nah the best detector is a live hamster. Put it in a cage near the furnace

hows that work?

Dead hamster = CO leak



or you haven't been feeding it

 

[Mill]

Originally posted by: freesia39
there was a family in CA that was hospitalized for CO poisoning because of their heater that made the news maybe earlier this week or late last week. get it checked ASAP.

Holy run-on sentence, Batman!

 

[KK]

Originally posted by: talyn00

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo

Originally posted by: AnnihilatorX

Originally posted by: NascarFool

Originally posted by: MX2times

Originally posted by: NascarFool


EDIT
I highly recommend CO detectors. The best on the market is a NightHawk. In my professional opinion, the worst is First Alert.

And how have you come to this conclusion?

Ummm . . . . maybe from being an HVAC tech for 15 years. NATE certified and EPA certified.

Nah the best detector is a live hamster. Put it in a cage near the furnace

hows that work?

Dead hamster = CO leak



or you haven't been feeding it

lol, I thought they used canaries for that.

 

[Antisocial Virge]

For $85 an hour and travel time I'll come down to Dayton and use my handy dandy combustion analyzer on it for yea. Or you could buy your own, they run around $1700.

 

[Captante]

Originally posted by: NascarFool

Originally posted by: MX2times

Originally posted by: NascarFool


EDIT
I highly recommend CO detectors. The best on the market is a NightHawk. In my professional opinion, the worst is First Alert.

And how have you come to this conclusion?

Ummm . . . . maybe from being an HVAC tech for 15 years. NATE certified and EPA certified.

Consumer reports agree's with you as well, although First Alert detectors do work ok now, the older ones were pure crap.

 

[AndrewR]

Originally posted by: NeoPTLD
How old is the furnance? If there's a hole in the heat exchanger, the gas from combustion can get into your house.

New construction this year. Cheapest that government money can buy!

 

[hemiram]

About 15 years ago, we had some work done to the A/C during the summer. The blower motor was flat spotted and wouldn't start on it's own, so they came out in September and changed it. It got cold about two weeks later, and I fired up the furnace, not thinking anything could be wrong.

I used to have my computer, stereo, and VCRs all set up in the basement, and I spent a lot of time down there. I'm down there watching a movie and my dogs, all three of them start walking around with their noses up in the air, sniffing like crazy. After an hour or so, I have a bad headache, so I go upstairs.

The next day, I go down there again, and the dogs start sniffing again. After about 15 minutes, I start getting a headache, and feel kind of sick to my stomach. I had just heard about a family that almost died of CO poisoning, and those were the first symptoms they had, so I went back into the furnace room to check it out. I took a match and lit it and checked to see if it was pulling a draft at the top of the burner. Nope, it was dumping the exhaust into the basement! I cut off the furnace and got out of there.

I turned on a bunch of lights, and lit a few candles in the house and it was tolerable that night (a few candles and you really don't need much heat at all unless it's really cold out) and the furnace guy comes the next day, the same one that fixed the A/C. He checked the furnace and it was fine, but the pipe that went from the top of the furnace into the chimney was leaking a little at the joint, and had to be exactly positioned to get a good draft. He remade the pipe, and riveted it together and got a decent, not great draft going. After that, anytime I had the slightest headache I checked it for months. The dogs were the best detectors though. When the heat exchanger cracked a few years later, they started the noses in the air thing again, and we had to buy a new furnace. The CO detector went off about an hour after the dogs started sniffing, and I had already shut off the furnace!

The whole exhaust was redone with the new furnace and A/C, and it pulls a really strong draft now, and the new CO detector I have near the basement stairs has never even peeped. No noses in the air either...

 

[AndrewR]

Originally posted by: hemiram
About 15 years ago, we had some work done to the A/C during the summer. The blower motor was flat spotted and wouldn't start on it's own, so they came out in September and changed it. It got cold about two weeks later, and I fired up the furnace, not thinking anything could be wrong.

I used to have my computer, stereo, and VCRs all set up in the basement, and I spent a lot of time down there. I'm down there watching a movie and my dogs, all three of them start walking around with their noses up in the air, sniffing like crazy. After an hour or so, I have a bad headache, so I go upstairs.

The next day, I go down there again, and the dogs start sniffing again. After about 15 minutes, I start getting a headache, and feel kind of sick to my stomach. I had just heard about a family that almost died of CO poisoning, and those were the first symptoms they had, so I went back into the furnace room to check it out. I took a match and lit it and checked to see if it was pulling a draft at the top of the burner. Nope, it was dumping the exhaust into the basement! I cut off the furnace and got out of there.

I turned on a bunch of lights, and lit a few candles in the house and it was tolerable that night (a few candles and you really don't need much heat at all unless it's really cold out) and the furnace guy comes the next day, the same one that fixed the A/C. He checked the furnace and it was fine, but the pipe that went from the top of the furnace into the chimney was leaking a little at the joint, and had to be exactly positioned to get a good draft. He remade the pipe, and riveted it together and got a decent, not great draft going. After that, anytime I had the slightest headache I checked it for months. The dogs were the best detectors though. When the heat exchanger cracked a few years later, they started the noses in the air thing again, and we had to buy a new furnace. The CO detector went off about an hour after the dogs started sniffing, and I had already shut off the furnace!

The whole exhaust was redone with the new furnace and A/C, and it pulls a really strong draft now, and the new CO detector I have near the basement stairs has never even peeped. No noses in the air either...

Yet another reason to love dogs!

 

[EvilTwin996]

Originally posted by: hemiram
About 15 years ago, we had some work done to the A/C during the summer. The blower motor was flat spotted and wouldn't start on it's own, so they came out in September and changed it. It got cold about two weeks later, and I fired up the furnace, not thinking anything could be wrong.

I used to have my computer, stereo, and VCRs all set up in the basement, and I spent a lot of time down there. I'm down there watching a movie and my dogs, all three of them start walking around with their noses up in the air, sniffing like crazy. After an hour or so, I have a bad headache, so I go upstairs.

The next day, I go down there again, and the dogs start sniffing again. After about 15 minutes, I start getting a headache, and feel kind of sick to my stomach. I had just heard about a family that almost died of CO poisoning, and those were the first symptoms they had, so I went back into the furnace room to check it out. I took a match and lit it and checked to see if it was pulling a draft at the top of the burner. Nope, it was dumping the exhaust into the basement! I cut off the furnace and got out of there.

I turned on a bunch of lights, and lit a few candles in the house and it was tolerable that night (a few candles and you really don't need much heat at all unless it's really cold out) and the furnace guy comes the next day, the same one that fixed the A/C. He checked the furnace and it was fine, but the pipe that went from the top of the furnace into the chimney was leaking a little at the joint, and had to be exactly positioned to get a good draft. He remade the pipe, and riveted it together and got a decent, not great draft going. After that, anytime I had the slightest headache I checked it for months. The dogs were the best detectors though. When the heat exchanger cracked a few years later, they started the noses in the air thing again, and we had to buy a new furnace. The CO detector went off about an hour after the dogs started sniffing, and I had already shut off the furnace!

The whole exhaust was redone with the new furnace and A/C, and it pulls a really strong draft now, and the new CO detector I have near the basement stairs has never even peeped. No noses in the air either...

Wow, great (but SCARY) story! Glad you made it out OK! :Q