Hope you benefit from what I learned AFTER buying…, January 28, 2013

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Elizabeth Mack (Midwest, USA) –

  

Here’s one thing I decided: I want a big red “0” (zero) on my carbon monoxide monitor!

First off, this First Alert CO605 Carbon Monoxide monitor is a good basic no-frills CO monitor by First Alert. As far as brands go, both of the big guys in carbon monoxide monitors, First Alert and Kidde (together they have 3/4 of the CO monitor business), are excellent brands that I’ve had great experiences with for years, in both smoke detectors and carbon monoxide monitors. I also have purchased and used both First Alert and Kidde fire extinguishers.

At first when researching for this review, I was wishing I’d gone for the digital display and purchased the First Alert CO615 Carbon Monoxide Plug-In Alarm with Battery Backup and Digital Display instead. While this is an OK monitor, the CO615 has a digital display, which to me makes a big difference. Should it make a big difference?

DIGITAL DISPLAY OR NOT? I thought that maybe I just wanted a digital display because it is comforting to me to see a nice “0” as the reading when I walk by it, as my other ones show. It turns out it’s not just the peace of mind factor, because when I looked into it further, I discovered that a very low CO concentration can affect heart and lung patients (one source said 1-70ppm and one said 30ppm, but any way you look at it, a digital reading gives you the information you need to decide what to do). In addition to heart and lung patients, even low CO concentrations can also affect seniors, kids, babies, and unborn babies. That’s concerning to me because I found out that many CO detectors don’t trigger an alarm until CO levels are 70 ppm or higher. Some in my home are in the high risk categories for carbon monoxide, so I definitely want the digital display.

As a side note, I especially like the CO monitors that can be plugged into the wall and don’t have to be direct-wired into the house or installed on the wall. The battery backup will make sure that if we have a power outage, the monitor is still operational. I suppose the CO605 by First Alert withOUT the digital display is OK in an area that I don’t regularly see the monitor. But in the main hallways where I also place the monitors, I definitely want to have one with a digital display. First Alert’s CO615 has a digital display and is only $5-7 more. The problem I found with that one is that you have to physically push a button to see the CO level. That’s very inconvenient for me.

I want to just see a big red “0” (zero) number as I go past it. Kidde makes this one Kidde 900-0234 Nighthawk Carbon Monoxide Alarm, Long Life AC Powered with Battery Backup and Digital Display and I decided to order one. It updates every 15 seconds! And lasts 7 years as opposed to the usual 5 years. My parents find this choice very funny, because it’s the only kind they buy and have apparently been telling me this for years. hmmm…..another time I wish I’d listened. 😉 Knowing that they have personally used the Kidde one just mentioned cements my decision to order it.

In my research (yeah, I usually research BEFORE purchasing, and in a safety product like this, I check all of the consumer websites to see what the ratings are, etc. I recommend doing that, as well as going to the manufacturer’s website which has tons of helpful info as well. I hope someone else will benefit from my review with the info I found.) I never would have thought of this, but a good tip that I HAVE to pass on is that you should never plug your CO monitor into an outlet that also is connected to a light switch. As soon as you turn the light off, the battery in the CO monitor will start to drain.

Explosive gas leaks? I had not even heard this term before researching CO monitors. Although I’ve seen monitors that are combination explosive gas leaks and CO monitors, according to the First Alert website, you have to have a separate monitor that detects explosive gas leaks (if you have natural or propane gas in your home). This is confusing to me because I see that there are First Alert combo monitors offered. This definitely requires further investigation.

I could go on and on about the important safety issue of protecting yourself and your loved ones by monitoring for carbon monoxide. But my best advice is to go to the consumer websites and the manufacturer’s websites, and start by educating yourself on what’s important to know about CO detectors. Then make sure you check out the Amazon reviews because there is just no replacement for actual experience with a product in helping you to make your decision. (OK, to be honest, I often…

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