In alt.home.repair, on Sun, 01 Jan 2017 12:24:45 -0800, mike
wrote:


I see no evidence that it's a malfunctioning alarm.
Statistically, it's more likely to be smoke or CO just below the
threshold that spikes for some reason.etc.....

My CO detector went off once. I know it was the detector because the
reading was off scale and the other detectors read zero. I did not
put it in a bucket of water and go back to sleep without investigating.

Me too. I thought it sort of silly when my brother gave me a CO
detector, but it went off one night. Somehow I either knew or suspected
it was the oil furnace. I turned off the heat and opened the window,
and I couldn't decide when to close the window. It was gettting colder
in my bedroom and with no furnace, there woudl be nothing to reverse
that. I guess I waited a half-hour.

Later the repairman took apart the flue and the six-inch pipe had 2" of
soot lining it, leaving just a 2" diameter path for exhaust gases. He
vacuumed it out. This might have been the time I thought I could
adjust the air intake for the furnace. But it took weeks or months for
the flue to get so clogged that the alarm went off. I never had any
symptoms, headache, etc. before then. I might have had a little
headache that night, I can't remember.

I bet that if you asked nicely, the fire department would come over
and do some basic testing with calibrated equipment for free.

Sure, at 3AM when an alarm is malfunctioning and there is no fire,
call the fire dept!3AM.

That's not what I recommended. Should have been done the first time it
went off.
BUT, I expect that they would at least give you advice at 3AM.

In almost all places, if you call the fire department at 3AM with a
question like this, they will show up with at least 4 men and one
engine. You probably have to beg them not to come and if you've
already said the smoke/CO detector is sounding, I think they'll come
anyhow.

Does it make a different sound for CO and smoke? When people are
alarmed, will they remember which sound is which? Does it display
something to indicate which it is, and if the detector is near the
ceiling, can someone see what it displays? My detectors are 2
separate things so it's clear which is going off, but I'd be willing to
buy a combo if I was sure these questions would not be a p[roblem.


Avoiding false alarms is a high priority for detector vendors.
Yes, they can break, but it's very unlikely. If it goes off, get out!

Yes, run like a little girl!

EXACTLY! If you don't know what you're doing, get the hell out.
Run down to the store ASAP and get a new one. Your old one is either
useless or you will have evidence that it was a good idea to get out.

Graveyards are full of people who thought they were really smart.