Do you have one of these or similar “Explosive Gas and Carbon Monoxide Alarms” in your condo, home, or RV? Have you tested it? If it screams when tested, does that mean it really works? Will it actually detect propane, butane, or carbon monoxide?
When we purchased our condo unit in Puerto Vallarta, we tested our First Alert Gas/Carbon Monoxide alarm, located under the kitchen range, by pushing the Test / Silence button. It set off a horrendous, alarming shriek. We incorrectly assumed that it would detect these harmful, potentially fatal gases.
We inadvertently put that Gas (Propane) Detector to a true test. I turned a burner on under a pot of water to cook spaghetti noodles. Then Jon and I went outside with glasses of wine to throw the ball for Sophie while we waited for the water to boil.
Thirty minutes
later, I went inside to check the pot of water. The flame under the pan had
blown out or had never lit, and the apartment was FULL of propane gas! I could
smell it, but the Gas Detector had not alerted us. A single spark would have
caused an explosion!
