Propane Alarm

John_N_Terry · 05-04-2011, 06:35 AM

I have an issue with my propane alarm in our 1996 Winnebago Brave. It goes off sometimes and the red LED for "Low Voltage" is lit. I have had issues with this off and on for about a year now. I thought for a while that it was due to a failing converter which was not charging the batteries properly, but I've recently replaced the converter and the batteries are showing good charge. Yet last night it started sounding again until i gave up and pulled the fuse.

I've read that they should be replaced after 5 years, and it is likely the the original, so I plan on replacing it now. My question is, do these things just start beeping like that for no reason when they need to be replaced or might I have a problem elsewhere?

wkdwitch · 05-04-2011, 07:11 AM

I would say yes, they do not age well. We had a similar situation when ours was erratc so we replaced it and no more alarms. It was about 6-7 years old. Small price for peace of mind.

John_N_Terry · 05-04-2011, 07:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wkdwitch

I would say yes, they do not age well. We had a similar situation when ours was erratc so we replaced it and no more alarms. It was about 6-7 years old. Small price for peace of mind.

I hear ya there! I didn't like pulling the fuse, but we had to get some sleep. If it had been a leak type situation, we would've dealt with it rather than pull the fuse. I'll be ordering a replacement today!

Petro · 05-04-2011, 07:26 AM

I have had to replace 2 over the years. It seems like they always went goofy at night when we were trying to sleep.

DM

jimmccreary · 05-04-2011, 07:55 AM

same thing happened to us. It has been going off in the midddle of the night. After thorough checking (with handheld propane detector), no propane leak was found. The alarm was original in our 04 Journey.
I bought a different brand alarm (at camping world) and moved the alarm 3ft from the bottom of the refrigerator to the bathroom area to reduce the alarm being set off by food cooking in the kitchen. I also added a switch in series so that I could disable it if needed. The new detector does not go off at night like the old one.

jim & debbie, 04 Journey 34H

John_N_Terry · 05-05-2011, 12:26 AM

Funny how they decide to start acting up at night...jimmccreary, what kind did you go with?

jimmccreary · 05-05-2011, 12:47 AM

I went with the "safe T alert" detector because it consumed only 46mA ( I definitely wanted a low current detector) and is flush mounted to the wall. I believe it was about $75.

Safe-T-Alert Alarms - Product - Camping World

jim & debbie, 04 Journey 34H

wa8yxm · 05-05-2011, 08:52 AM

Though we call them "Propane detectors" they are properly called "Explosive Gas" Detectors.. They detect any flammable or explosive gas including but not limited to Propane, Butane, Methane, Alcohol vapors, Gasoline vapors, Natural Gas vapors and much more.. If it can go BOOM, and it's a gas (Hydrogen?) It will detect it.

Alas, it also detects high water and low batteries. though the low-batt alarm is different.

A bad electrical connection can be sensed as "low bat" measure voltage AT THE DEVICE.

Stogie · 05-05-2011, 11:04 AM

Mine likes to go off when I spray Sun Screen.
And yes they go bad and need to be replaced.

John_N_Terry · 05-06-2011, 04:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jimmccreary

I went with the "safe T alert" detector because it consumed only 46mA ( I definitely wanted a low current detector) and is flush mounted to the wall. I believe it was about $75.

Safe-T-Alert Alarms - Product - Camping World

jim & debbie, 04 Journey 34H

Thanks. I may try one of these.