From what I have read most are good for 3 to 5 years.
A quote from this guy's website on CO Alarms. CO alarms have a maximum 5 year life and should be replaced every five years at a minimum.
The paperwork for your detector should tell for sure, or go to the manufacturers site.... which may or may not help. I know (well, I'm pretty sure) that our last van had an Atwood. Their site doesn't say.
....but info in other forums indicate that paperwork for some detectors say they should be replaced after as little as 2 years.
Sounds like UL Standards were revised in '98, and they quit calling 'em "detectors" and started calling them "alarms". Looks like newer "alarms" should be good for 5 years? But older "detectors" often had shorter lifespans?
harleyrider - You asked a good question. Here is what you can do if you have a CO detector in your house or in your RV and it is powered by 110V. Plug in an extension cord, then plug in the detector, and carry it to a tailpipe of a running vehicle. It should alarm. If it is battery operated, merely take it to the tailpipe and again it should alarm. If ever you have a CO problem while sleeping, this is the alarm you would want to hear.
2002 Trail-Lite Model 211-S w/5.7 Chevy (click View Profile)
Gene
Quote: harleyrider - You asked a good question. Here is what you can do if you have a CO detector in your house or in your RV and it is powered by 110V. Plug in an extension cord, then plug in the detector, and carry it to a tailpipe of a running vehicle. It should alarm. If it is battery operated, merely take it to the tailpipe and again it should alarm. If ever you have a CO problem while sleeping, this is the alarm you would want to hear.
No!
Yes, it will alarm. It will also make it permanently non-effective at 15 ppm, where it should alarm. After doing that just 1 time, it will no longer alarm at a level that is still safe to breath.
Bryan
2000 Ford E350 DRW Wagon (14-pass all captains chairs)
V10 w/ Banks PowerPack, Diablo Predator, 4.56 LS, ~350,000 miles
New Desert Fox in the works!
I should mention my warning applies to biomimetic and metal-oxide detectors. The ones with a digital readout are electrochemical (usually, but can be metal oxide). Electrochemical ones proabbly will not be damaged by the exhaust of a well running car, and if it is damaged, teh display should warn that the sensor is no longer any good.
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