Necessary for CO detectors to be "for marine use"?

[scottgledhill]

Buying a cheap CO detector makes as much sense as buying a cheap parachute!

[sailorboy1]

fools and their money are quickly parted, and anyone who has spent much time on the water knows there are a lot of fools who own boats

[NaClyDog]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

fools and their money are quickly parted, and anyone who has spent much time on the water knows there are a lot of fools who own boats

Buying the cheapest safety equipment not up to the required standards sounds foolish to me.


True, I don't have much sailing experience at the moment but I figured that credo would also transfer over to sailing... maybe I'm wrong?

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by NaClyDog

Buying the cheapest safety equipment not up to the required standards sounds foolish to me.


True, I don't have much sailing experience at the moment but I figured that credo would also transfer over to sailing... maybe I'm wrong?

You've got the right idea. The key is to figure out when the more expensive equipment is functionally better for the intended purpose vs when it's not.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by NaClyDog

Buying the cheapest safety equipment not up to the required standards sounds foolish to me.


True, I don't have much sailing experience at the moment but I figured that credo would also transfer over to sailing... maybe I'm wrong?

"Nothing but the most expensive stuff could possibly be meeting and following the "standard!"

you are going to be a great boater for the marine industry

[BlackHeron]

Not everyone is poor, or so it seems.

[NaClyDog]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

"Nothing but the most expensive stuff could possibly be meeting and following the "standard!"

you are going to be a great boater for the marine industry

I see, you are exactly the type of "sailor" I don't want to take advice from.


Cheers and thanks for that.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by NaClyDog

I see, you are exactly the type of "sailor" I don't want to take advice from.


Cheers and thanks for that.

That's great as I am just a fat man in his parents basement sitting on the sofa.

Save yourself early, place me on your ignore list.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

That's great as I am just a fat man in his parents basement sitting on the sofa.

Save yourself early, place me on your ignore list.

I have to agree with you. There are some things you can't go cheap on but there are some just relabeled as marine. They roll off the same production line and the labels are changed on the spool at the end of the line. A little research might save some money. For those that think marine automatically makes some product better, have at it. Although they are generally lower cost items.

[BlackHeron]

Cruisers Forum never disappoints...

[NaClyDog]

Originally Posted by BlackHeron

Cruisers Forum never disappoints...

Ahh. So this kind of thing is a reoccurring theme here? lol

[BlackHeron]

The best part is "cruisers" who oftentimes don't even own a boat, or have much real-world experience cruising, but are nonetheless "experts" who can gleefully regurgitate all the oft-repeated knowledge that they have read here and elsewhere like a true pro. The echo-chamber virtue-signaling cut&paste basement-surfing couch sailor is alive and well in this forum as Sailorboy (who you may eventually find is in the minority here, being a real cruiser) has aluded to above.

The place never disappoints..

[sailorboy1]

I am sure all CO detectors for sale by any reputable manufacturer have been tested by some type of UL lab. Otherwise they would be hanging in the wind for a lawsuit. Check whatever you buy for a UL type label.

So the question to the thread really is:

Is there a special UL type of lab testing CO detectors to some type of "marine" standard?

I don't know, but know the interior of my boat is much more like the inside of a house than it is to "marine". My 2000 built boat didn't come with CO detectors and I installed one. I started with one of those $100 "marine" ones with a battery and that had to be also connected to 12V system. That thing started just randomly going off after 3 years, so I replaced it with 2 of the long life UL approved $15 ones.

The thing I hate about things like a CO detector, whether it is or isn't alarming is meaningless and proves nothing as to whether it is working.

BTW - as a disclaimer this all occurred in my parents basement in Ohio and the alarms may or maynot have been related to my sofa farting activity at the time

[NaClyDog]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

Is there a special UL type of lab testing CO detectors to some type of "marine" standard?

I don't know

See, you can answer the question nicely instead of belittling people who came here for guidance in doing the right thing and potentially having to spend more money on a marine rated appliance vs. a regular consumer appliance.

[BlackHeron]

I would have had no issue using a UL-listed home CO detector had it not been for the simple fact that it didn't work for us after multiple purchases if different brands had multiple failures all with false alarms, usually in the middle of the night.

I suspect our flooded lead-acid batteries at certain spots of the charging cycle were just too much for them. Had they worked, we would still be using them today. It could be that other boats with other battery chemistries have fewer problems.

The Xintex marine direct-wire unit was indeed expensive at $100. But it does not false alarm for us.

It does only blink dimly for a fraction of a milisecond every three or four minutes. If you blink you will miss it after staring at it all that time and have to wait patiently for yet another few minutes of staring at it. This is a bit ridiculous IMHO.

Also, the test button does work very well but I have yet to figure out exactly what the exact procedure is to cancel the test and shut the darn super-loud and annoying test mode off again.

It is a Steve Jobs "one-button" design and pushing it again seems to have no effect, nor does pushing it and holding, or any combinations of pushing and holding. The manual is a joke and really is not much help here. It says simply to push it again to cancel the test. That is demonstrably pure & unadulterated BS.

Every time we test the unit it is a few hellish minutes of trying everything I can think of to shut it up again including swearing, jumping up and down, and pulling my hair out until I chance upon whatever input it is looking for many minutes later. I am beginning to suspect that nothing turns off this brutal test mode and it is just a matter of time elapsing before it finally stops torturing you with loud annoying chirps that come and go before it is silent again. It is so annoying that I put off testing it as much as I should. I just hope it is still working which is a bit of a stretch since the little up-status blinking light is so shy I almost never see it.

But what so you expect for only $100?