Testing Your Monitor

Unlike the UL-2034 Listed C  O alarms with their mandatory built-in delays of up to four hours, the IDR [ Instant Detection & Response ] Technology in C  O - Experts permits the consumer to quickly and easily verify the response of the C  O - Experts Low Level C  O "Health" Monitor to the presence of carbon monoxide.

The best way to test your Monitor is to purchase the "Certified Test Gas" available from C  O - Experts, since it is a known PPM of C  O that will also give you a pretty good "Accuracy" test too; however, if you simply want to verify that your Monitor is reacting to exposure to Carbon Monoxide, you can do one of the following. 

Please read the entire text below, and then do as explained

Regardless of which "Test" method you choose, make sure the Monitor is activated by pushing the "Test Button". Turn off  fans or shield from all air currents that will blow the smoke away from the Monitor during testing procedure. The smoke must move freely into the housing of the Monitor.

1. If there is a cigarette smoker in the home, take a lighted cigarette, and hold your Monitor in an inverted position, as if it were hanging on the ceiling.
2. Hold the smoldering cigarette under the center of the Monitor for 30 to 45 seconds, then place it face down on a table, desk or other flat surface.
3. If the first attempt fails, repeat the procedure extending the period of smoke exposure by 30 seconds.

1. If a cigarette is not available, take a paper "book match", while holding the Monitor in an inverted position, as if it were mounted on the ceiling.  Turn off  fans or shield from all air currents that will blow the smoke away from the Monitor during testing procedure. The smoke must move freely into the housing of the Monitor.

2. Light a match and let it burn about half way, blow the flame out and IMMEDIATELY hold the smoldering match as close as you can under the lower right side of the upper set of holes in the front face of the Monitor for 30 to 45 seconds.

3. Then put the Monitor face down on a table, desk or other flat surface.

4. If the first attempt fails, repeat the procedure extending the period of smoke exposure by 30 seconds.

Since my Monitor is designed to take a "Reading" every three seconds, for 5 readings, then averages these 5 Readings and displays this average.

The display actually changes are slightly over a minute apart, AFTER the first CO is displayed.  There is an additional delay in the FIRST reading because of the time required to displace the original "Clean Air" that was trapped in the "Housing",  thereby permitting the CO to get inside the Sensor.

Always remember that NO detector / alarm in the World, mine or anyone else's, can go into an "Alarm Mode" until whatever it is designed to detect actually gets into the detector.        Therefore, the need for the proper number and the placement of detectors / alarms is critical for maximum protection.  

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Where Should C  O alarms / Monitors be Installed ?

The proper place to install any C  O alarm with a digital display, is "Head High" or slightly higher on an INSIDE WALL. If only one C  O alarm per level of the home is installed, it should be in the hallway outside the bedrooms. If only one bedroom in the house is used, or if someone sleeping in that bedroom has a hearing problem, the C  O Monitor / alarm can be installed INSIDE THE OCCUPIED BEDROOM, on an INSIDE WALL, head high of slightly higher where the display can be seen clearly, and the test button easily reached.

IF the C  O alarm does NOT have a display, and is "Hardwired", the "Best" place to install is on the ceiling, at lease two feet away from any wall or corner. If the unit does not come with a "Lifetime Lithium Battery", I do not recommend a ceiling mounting because this presents a potential problem during battery replacement, especially for the Elderly.

[I have a personal story about my Father, at age 94, standing on a kitchen chair, to change a battery in a smoke detector that someone else had previously installed for him, on the ceiling of his bedroom. Yes, I DID let him know that it was an Extremely Foolish thing for him to be doing at his age.]

I personally believe that every home should have a Photoelectric Smoke detector in EVERY room except the bathrooms.

C  O Monitors should be installed on every level in the hallway outside the bedrooms, plus one within 15 feet of ANY possible C  O producing appliance or back draft entry point back into the home.