First Alert Carbon Monoxide Alarm

by First Alert

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• ASIN: B000XJC22C
• Average Customer Review: 1.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #60,803 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: January 5, 2008

Product Description

Keep your family safe from the silent killer. This carbon monoxide alarm has plug in power with digital display and battery back up for those power outages. Additional features are: Silence/Test Button - Silence or test alarm functions. Alarm Action Chart - Instruction for what to do if alarm sounds. Low Battery Warning. Covers only one outlet. Digital Display - Stores, recalls, and displays highest lovel of CO detected until you clear it. Loud 85-Decibel Alarm.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Product is unreliable, July 24, 2010

By 

D. Crites-Moore - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: First Alert Carbon Monoxide Alarm (Electronics)

First purchase stopped working, perhaps due to thunder and lightning causing an electrical spike. Called First Alert, sent me a 2nd new one no questions asked. Good. 2nd new one has now failed, does not work. Out of box, plugged into 120V AC outlet, worked first time. 2 days later had to unplug it. When I replugged it in, it failed. This product is way too sensitive to voltage spikes. I will call First Alert to receive a replacement.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars just a decoration, May 20, 2011

By 

E. Lee - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: First Alert Carbon Monoxide Alarm (Electronics)

I had purchased this co detector because safety comes to mind when you have children in the house. So I bought this device for a local wholesaler, a couple of years ago and it seemed to work because the light and test mode was in working and functioning order. Well since then I had changed the battery a couple of times and tested it with no problems. Early this spring our power vent broke from the water heater so our local electrical company fixed it. Our children started to cough more frequently and sometime felt dizzy when they went to the basement. So nobody was to go to the basement and I checked to see if the carbon monoxide detector was working and apparently the machine showed no traces of carbon monoxide but I felt dizzy after staying downstair for 20 minutes. This junk wasn't working the whole time even after retesting and resetting with new batteries. I am ventilating the basement. I called the local utility company to complain. I called first alert company but it was after hours on friday. I will call to complain first thing Monday. Seriously IRATE.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Units function correctly - but there is one annoying 'feature', April 19, 2011

By 

NLee the Engineer (Nashua, NH) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 10 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: First Alert Carbon Monoxide Alarm (Electronics)

I purchased two of the First Alert Carbon Monoxide Alarm (CO614B) from a major warehouse club about 5 years ago. The two units have been in service since then without problems. But of course, as with most safety devices, you can never tell whether they actually work unless something BAD happened. So they are used for the peace-of-mind more than anything else. For that purpose, I'm satisfied.

There is, however, one annoying 'feature' with this product. Every once in a while (something like six months), one of the two units may start to 'chirp' and the digital display shows 'bAt'. According to the product manual, that means the backup battery is low and needs to be replaced. At first I followed the instructions and replaced the 9V battery. But after this happened a few times, I got suspicious. So I tested the battery and found it to be still fresh (battery voltage over 9V). I then re-inserted the same battery into the unit, and ran TEST to make sure the unit is functioning correctly. Doing so seems to keep the unit happy for the next six months to a year, but then the 'chirp' returns and I have to repeat this process again.

It appears to me that the 'Low Battery' signal is actually triggered by a timer, rather than the actual battery status. Maybe this 'feature' is designed to make sure the user tests the battery at least once a year. But since most average users have no way to check the status of their batteries, they are just going to throw away perfectly good 9V batteries because of this 'feature'.

The power consumption of each unit, as reported by my Kill A Watt Electricity Usage Monitor, is less than 1 watt (the display actually shows '0 Watt'). This is much lower than the power rating printed on the back of the unit, which says 0.09A at 110V (10W).

As to the digital display featured on this product, it turns out to be less useful than I have hoped. The display can only show carbon monoxide concentration in discrete steps such as 0/30/70/150 ppm (parts per million). It does NOT register any level lower than 30 ppm. So every time I run the 'Memory' function (which is supposed to remember the last highest level detected), all I can see is '0'. On second thought, maybe I should be thankful that it never show anything lower than 30. Otherwise if I see a reading of '5', should I start to panic just a little?

Another important point to note: This product is covered by a limited 7-year warranty, so remember to keep your original receipt. Out of the two units I purchased initially, one started to 'chirp' for no reasons after just a few weeks. Luckily I was able to have it replaced at the store, and not have to deal with warranty service.