Thread: Carbon monoxide tester

I am looking for a good quality carbon monoxide tester. Does anyone have any recommendations on what I should look for?

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Good morning, Stephen:

From the “For what it’s worth department,� on the technical side, I suggest you find a CO monitor with the following attributes:

1) Should be capable of field calibration
2) Should have an adjustable “zero�
3) Should have a response time of less than one second
4) Should have a resolution of 0.5 ppm
5) Should have a sensitivity of at least 0.5 ppm

Cheers!
CaoimhÃ*n P. Connell
Forensic Industrial Hygienist
Forensic Industrial Hygiene

(The opinions expressed here are exclusively my personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect my professional opinion, opinion of my employer, agency, peers, or professional affiliates. The above post is for information only and does not reflect professional advice and is not intended to supercede the professional advice of others.)

AMDG

Thanks, What brand do you use?

Good morning, Stephen:

I have a TSI Q-Trak (see below)

TSI Incorporated - models - 7565

I have used TSI products for years (I also have the TSI P-Trak), and other TSI instruments. I have been very pleased with performance, and reliability.

Cheers!
CaoimhÃ*n P. Connell
Forensic Industrial Hygienist
Forensic Industrial Hygiene

(The opinions expressed here are exclusively my personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect my professional opinion, opinion of my employer, agency, peers, or professional affiliates. The above post is for information only and does not reflect professional advice and is not intended to supercede the professional advice of others.)

AMDG

Stephen, the first question would be what do you plan on using the CO tester for?

A combustion analyzer is going to be your best bet when it comes to CO testing equipment.
There are more parameters besides CO alone that need to be looked at if you are planning on testing equipment.

If you are going to monitor the ambient air only you will need to look at the sensitivity of the monitor you look at purchasing.
Don't go off of cost alone.

I just want to be able to test for any co leaks immediately around the furnace and water heater. Also, is there a combination detector that will allow for testing of both CO and natural gas?

The only way to verify if an appliance is operating safely is to test the undiluted flue gases before the draft hood.

If CO is leaking from an appliance you are going to need the tools to be able to determine how this is happening.

I would recommend attending a CO/Combustion class put on by the National Comfort Institute www.nationalcomfortinstitute.com then decide on your choice of instrument once you have been through the training.

Good luck