Propane Alarm
- Thread starter longhorn1
- Start date
longhorn1
Ouch, that stings!
Well E-Trailer kept pushing the shipping date back. It was supposed to come last week and today they said it would be in June sometime which would put it at the 5 week mark. I contacted Aaron at FWC and they are sending one tomorrow morning. Leaving on a 10 day trip on 5/31 and hoping it comes by next Wednesday. Memorial Day might throw a curve. jdTacoTruck said:
deezlgeezr
Advanced Member
My alarm goes off once a week; I don't even have the propane tanks attached to the coupler yet! Camper is brand new, never fired the stove, H2O heater or anything! I just press the button, system resets. I'm thinking that the combination of heat and lack of air movement (camper on dolly, closed up) has something to do with it.
I have basically the same problem, but it happens to me shortly after I plug into shore power. It may have less to do with hydrogen and more to do with voltage, that’s my thought at least. Most sensors for micro controllers use resistance to signal what they’re sensing to the micro controller which then uses the change in voltage to deduce meaning. If the overall system voltage increases and the detector unit’s voltage regulator is not working properly, I could see how that could impact false positives.n2Jeepin said:
Resets don’t seem to do much for me, I typically have to pull the fuse, not ideal. So I’m in the market for a solution.
EnviroProf
Advanced Member
My propane alarm has been going of randomly for a few days now. It has been when it warms up in the afternoon. I talked to Aaron at FWC and he said that it might be outgassing from the flooring used in the camper when they are new. I have a 2017. Hopefully it will stop over time. I haven't had any alerts during the night.
My propane alarm goes off every week concurrently with the IOTA charge controller shifting from float (13.5 V) to bulk (14.5V). Irritating, Same alarm occurs when my solar charger shifts from float to bulk. I suspect that is the reason for many of our false alarms.
Advmoto18
Senior Member
I don't think I could get a wink of sleep at night with an alarm randomly going off all times during the day but silent at night.
These devises are your first and only line of defense against the insidious poisonous gases that can and will kill you (and loved ones) while you sleep.
Please don't speculate, resolve the problem. A properly functioning sensor should be quiet at all times unless there is a REAL problem.
If you're using non-sealed batteries that vent into the camper or its compartment, you're using the wrong batteries IMHO. But, a sealed AGM battery still needs proper venting. There's a Catch 22!
These devises are your first and only line of defense against the insidious poisonous gases that can and will kill you (and loved ones) while you sleep.
Please don't speculate, resolve the problem. A properly functioning sensor should be quiet at all times unless there is a REAL problem.
If you're using non-sealed batteries that vent into the camper or its compartment, you're using the wrong batteries IMHO. But, a sealed AGM battery still needs proper venting. There's a Catch 22!
longhorn1
Ouch, that stings!
FWC shipped a new one. Unfortunately it was the 31011model which was what my 2014 Grandby had. Surprised they didn't have the newer 31012 model. Not a big deal. I used connectors. I had planned to test each of the two red wires, but when I connected the connectors I couldn't get them apart. Shout out to FWC for getting the unit out the door.
From My reading the paperwork that came with my Hawk, the 31012 is not newer its just the consumer Packaged item where the 31011 is an OEM package. I may have been premature in thinking its my Batteries when charging hard, causing Hydrogen. I can say this. I have removed the propane cylinders from my 2017 Front Dinette Hawk and when my camper is sitting in 90 degrees Plus Heat, all closed up.. the alarm will sound almost on queue. Maybe its the floor sealant as mentioned above.longhorn1 said:
EnviroProf
Advanced Member
Update: Since posting this the propane alarm got worse. It went off on a cloudy cool day with the camper door wide open. Wouldn't turn off. I pulled both propane tanks and set them about 60 feet away from the camper. The propane alarm would not silence. I called Aaron and he sent me a replacement unit. Been in a few days now with no alarms. Hope I'm good to go now.EnviroProf said:
I've been having the same issues with false alarms, and today I installed the "updated" model (31012). Several hours later it started beeping! Not sure what to do- It's indicating CO, but sometimes the old one would indicate propane. I'm starting to think it might be my batteries venting (even though they are AGM). I have the front dinette and the alarm is mounted into the same cabinet as the batteries.
'16 Hawk AGMs [2] are vented to the outside and the lid covering the battery box has a neoprene seal, a tight seal...yes, my alarm will strike without warning, usually around 0220 hrs...so as I mentioned, a swath of duct tape across the sensor opening stopped all that nonsense...dharte said:
Risk management I understand...quaking in fear of "what if" I don't; just apply common sense...so we vent our interior except when we are moving from location to location...Hawk has two Fantastic fan vents, 6 windows and a door...plenty of ventilation..
in the bundle of manuals FWC gave me the manual for the Propane sensor has a little blurb about part numbers at the bottom it states that the 31012 is the Consumer packaged version and 31011 is the OEM packaged part. I don't think there is anything updated about the 31012dharte said:
Any suggestions on how to better vent the batteries, or isolate the alarm, since it is mounted in the battery cabinet? I'm curious if other people having this issue also have the front dinette model.... I could move the alarm but don't want to cut a big hole in another cabinet only to still have the same problem.
challinger
Member
I was having the same problem with my 2017 front dinette. It came with 2 exide agms. The alarm would only go off when the batteries were being charged and reached a voltage of 14.4 either with the zamp controller or the iota. Both batterie went bad in March and exide replaced them. I have since replaced the Zamp controller with a Victron 100/30 smart solar and also switched to two 6 volt Lifeline batteries. The alarm has not gone off since. I think the exide batteries were venting and causing the alarm to go off.
Yeah Victron!challinger said:
And are you saying your batteries went dead in less than a year? Was that within the warranty period?
challinger
Member
Yes, they replaced them without asking any questions!
I suspect my Zamp controller is possibly overcharging my dual 6v's because it will indicate 3/4 charge when the Victron monitor says 100%. Eventually it switches to "full" during the day but I think it's staying on absorption charge too long. Usually, but not always, this is when the alarm goes off.
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