----[Please read http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm before following any advice in this forum.]---- Good morning All: Any of you who think you are being protected by your "CHEMICAL SPOT CO DETECTORS" had best read the attached few paragraphs about them! AND THEN GO TO THE COMPLETE TEXT AND READ THE WHOLE STORY!!! http://www.avweb.com/articles/codetect/ Yours truly: Maynard Smith, N99843, EOC CA(N)Wingleader. ===================================================================== Given the insidious nature of carbon monoxide poisoning and the apparent increase in the CO-related accident rate, it seems astonishing that so few pilots install CO detectors in their airplanes (particularly piston singles, which are by far the most vulnerable). Furthermore, among those pilots who do use CO detectors, almost all seem to be using those adhesive-backed cardboard chemical spot detectors that are commonly sold for about $4.00 apiece under tradenames like "DeadStop" and "HeadsUp" by pilot shops and mail-order outfits like Sporty's, Aircraft Spruce, Chief Aircraft and San-Val Discount.
While I suppose these chemical spot detectors are better than nothing, they leave a great deal to be desired. For one thing, they have a very short useful life, claimed to be 30 to 60 days (and experts tell me that anything more than 30 days is wildly optimistic). Unfortunately, most pilots who use these detectors are very bad about replacing them once a month religiously. C'mon, fess up, you know I'm right! Oh, by the way, if you did replace them once a month, they'd cost you $50 a year! Furthermore, these chemical spots are extremely vulnerable to contamination from all sorts of aromatic cleaners, solvents, and other chemicals that are routinely used in aircraft maintenance. Read the fine print on these things, and you'll learn that the detectors will be inactivated and damaged by the presence of ammonia, chlorine, iodine, bromine, and nitrous gases. It doesn't take much, either. One brand of spot detector actually warns that the ammonia produced by the presence of a cat litter box in the home may render the detector unusable! What's worse, there's not necessarily any warning that the detector has been contaminated. The bottom line is that you might easily be flying around with an inoperative detector (because it's too old or contaminated) and not know it. In some ways, that's worse than not having a detector at all. Finally, the chemical spot detectors are incapable of detecting low levels of CO. If you're lucky, they'll just barely start turning color at 100 PPM, but so slowly and subtly that you'll never notice it. For all practical purposes, you'll get no warning until concentrations rise to the 200 to 400 PPM range (and that assumes a fresh, uncontaminated detector). Even at these levels, it can take so long for the color change to take place that you could easily become impaired before you notice it. As I said, these things are arguably better than nothing, but not by much. ============================================================= Click below for the complete story on CO detectors: http://www.avweb.com/articles/codetect/ __________________________________________________ To unsubscribe from this list please send mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ___________________________________________________________ T O P I C A The Email You Want. http://www.topica.com/t/16 Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Your Favorite Topics
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