Not impressed with Mr Heater (Set off CO detector)

belfert · December 26, 2009, 05:43:07 PM

I finally took my Mr Heater Big Buddy out of the box today and got it running in the bus this morning. This evening when I went back out to the bus the CO detector was alarming! Not good.

I think this thing is going back to the store and I'll wait until spring to work on the bus again. I really can't afford to heat with electricity as two 1,500 watt heaters cost about $7 every 24 hours and they don't really heat it up much.

bobofthenorth · December 26, 2009, 06:01:24 PM

That seems a better alternative than getting dead from CO poisoning. No matter how much some people sing the praises of the hereafter I've never heard any suggestion that they have busses there.

cody · December 26, 2009, 06:03:23 PM

They will set off the detectors everytime they are new, the oil coating has to burn off from the factory.

buswarrior · December 26, 2009, 07:23:44 PM

Yes, I'm with cody, do give it another try, run the crap out of it outdoors, and then put it in the bus again.

Fails again, shoot it.

happy coaching!
buswarrior

cody · December 26, 2009, 07:40:49 PM

Or better yet if it fails again wrap it up in a coach and send it my way lol. But seriously, mine did the same thing and so did the ventless heater, they come with like an oil film sprayed on them to prevent corrosion while they are sitting in a poor cold warehouse waiting for a family to adopt the poor, poor homeless things, then they get so excited when you first fire them up they burn off all that stuff just so they can please you and make you all warm and happy, they don't mean to be stinky, it's just another of those brainfarts from one of those engineers lol.

Gary '79 5C · December 27, 2009, 02:10:54 AM

Quote from: bobofthenorth on December 26, 2009, 06:01:24 PM
No matter how much some people sing the praises of the hereafter I've never heard any suggestion that they have busses there.

I do believe & hope there are buses, but the best is that diesel prices are much, much lower......

Len Silva · December 27, 2009, 06:53:29 AM

Of course there are buses! How else could they call it heaven? Free diesel, no speed limits, gorgeous waterfront campsites at every exit, never any need for heat or air conditioning, and leak free Detroits.

belfert · December 27, 2009, 07:04:37 AM

Ok, I'll give it another try before I take it back to Northern Tool.

Van · December 27, 2009, 07:41:44 AM

And don't forget to open a window. We love ours so much we will have to get a second one,it did stink a little when first fired up.

Hartley · December 27, 2009, 09:06:45 AM

I have a larger one that really heats things up.

I did have a series of alarms however both from the CO and the smoke detectors..

Hmmm..

Then I discovered what caused it.

One of our cats with a large fluffy tail ran past me with his tail smoking...

Then later anoth one decided to sit on top of the heater... And of course while
searching for an itch.. Let her tail dangle down in front.... Needless to say she
figured that out quickly.

The smells can be an indicator... So we keep water squirt bottles handy when
the heater is on high....

So much for adventures...

belfert · December 27, 2009, 09:09:16 AM

Okay, so I went out to the bus to try the heater again. The first thing I noticed (from outside the bus) is the CO detector is STILL going off after the heater had been off all night. I can't even get into the bus because the heat melted some of the snow on the bus and it froze the door shut.

I'll probably just leave it until Friday and get out the heat gun if necessary to get the door unstuck.

Melbo · December 27, 2009, 10:31:57 AM

Brian the same thing happens when I install a new Central Forced Air furnace.

Gotta open all the windows and run the furnace for about a half hour.

Sometimes even use fans to clear smoke.

Different brands use different stuff -- Floor Furnaces are the worst because they have no fans.

Melbo

Hartley · December 27, 2009, 11:41:12 AM

If your CO detector is more than a year old or has a battery that is weak or low they will tend to alarm. I had to change my CO detector after a year so I do both that and the smoke detectors each year at the same time.

The other thing is that a CO detector may be triggered by outgassing insulation or wood paneling.

Unless your bus is airtight I would be suspect of the condition of the detector.

Get a new one and take it inside and see if it goes off also.

belfert · December 27, 2009, 12:15:17 PM

I'm fairly certain the CO detector is still going off from the heater, but I can't be certain without getting back in the bus which I can't right now due to the frozen door. I suppose it could have a low battery now, but I doubt a low battery would cause it to beep so often. It does have three LEDs and the one for CO detected was flashing last night.

I haven't done any other work on the bus in ages so the interior conditions have not changed except running the heater. I guess I could take a CO detector from the house out there to see if it alarms (if I can get the door open). The house ones also show the PPM.

Slow Rider · December 27, 2009, 12:52:44 PM

This should take care of your problem

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/for/1526049219.html

Frank