CO Detectors

[Midnightsun]

They are powered with an EOL (end of life) battery which lasts 5-7 years and then they start chirping. The newer ones are toast and must be discarded. The older ones had no EOL however new laws requires them to shut down automatically. You should do the same with the older types as the sensors only last anywhere between 5-10 years depending on the brand and method of detection. I see no issue whatsoever going with a household unit for 1/3 the price. The only real difference is maybe a conformal coating which will not affect anyone who is a in fresh water environment IMHO. My Xintex (Marine) units are due to be changed however the model is discontinued. This is what replaces them. https://www.westmarine.com/buy/fireboy- ... --18023986

Xintex also makes the exact same size and looking unit for home use which I assume has no conformal coating. Priced for home use. I will most likely use these instead. https://www.ebay.com/itm/302595336933

Here is an example of a 10 year EOL unit for home use which looks strangely similar to the older Xintex units. https://www.amazon.com/Universal-Securi ... B00M3H78TE

[Viper]

I was just talking to a rep last week and he insists there IS a big difference between a marine and household unit. Beyond the coatings are component differences, they're higher end with tighter tolerances that come with a few advantages including the ability to deal with temperature extremes and still achieve their designed life span and accurate detection ability. How old is your boat and how old were the detectors when you finally had to replace them? While household units will work, they'll have a shortened life span in a marine environment and may lose the critical ability to detect CO at a certain threshold. It's doubtful they'll last as long as a marine unit will. They may have the same housing but that doesn't mean they're built the same, it's just one less thing to fabricate that way. Some marine units also incorporate learning software to deal with minute CO levels that are unique to and differ from boat to boat that can otherwise cause nuisance alarms.

I also like the fact that the marine ones hooked up to the 12 volt system chirp in low voltage conditions. This acts as an alarm in itself, warning you, other boaters around you, and the marina that there is something wrong. I can't count the number of times I've heard low voltage alarms from CO detectors that have precipitated contacting the owner and boarding the vessel to correct the problem before something major happens where power could prevent a sinking. For the difference in price, a marine unit is totally worth it IMO.

[Midnightsun]

I dug a little deeper into the Xintex home units which look identical to the marine ones. The description says they are tested to UL2034 which when googled comes up with.

These requirements cover electrically operated single and multiple station carbon monoxide (CO) alarms intended for protection in ordinary indoor locations of dwelling units, including recreational vehicles, mobile homes, and recreational boats with enclosed accommodation spaces and cockpit areas.

FYI, the marine units are also tested to the same spec. Here is the UL2034 spec or a least the scope. They want a couple of thousand dollars for the entire spec. https://standardscatalog.ul.com/standar ... ndard_2034

[Viper]

Both applications adhere to the same standard but that doesn't mean they're built the same, not according to the rep anyway.

[buster53]

Well, it looks like I have a dead battery. I will double check to make sure it is dead and not just a bad connection.
The boat came with AGM's but there is no kind of date stamp on the top like we usually see on batteries, so we have no idea how old they are.
I'm going to replace them with deep cell group 31's. I'm going with flooded, not AGM.

[bud37]

FYI..you probably know but I will mention it for all.......if you change to flooded, good idea to check your charger settings afterwards.....What I said about the monitors still stands though.....good luck with it man and be safe......

[Midnightsun]

Flooded is the best IMHO. I paid dearly for an all AGM house bank several years back, after 2 years they hardly kept a charge. The place where I purchased them from replaced them with new wet cell (flooded) batteries not even blinking an eye or any questions asked which says a lot. IMHO, AGM is not well suited for a house bank unless you plunk down thousands on a rolls brand. Tried and true flooded will last at least 5 years and are the cheapest out there.

[buster53]

FYI..you probably know but I will mention it for all.......if you change to flooded, good idea to check your charger settings afterwards.....What I said about the monitors still stands though.....good luck with it man and be safe......

Thanks for reminding me of that. Completely skipped my mind.

Agree with midnightsun...flooded is the best bang for my buck.

[Viper]

Qr Bbpost Flooded is the best IMHO. I paid dearly for an all AGM house bank several years back, after 2 years they hardly kept a charge. The place where I purchased them from replaced them with new wet cell (flooded) batteries not even blinking an eye or any questions asked which says a lot. IMHO, AGM is not well suited for a house bank unless you plunk down thousands on a rolls brand. Tried and true flooded will last at least 5 years and are the cheapest out there.

BINGO!
You can't beat the value of the regular flooded batteries. If the AGMs lasted 2-3 times longer than a typical flooded battery then they'd be worth it but I haven't found that to be the case yet with current technology.

[tomschauer]

I agree, I tried Johnson controls AGM batteries on a HydraSport 25WA a few years back. I was not impressed. They cost 2+x of flooded batteries and I got three years out of them. This was a fishing boat with no house load.