Date: Fri, 21 Aug 1998 21:34:15 EDT
Reply-To: Ssittservl@AOL.COM
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <Vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: S Sittservl <Ssittservl@AOL.COM>
Subject: Propane detectors (was Re: A close call with propane)
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
> From: williams@mtest.teradyne.com (Robert Williams)
>
> Steven,
>
> How much do the propane detectors cost, and where did you buy it from?
> Are they 12v or 9v battery powered?
>
> Bob
Bob -
Mine is a "Safe-T-Alert", made by MTI Industries. I chose it because
it had the lowest power consumption of anything I found. It's available
from Camping World (www.campingworld.com) for about $40.
All the propane detectors I found are 12V wire-in - I couldn't find any
battery-powered ones (which I would have preferred).
Camping World carries another brand or two as well. The VW
EuroVan comes standard with a model 7700 detector from CCI Controls,
Southgate, CA, (800) 521-5228. Another manufacturer is Atwood
(http://www.atwoodmobile.com). There are also models available that
will automatically shut off the gas when they detect a leak (expensive and
more work to install, of course).
I also put in smoke and CO detectors, on the right rear piller by the
rear hatch. RV-approved smoke detectors are pretty easy to find;
RV-approved CO detectors are somewhat rarer. I got the same one
as is used in the EuroVan - the COSTAR, from Quantum Group,
San Diego, CA, (800) 432-5599. It's also available from Camping World,
though it may be somewhat cheaper direct from Quantum Group. I've
also seen it recently in hardware stores, cheaper and under another
brand name - might have been Nighthawk - but clearly the same unit,
and confirmed to be RV-approved when I called the distributer. (I was
looking for one for someone else at the time.)
It took me a while to figure out where to mount the propane detector -
I got a surface mount, because I didn't want to cut huge holes in
the furniture. (The case is about 5 x 3 x 1.5") I ended up putting
it at an angle between the driver's seat belt buckle and the parking
brake. That worked out well - it's out of the way there (it sticks out
no further than the brake), it's in a good spot to detect gas (low and
near the appliances), and it was easy to wire in (through the seat
belt buzzer wire hole to the "power in" lead on the fridge relay).
I put a little hidden cut-off switch on it in case I ever wanted to store
the van and keep it from draining the battery (which it would do in
about a month), but that was probably overkill, considering that the
clock, radio, etc. would do the same thing (which I didn't think
about at the time).
While I'm driving, I occasionally reach down and press the test button
just to hear it beep. Why this amuses me I have no idea.
-Steven
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