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Old 06-02-2019, 02:37 PM   #1
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Propane alarm

I’ve read about issues with the propane alarm but never had issues until now. I opened all the windows aired it out propane is off. I push the button it goes off a while then starts up again. Does it need to be replaced? Not sure why it is going off? My trailer is a 2017.
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Old 06-02-2019, 03:15 PM   #2
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In our first Escape, the propane alarm lasted less than 2 full seasons. Looks like the reports on life expectancy seem to vary between 2-7 years. It's a relatively cheap fix before moving to other trouble-shooting, IMHO.
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Old 06-02-2019, 03:18 PM   #3
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Some common, non-LP, sources of false alarms include hydrogen gas from house battery charging, and flatulence. Seriously. Try vacuuming the front plate to see if de-dusting makes a difference. And check the date of manufacture on the alarm itself. Probably printed on the back side, accessed by removing from the wall. Even though you have a 2017 trailer, it’s possible you somehow have an even older detector.
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Old 06-02-2019, 03:18 PM   #4
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Have you vacuumed the face plate? Instructions call for doing that regularly and wiping the face plate with a damp cloth.
Cost me $70 to replace at six years.
That actual date to be concerned with is the date the detector was installed ( power wired ). That's when the material inside begins to deteriorate ( the normal process when activated ).
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Old 06-02-2019, 03:26 PM   #5
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Never thought of cleaning it cleaning vaccuming doesn’t doesn’t come naturally to me! Thank I will try that !
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Old 06-02-2019, 03:45 PM   #6
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I’ve read about issues with the propane alarm but never had issues until now. I opened all the windows aired it out propane is off. I push the button it goes off a while then starts up again. Does it need to be replaced? Not sure why it is going off? My trailer is a 2017.
The propane alarm is directly wired to the battery so if it senses a low battery, it may start to chirp loudly, but not as loud as the alarm itself. If you don't have a solar set up, simply plugging in the trailer to shore power to charge up the battery might take care of the loud chirping sound.

We have found these propane alarms in the past to be very sensitive and the loud alarm will go off when it detects not only propane but any kind of sprays or chemicals in the air....

Like you did, we push the pause button, then open all the windows, turn on fan, and fan the air around the alarm. Airing out the unit has always worked for us. Hope it works for you, too! Or maybe you just need to charge up your battery?? Good luck!
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Old 06-02-2019, 03:54 PM   #7
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Ok vacuumed it now its green thanks for saving me 70$
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Old 06-02-2019, 03:55 PM   #8
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I was plugged in to shore power
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Old 06-02-2019, 05:47 PM   #9
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We had issues with the propane alarm when it was very windy and the drivers side of the trailer (with the water heater air intake) was pointed into the wind. Probably there was incomplete combustion caused by the high wind.
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Old 06-02-2019, 05:51 PM   #10
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Ours reached End Of Life one month after our 21 went off warranty. Reace was kind enough to send me a new one if I paid the shipping, Installed the new one Nov. 2018 and it started chirping on shore power even with the Max fan running a 10% last week. I topped off the batteries with a bit of distilled water. No difference. Propane was not on. I installed this switch to turn detector off when trailer is not occupied. RV mfgs are not allowed to do it. I think the units are just overly sensitive. I mounted it on the wall just above the detector.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The switch will keep the CG host at bay when we are away for the day.
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Old 06-02-2019, 06:48 PM   #11
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Ok vacuumed it now its green thanks for saving me 70$
Better than me - I just spent $2,851.46 to fix mine! (I converted to 200 amp hours worth of lithium batteries (the equivalent of 400 amp hours of lead acid) for many more reasons than quieting the propane detector, but no longer having the hydrogen setting it off when topping off the batteries was part of the reason for the change.

I've been posting on the process at a "Converting to Lithium" thread.
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Old 06-02-2019, 09:09 PM   #12
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We had issues with the propane alarm when it was very windy and the drivers side of the trailer (with the water heater air intake) was pointed into the wind. Probably there was incomplete combustion caused by the high wind.
X2 We had that happen to us recently. Water heater running on gas, window over bed on E21 was open and wind was coming from that side also. This combination caused the propane alarm to go off. Silenced it a few times then figured out that it must be the water heater causing the problem. Switched the w/h to electric, opened all the windows in the trailer, turned on the fan and problem resolved in about 5 minutes.
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Old 06-03-2019, 07:11 AM   #13
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The propane alarm is directly wired to the battery so if it senses a low battery, it may start to chirp loudly, but not as loud as the alarm itself. If you don't have a solar set up, simply plugging in the trailer to shore power to charge up the battery might take care of the loud chirping sound.
For about 2-3 weeks last winter our batteries would be down to 10-11.5 volts in the morning. Never had the alarm go off. Our batteries were replaced under warranty.

The alarm did go off a couple of days ago so I vacuumed off and wiped the front clean and its been silent since.

Our lp alarm is in the first step of the 5.0. I understand that when in back near the batteries it can go off. It also does double duty as a night light.

Enjoy,

Perry
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Old 06-03-2019, 09:25 AM   #14
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Hi: All... Last week our propane alarm went off while the trailer was here at home. Since the trailer was built in 2014 and the alarm prior to that it was the "End of life" signal. Went to my trailer tech and got another one and wired it in. Cost 100 bucks with tx. Never heard from it before this nor since. I hope the new one is like that also!!! Alf
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Old 06-14-2019, 05:40 PM   #15
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OK not fixed still going off- vacuumed it, turned off propane, trailer fully charged. Trailer is 2017 do i replace it? not the trailer just the alarm....
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Old 06-14-2019, 05:52 PM   #16
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I replaced mine & still had problems. I have a 21 & the venting of the internal batteries couldn't handle the hydrogen produced during hard charges. I solved the problem by replacing the 6V lead acid batteries with a pair of 100 amp hour lithium, giving me the equivalent of 400 amp hours of wet cells. No more propane alarms, although my wallet screamed!
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Old 06-14-2019, 05:54 PM   #17
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does it have a date on it? if I remember correctly, they have a 5 year life. if it were me, I'd replace it.
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Old 06-14-2019, 05:58 PM   #18
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i will replace it. My trailer is plugged in so i cant imagine my batteries are charging up wildly! what about those AGM (?) batteries do they set it off? seems less expensive then Lithium.
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Old 06-14-2019, 06:35 PM   #19
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I replaced mine & still had problems. I have a 21 & the venting of the internal batteries couldn't handle the hydrogen produced during hard charges. I solved the problem by replacing the 6V lead acid batteries with a pair of 100 amp hour lithium, giving me the equivalent of 400 amp hours of wet cells. No more propane alarms, although my wallet screamed!
The propane alarm on my trailer would go off randomly from the day we picked it up in Chilliwack. Once I was informed by the group here that the hydrogen from the batteries might be the culprit, I resealed the battery box such that it was airtight with the exception of the vent.

Ta TA! no more alarms. The problem was not that the batteries were venting - that is going to happen every time they charge. The problem was that the battery box was not properly sealed.

I did a bubble tight seal job on the battery box - testing it by duct taping the vent, putting pressure inside the box using a tube inserted into the vent, and testing the outside of the box and the vent hose with soap solution.

Duct seal works great for this - I had to put a roll of it all along the sealing edge of the box and all penetrations. Once I pushed the lid down, a pry bar was almost necessary to get it back off.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Gardner-Ben...t-Seal/4595233

The duct seal took care of the leaks but made the box difficult to open / close so I was glad I had added a battery filler system previously so I would rarely have to open it.
http://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f8...ller-9641.html

The lithium batteries are great but that is a big dent in my savings to install. Sealing the box fixed the problem so no worries until the batteries have to be replaced.
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Old 06-14-2019, 09:53 PM   #20
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i will replace it. My trailer is plugged in so i cant imagine my batteries are charging up wildly! what about those AGM (?) batteries do they set it off? seems less expensive then Lithium.
We replaced ours -- but I am pretty sure it was the batteries being charged on solar that was setting it off. My next set of batteries will be AGM, but first I have to wear the original ones out.
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