Kidde KN-COPP-3 Nighthawk Plug-In Carbon Monoxide Alarm with Battery Backup and Digital Display
by Kidde
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Kidde KN-COPP-3 Nighthawk Plug-In Carbon Monoxide Alarm with Battery Backup and Digital Display
Customer Review: Keeping us safe from Carbon Monoxide for several years now...
Summary: 5 Stars
Two mature adults with pets, we have used various CO detectors for about 12 years, The KN-COPP-3 has been here for the last 3.
Was glad to upgrade to a unit that had digital readout and battery backup, looked at many and this one stood out for features and price. I change the 9v battery when I do the smoke alarms every year and they still have enough power left to use in something less important like a radio or VOM.
Now and then I will unplug it and use as a handheld detector as I walk around the house and into the basement to check for any leaks. As they tell you, you will get SOME reading right around items that produce CO but as long as the levels are within limits you know you are safe.
The first one we bought from a Mom & Pop type general store that had only one left and had a clearance price on it.. could not believe my luck in running into the model I wanted when I was not even looking for it.
However, I could not get that unit to setup properly with readings all over the range etc.
Called Kidde and found out that you need to let them get exposed to the interior of your house for some hours before you plug them in, seems the packaging can foul the sensor after a time.
Even that did not help so I called Kidde again... they ask me to read the date on the unit, turns out that you need to replace them every 5 years and this one was already past the "use by" date when I bought it and should not have been sold.
Kiddie, sent me a replacement unit right away and that has been working for several years now. That is good service, when they found out that the store I bought it at was out of town and I could not return it, no more questions, they took my address and sent me a replacement!
So.. be sure to check the date on yours so you know it's a recent build to get your full years use out of it. Then also record the date in your planner so you can replace it before it has a chance to fail from old age. I see Kidde might have increased the time to 7 years now, even better with the same price.
Customer Review: It worked!
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm not sure about some of the negative reviews, but I feel I need to post regarding this unit, which saved my family: This CO detector sounded one afternoon on the SECOND floor of my house where I had it plugged in. Note that I had just bought it two weeks prior. Although I initially thought it was broken, I called 911 and was able to give them the exact digital reading on the display (rather than just saying an alarm is sounding), and the speed at which the count was increasing. I was instructed to immediately open windows on the second floor and tell if the reading went lower -- it did.
When the fire department arrived, they found a large CO leak in the furnace on the first floor. I was informed that at the rate the CO reading was increasing, the situation was actually critical (it was at 55 when I called, 65 when I was chatting with 911, 70 when I started opening windows; the display went progressively lower after opening windows and fresh air circulated). Had I not had an alarm, I would have never known what was happening... an unsettling thought.
I was praised by the fire officials for having a unit that digitally displayed the level of CO in the house. This permitted the fire department to better assess the exact risk and rate of CO leakage. They also found a slight gas leak (even though I had just had the furnace "inspected" the month before... but that's a separate lesson about dishonest contractors). The end result was the furnace was shut off by the fire department and I had to replace the entire system.
Would another unit have worked just as well? Maybe. All I know is this one DID and my family made it through without injury. That's how this company gained my trust.
As a side note, I've only needed to replace the battery about once a year.
Customer Review: Battery backup malfunctions, poor customer service from Kidde
Summary: 1 Stars
We purchased 3 of these units - one for each level of our home. They all worked fine for about 6 months, then we began having trouble with all of them. The problems I'm going to describe started with one, but all 3 did the same thing within the first year.
As other reviews have mentioned, when the required 9V battery is drained below whatever level is required, the unit starts beeping loudly until you remove or replace the battery. This inevitably happens in the middle of the night, waking the whole family, and at first causing us to think there was a carbon monoxide concern. There is no distinction between a "low battery" beep and a "you have a carbon monoxide problem" beep. I understand that a low battery is going to happen from time to time, but what began happening with our units is that the "low battery" beep would happen within a week, several days, or even several HOURS after replacing it. It was really ridiculous, and extremely annoying. Gradually we stopped using all of them because of this problem and eventually purchased another brand.
Another issue is Kidde's customer service response. I called their customer service phone # to report these problems, and the person I spoke to insisted that I either was using old batteries, or that our units were not plugged into the wall far enough, thereby causing the units to use the batteries instead of the electrical outlet. Despite my assurances that the batteries were new with an long expiration date, and that we did in fact have them plugged in properly, she simply could not consider that it might be a problem with the unit. There were no offers to replace the units or help in any way.
So in summary, the battery problems with this product make it a poor choice. We're going with another brand entirely!
Customer Review: Hope It Works
Summary: 5 Stars
We've had this CO detector plugged in for over six years and the only time it ever sounded an alarm was when we had hardwood floors installed in our house. I'm not sure what triggered the alarm but it got everyone's attention. It's LOUD. There's no way anyone will sleep through this sound. You can hear the alarm outside when it's going off inside. Once the alarm sounds you have to power it off to silence it.
Since it's sort of difficult to tell if a particular CO detector is working properly, we've diversified by having three different models in our house. You should be able to test the Kidde Nighthawk unit (or any other unit with a digital readout) by placing it close to burning material, or next to the exhaust pipe on your car, but we haven't done that. During such a test, the digital readout would change from 0 to some higher number representing the amount of CO in the air in parts-per-million. Any reading around 30 or so means you need to figure out why your unit isn't reading 0, and that while you're not at risk for immediate death you're being subjected to continuous low levels of CO which is not good. Anything around 100 means immediate trouble. About 800 ppm and higher means you're going to die if you don't get things straightened out quickly. Around 12,000 corresponds to death in a minute.
CO detectors are required to be installed in new construction in some areas, and I'm sure that eventually most states will pass similar legislation requiring them.
Our CO detectors give us some peace-of-mind. The ones with the digital displays like this Nighthawk are a little more useful because you can see if they're detecting anything at all. I'd recommend you get a few no matter the make or model, even if they don't have digital displays.
Customer Review: So far so good...
Summary: 5 Stars
I have had this unit 2 months now. (Purchase: January 2010) I obtained it for an efficiency apartment that has a Williams 20000 BTU Hearth Vented Heater. Sq Footage is approx. 475 for this two room efficiency. I rent this apt. to college students and wanted to make sure the new heater setup was safe. I followed code in the install and venting, but since CO is colorless and odorless; I do not take chances with silent killers. (e.g. CO, Radon, High Blood Pressure, etc.)
So far ( 2mos.) the unit is performing well and no battery issues. My readings at different four different points in the apt., including 12 inches from the heater vent were all Zero. Peak readings also never rose above zero. I began to wonder if I had a defective unit, or just super safe air.
So I experimented...
I placed the CO Detector in my garage, closed the door and you guessed it...ran a vehicle. Within 5 minutes the detector started reading CO Gas. 17, 44, 76, 116, 220. After another 4 minutes and 17 seconds, the unit started screaming bloody murder. I turned off the vehicle opened the big door to the garage and took the unit outside (battery back up took over) for fresh air till the reading went back to zero. I then returned the unit to the garage with the bay door open and plugged it in again. The readings gradually rose back to 58, then over time fell; eventually back to zero as the residual CO was dissipating.
Infer what you want from this data. Me, I like the unit.
I will update this review after the Duracell battery runs down, giving the battery life as a back up all the while being plugged in. I will also indicate any power failures during that test period.
The test continues...