Kidde KN-COPP-B Front Load Battery-Operated Carbon Monoxide Alarm with Digital Display
by Kidde
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Our Price: $64.97 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $54.97 (click here) Category: Tools See more product details |
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Kidde KN-COPP-B Front Load Battery-Operated Carbon Monoxide Alarm with Digital Display
Customer Review: Numbers, Please!
Summary: 2 Stars
We wanted a carbon monoxide detector because we use a fireplace several times a week as well as a kerosene heater. Both heating sources generate the scentless carbon monoxide, and we wanted to be on the safe side.
Extracting the alarm from the package requires a good pair of scissors. Batteries are included and go in easily. Three prongs stick up and have to be pushed down to install each of the three batteries. The battery cover thus can't be put back on unless the batteries are installed first. This isn't a feature I was looking for or care about.
I put in the battieries while Mrs. Spudman was grooming one of the dogs. Of course, the alarm went off and frightened poor Piper and got me some dirty looks. "Not my fault," I offered.
Then I looked at the display which goes from the initial three eights to zero and stays at zero. I held the unit and moved it all around the kerosene heater. It still registered zero. What a clean heater!
I started a fire in the fireplace and moved the unit all around it. Still zero. A perfectly clean fire.
I carried the unit all around the house and brought it upstairs. Even when I had the kerosene heater on and a fire burning at the same time, still only a zero registered.
Finally, I went outside and started up the car. Standing a few feet away from the exhaust with the unit in my hand, I saw that the unit still registered zero. When I held the alarm unit within a few inches of the exhaust for about 15 seconds, it finally registered 999 and sounded. It eventually stopped blasting after I waved the unit around a bit to clear the air.
Does this unit work? Will it alert us to high carbon monixide levels? I have no idea. I do know that when I press the peak level button the display still registers zero. The product literature says to take action if the unit registers below 50PPM which is considered a low level.
For us, unless we sleep directly behind a running car, this unit's value is dubious at best.
UPDATE 1/26/11 I asked Mrs. Spudman to blow smoke into the unit when she smoked a cigarette. The display registered up to 100PPM. Score one for the Kiddie detector.
Customer Review: "New" ones were manufactured over two years ago! Disappointing!
Summary: 3 Stars
The three we just bought were over 2 years old! (February 2007) (To be strictly factual, the first one we opened was manufactured that long ago. I'm not opening up the other ones just to find out!)
I've e-mailed Kidde to find out whether that will affect the longevity (it must, although their web page explains that the end-of-life alarm is measured from when it's first powered up-- but that's probably just a clock measure rather than an effectiveness measure). I will be contacting Amazon to arrange a return! What a disappointment as this is a highly rated and regarded product (see Consumer Reports and the accolades here.
Another reason for returning is that I discovered that, starting in 2008, Kidde's warranty was extended to 7 years! This only has five! So, for sure these are going back to Amazon. Which is, of course, a hassle in repacking and mailing it, but at least Amazon is good to deal with, including returns!
The return worked well; fast processing by Amazon and crediting our account. We realized there were other issues with this detector, too. You have to figure out how to mount this--and, being battery operated, it doesn't seem as protective as an AC with battery backup combo would be (but then our smoke alarms are battery operated only so this may not matter).
We ended up settling on the Nighthawk 900-0234 model to replace our Nighthawk COPP-3. It comes with the 7-year warranty--and the one Amazon is selling was made in August 2008, and so is less than a year old!
Customer Review: Excellent price for a top rated CO detector
Summary: 5 Stars
I purchased this detector because I live in a home with a gas furnace, gas water heater, and gas oven and I was concerned about the possibility of carbon monoxide leaks (even small ones) that could affect the health of my family. I chose this specific unit because it got great reviews from many different reviewers and because it records all CO readings instead of just sounding an alarm when a hazardous level is detected, which will let me know if I need to check my appliances before they become hazardous.
Some people have posted reviews saying that the alarm was going off constantly right after they got the detector so they returned the unit. Mine was doing the same thing so I contacted Kidde support and was advised that the detector goes through a self-test process including several simulated alarms with CO "detection in the 200-300ppm" range before it resets the display to zero and begins functioning normally. I don't know why this information isn't in the manual that comes with the detector since it would help eliminate the confusion for new owners. My detector went through the alarm process a half dozen times before it finally stopped, but it did settle down after I let it sit and make noise for about 10 minutes and it has been functioning normally ever since.
Customer Review: YOUR problem...
Summary: 5 Stars
I purchased 25 of these from Javier O'Reilly (SALJAV), phone 305-851-3528 for my apartments; I told him I was concerned that the were "fresh" and not old inventory. I had him ship directly to my apartments. When they arrived I had my maintenance man read the date of mfg, and he MISREAD this date as 2001 when actually it was 2006...anyway I called & emailed Javier, but due to the holidays, I did not hear from him for a day or so, so I canceled my credit card payment. After speaking to him, I had my apartment manager read the product and she found the correct date; I then called my credit card company and ask them to pay the bill in full.
Since then you have "blocked" Javier out of his page with you and nether
he nor I have been able to TALK to anyone to explain that this was all
MY FAULT...NOT HIS...HE HAS BEEN VERY HONEST AND HAS DONE NOTHING WRONG
and you should NOT BLAME HIM!
Please feel free to email or call me 800-545-3391 so I can help get his
good faith business back.
My order # was 103-8885051-9209867 placed on 12-3-08 for Tower Arms Apts.
for $843.50.
This would have been MUCH EASIER IF WE COULD HAVE SPOKEN TO SOMEONE AT
AMAZON long ago.
Thank you.
Jay Cammack 1-6-09
Customer Review: Works Great
Summary: 5 Stars
We've had two of these (one upstairs and one downstairs) for 2+ years. They work great. They are easy to set up. Some complain about the beeping at start... it stops after a 30 second start up diognostic. (Read the manual). The upstairs unit is hung on the wall between bedrooms. The downstairs unit moves back and forth between the hot water heater (condo unit) or the ventless NG fireplace. I can check for peak levels of CO, which is at most 10ppm... and that's only when gas appliances start up... which is normal. When I place the unit in the center of our downstairs, away from the NG units, no CO levels ever register. It's nice to have the peace of mind the units afford us.
The other great benefit to these battery units is... if you desire, you can pack them up and take them with you on a trip. More peace of mind for a place you may not be familiar with.
Great price for the safety it brings. Simular rated items can go for $100... and those need to be plugged in or hard wired... not great if you lose power. I don't see how you can go wrong with this product.