To start....I HAVE NO AFFILIATION WITH KWJ Engineering, but rather passing on a PIREP in the interest of safety; especially during winter operations, of which we have the better part of 7 months worth here in Canada.
KWJ Engineering makes, or used to make a CO detector called "Pocket Model 300" (the yellow unit in the photo below) which I have been using for the last 6 years, or so. KWJ has been excellent with their customer service and knowing that CO sensors have a finite life, I asked if there was a way to test, which they went through with me. The Pocket 300 tested out OK but is near the end of life, and I asked a few questions about their newest product call "Sparrow".
Being an existing customer, I was offered a discount, and hence ordered one and tested. First thing I wanted to ensure was that it would work on an iPad at the same time as running Foreflight, which it does just fine. Once the pre-determined threshold is exceeded there is a very audible alarm on the iPad, which is always on the intercom with some tunes as well as ADSB traffic alerts. Also attached are a couple of screen shots of the normal and rise to alarm during the test. The response time was very quickly, <2sec.
I proved the text alert feature to two phones, however, that is only useful if you have cell or internet coverage, so not that handy at altitude.
The other feature that I really like is the logging which you can see in the last attached photos. You can track CO only or temp and RH if you want as well. For a full list of features their website ( https://www.sparrowsense.com ).
I know first hand of the dangers of CO in small planes, you want to seal up the cabin to reduce leaks (and therefore fresh air) while using the exhaust pipe as a heat source....so we need good protection !!!
Moderators if this post is off side, feel free to delete, but this is the best portable, cost effective and user friendly device I can find and am sharing this in the interest of safety in the VAF community.
KWJ Engineering makes, or used to make a CO detector called "Pocket Model 300" (the yellow unit in the photo below) which I have been using for the last 6 years, or so. KWJ has been excellent with their customer service and knowing that CO sensors have a finite life, I asked if there was a way to test, which they went through with me. The Pocket 300 tested out OK but is near the end of life, and I asked a few questions about their newest product call "Sparrow".
Being an existing customer, I was offered a discount, and hence ordered one and tested. First thing I wanted to ensure was that it would work on an iPad at the same time as running Foreflight, which it does just fine. Once the pre-determined threshold is exceeded there is a very audible alarm on the iPad, which is always on the intercom with some tunes as well as ADSB traffic alerts. Also attached are a couple of screen shots of the normal and rise to alarm during the test. The response time was very quickly, <2sec.
I proved the text alert feature to two phones, however, that is only useful if you have cell or internet coverage, so not that handy at altitude.
The other feature that I really like is the logging which you can see in the last attached photos. You can track CO only or temp and RH if you want as well. For a full list of features their website ( https://www.sparrowsense.com ).
I know first hand of the dangers of CO in small planes, you want to seal up the cabin to reduce leaks (and therefore fresh air) while using the exhaust pipe as a heat source....so we need good protection !!!
Moderators if this post is off side, feel free to delete, but this is the best portable, cost effective and user friendly device I can find and am sharing this in the interest of safety in the VAF community.