It's Getting Cold....How's Your CO Detector Working

[David-aviator]

Temps are dropping, a west wind is blowing, the clouds are hanging low - all signs of a season change in the making. And for the first time in cool air, the cabin heat knob was pulled today. (This will drive the Subby guys nuts, but I had more heat off the Vetterman heat exchanger on the #4 pipe than ever with the liquid heat exchanger and fan with the H6. What a pleasant surprise.)

But while cruising along being very comfortable, it occurred to me, how do I know the thing is not leaking CO into the cabin? Truth is, we don't know. And that brings to mind the unfortunate pilot who got a ride to 25,000' this week in his Mooney. We may never know why that happened.

Anyway, I just placed an order with ACS for some CO detectors. They are cheap and one or two stuck around the cabin should offer some indication of what is going on with regard to air quality with the heater on.

Other than that, it was a good day to fly except for a few bumps due to a 20 knot wind. Take off roll was about 700' into that wind, not bad for a FP prop turning a mere 2200 rpm. Initial climb performance was 2050 fpm with the prop turning at 2400 and 110 KIAS. Also, not too shabby.

[Dmadd]

Good reminder. Thanks David.
DM
Ps
one of my pals over here in Louisville is also ditching the subie for the lyc as we speak.

[Geico266]

Good reminder for us all!

You can buy a plug in CO2 monitor and just use the battery side. Very sensitive and will let you know with an alarm if the levels are high. They are big, but it's nice to have the audio reminder. Make sure they have fresh batteries in them.

[CraigC]

David,

You are very correct. I once had a leak in my cockpit. It is not a trivial issue for small aircraft. It has been theorized that the little button detectors are not a serious solution to the detection problem. Check out Aeromedix. Here is a link

http://www.aeromedix.com/category-ex...xide_Detectors