Bavafa

Well Known Member
Since the last few recent incidents with RVs that involved fuel lines and two actually caught on fire, I had been thinking about some added protection in addition to good workmanship and accepted practices. With that in mind, I double-checked all my fuel lines, flare, etc and all looked good :) But I also installed a fume detector (fire boy Xintex M-2A) which will detect gasoline fume and CO2. I really like how little fume or CO2 can set off the alarm, amounts that my nose will not easily detect. Well, I have now little over 10 hours with the unit installed and so far so good. Two nights ago, on a x-country flight my wife was cold and, a rare occasion, I opened the cabin heat and was glad to see it that the alarm never detected any CO2. All in all, I am much happier now to have this add layer of advance notice if there is any thing wrong. Fuel leaks scare the heck out of me.
 
Fume Detector

Looks like this is pretty standard practice in boats. On one hand, we might wonder why the FAA doesn't require certificated production aircraft to have one of these, but on the other hand the price would probably quintuple.

Thanks for posting. I just read an article in the latest AOPA about a "Home Depot CO Monitor" having been placed under the seat of a 182, and the pilot realized he had a serious exhaust leak at the turbocharger because his CO detector alarmed.