First Alert CO615 Carbon Monoxide Plug-In Alarm with Battery Backup and Digital Display
by First Alert
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List Price: Our Price: $28.41 You Save: $31.58 (53%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Category: Tools See more product details |
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of First Alert CO615 Carbon Monoxide Plug-In Alarm with Battery Backup and Digital Display
Customer Review: get two of these right now
Summary: 5 Stars
I just plugged in my first one a few hours ago, and I'm going to buy another one now.
The cord allows you to place the unit up to several feet away from the outlet where you plug it into. That's very cool.
The alarm is plenty loud enough for me, and I like the other button you can press to see "what's the max CO level since the last time I cleared this?"
( I assume there's a way to clear it...)
!Look! -- here's a feature that is going to save you a night's sleep about a year from now:
Since live batteries are crucial, this unit *always* shows you the state of the batteries, with a little icon on the right side of the display. If it is actually running on battery power, the icon just flashes every few seconds. If it's plugged in, the icon is always visible. And by looking at it, you can tell when the batteries are getting low. This means, about a year from now, you can replace the batteries *before* it wakes you up at 3 in the morning, complaining about low batteries!
Yeah, OK, the manual could be better -- like an actual little booklet instead of one of these stupid big-pieces-of-paper-folded-up things. But it's clear and understandable, and if the print is too small for you, you need a new prescription.
Listen -- you always hear stuff like "get your furnace checked" or "open the flue all the way on your fireplace" or whatever. And you think "well, my house won't have that kind of problem." That is misleading and extremely dangerous.
In the last ten years I have now twice heard about people -- people whom I knew in both cases -- losing children to CO poisoning. In both cases the CO was generated by smoldering fires inside the walls, caused by old or faulty electrical wiring. In one case the house was *new*. By the time the flames actually broke out and became visible -- and by the time the fire started generating enough smoke to set off regular *smoke* alarms -- the victims were already dead.
The second of these incidents happened a few days ago.
If you use electricity, you need one of these. No, you need two of these, and you need them right now.
Customer Review: Very compact, well made, simple
Summary: 5 Stars
I researched CO detectors pretty thoroughly before buying, as I needed three of them and it was going to run me around $80-$100 according to my first look. After reading through all the Amazon reviews and Consumer Reports, I settled on this one and I am glad I did. I have never owned any other CO detectors, let me say up front, but this model is great for most homes in my opinion. It's compact, just a tad larger than a 12-oz. can of soda. An older nonfunctional one that came with my house was twice that size. The little LED light tells you it's operating but is not garish, way less than a nightlight. And the manufacturer apparently listened to all the previous complaints about the battery compartment because I had no problem at all installing them and I believe the instructions even had a note about that. It does have a lifetime, it stops working at 5 years. But in response to those reviewers who derided this fact - consumer/home safety websites clearly show that that you should replace CO detectors every 5 years. So I think this product item is actually a very good thing.
Customer Review: First Alert CO615 Carbon Monoxide Detector
Summary: 5 Stars
Purchased three of these so I now have one on each floor of our home. We had one on the second floor, where the bedrooms are located, and it was over 10 years old and I just learned they are to be replaced every 5 years. I put a label on each of the new ones indicating the date on which to replace them. I used them by just plugging them,. They come with an extension cord but had no need for it. I guess they are working, I haven't had them sound or register any reading of carbon monoxide. I did use the test button and they sounded, so they say they are working properly. Purchased one more unit to take to our trailer at the vacation park, so we are protected where ever we are staying. The State of Wisconsin just enacted a law requiring these on each floor of a residence, but interestingly there is no penalty for failing to install them. Maybe some people will get them because of the law and it will save someones life. The penalty is if you don't have them and there is a problem you could pay for it with your life.Customer Review: Sleeping Easier in Idaho
Summary: 5 Stars
I have been meaning to buy a carbon monoxide monitor for a year, ever since a family of four I know was overcome by carbon monoxide poisoning. Luckily, they survived. When the same thing happened to a friend from my book group on Christmas Day (she spent several days in the ICU), I decided I could put the purchase off no longer. I am single, and feel that if the same thing happened to me, it would be too late by the time someone found me. Carbon monoxide kills several people in the US each year. Even if you don't die, you can have life-long neurological problems
I have had the monitors for about two weeks. I bought them (I bought two of the same monitor, one for my living room and one for my bedroom) based on their review in Consumer Reports. I like the fact that they primarily use electricity with a battery back up. They are easy to set up and use. I feel safer having them in my home. Everyone should have at least one in their home. I have been telling everyone I know to buy them.
Customer Review: First Alert CO615 Carbon Monoxide Alarm
Summary: 5 Stars
I ordered and received this item timely from Amazon. The product was well packaged and the directions for use were easy to follow. The product is nicely constructed, easy to use, and seems to work well. I like the fact I can push one of the buttons located on the front of the unit to see if the unit has picked up any CO levels from the area it is located. It is designed to plug into a wall electrical outlet and also has a battery backup. The unit is small and appears out of the way when it is plugged in and being used. So far, the two units I bought are working well so I give this product a rating of 5 stars.
Update: Jan. 14, 2011 - I have now owned two of these devices for over two years and each one is still working just fine. I have had to replace the back up battery on each just once a year, which is fairly standard, so the devices seem to be well built and last.