| Author |
Message |
Mike T (206.170.33.212)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, August 05, 2002 - 11:07 pm: | |
I bought a propane detector made by CCI Controls. It has a master and slave detector. The slave detector is extremely noisy, like a baby monitor if it is anywhere inside the bus. If I bring it to a private room with a small 12v battery it's not so bad. That's the least of it. It takes forever to set itself up, calibrate, or whatever. Finally the solonoid at the tank gets turned on. When I test it with the unignited propane torch, it turns off the valve sometimes and sometimes not when triggered by the slave but always fine when triggered by a test to the master. I think the next test will be with the ignited torch. I've already sent the thing back to cci controls and they sent it back to me after they said they replaced a faulty component. It is still doing the same thing. I know that sounds suspicious but I have the wiring diagram and it is extremely simple. Any other experiences with this company? What do you all use? The only other company I see is "Safe-T-Alert" and their adds don't mention shutting off the gas supply solonoid. Thanks for listening. Mike |
CoryDaneRTSIIIL (4.17.253.242)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, August 05, 2002 - 11:40 pm: | |
Cant recal if I ever heard of CCI Controls. I am looking at a unit that is sold by West Marine, it has the capability to shut down the propane tank and add a slave. give them a look if you can't get this one to work. I am pretty sure I will go with this one. cd |
Dale Fleener (66.42.91.181)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, August 05, 2002 - 11:47 pm: | |
Recently retired as a RV Tech. Was told by CCI that the way to test controls was the way you did it. If it fails once, it is defective. I never sent one in for repair or tried to repair one myself. The RV business is replace and not repair orientied. The labor involved makes it more cost effective that way. Anyway, CCI has a good name, but when its bad its bad
Dale |
FAST FRED (65.58.186.76)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, August 06, 2002 - 5:29 am: | |
I'm more familiar with the boat units but the ones I have seen turn the gas off.
In other words 1A of juice is needed to hold the valve open , and then (on boats ) a loss of power will close it.
IF yours is the same 24A a day is a large loss for most systems that wish to camp.
These are used on boats where any leak would accumulate in the bilge and could cause an explosion.
While on a motorcoach the tank can usually be well vented , so I'm not sure that there is lots of safty to be gained .
Very few boats use a propane fridge or furnace so having the gas valve drinking amps while only cooking isnt bad.
Be sure to check that the valve can handle everything ON at once (BTU output).
A furnace and house instant hot water unit can eat lots of propane!
A fire sensor or CO2 sniffer would be a good investment.
FAST FRED |
Mike T (206.170.33.209)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, August 06, 2002 - 11:43 am: | |
Thanks everyone. I'm going to do some more controlled, less angry testing today. I think the noise is from my inverters. The wire to the solenoid is the one that I think might be affected. Would a shielded cable be a good idea here. I have no real experience with the effectiveness of any shielded cable. Thanks again, Mike. |
Tom Caffrey (Pvcces) (64.114.233.1)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, August 07, 2002 - 4:40 pm: | |
Mike, you might try using a power filter in your power line to the alarm, such as one made for a car radio to kill alternator noise. Radio shack might be a good source.
I would expect any audio noise other than an alarm signal to be caused by noise on your power line. Your inverter, if it is a modified sine wave version, will produce quite a bit of noise in an audio circuit if it is not well designed to prevent it.
If the trouble is that noise is being picked up in the leads between the two units, then there may be a signal difference between the ground points, if they are both grounded.
If you need to deal with that kind of noise, then only one unit should be connected to power and the other unit connected only to the powered unit, including the shield, if a shielded lead is used.
Location of the parts and the frequency of the noise will govern how much can be picked up.
AM radio frequecies can be almost totally killed by metal walls, but remember that the floors are wood.
I don't think you said whether your slave sends a radio signal to the master. If it does, radio frequency interference could make it useless to you.
HTH
Tom Caffrey PD4106-2576 |