Portable Carbon Monoxide Meters

[Fried Chicken]

Looking for input on carbon monoxide meters.  I'm in the market for one, and am exploring options.
I don't have experience in this, so don't know what to look for and what to avoid.

There are the usual American options: Klein ET110 for ~$120 and Fluke CO-220 for a hefty $500+

Then in the budget is the Chinese option: Extech CO15 around $110 but available cheaper elsewhere, and then a host of other options from companies I've never heard of: Fieldpiece, TPI, Amprobe, Triplett, at varous price points but hovering around $300.

Then there's still another option: a portable gas analyzer that promises to read four different gasses and report their results.  That sounds awesome, but it's a whole other can of worms in terms of the above: method of operation, reliability, calibration requirements, price, manufacturers, etc.

Which gets to why I'm asking about their operation: do these hold their calibration/reliability?  Do they break easily?  Is this something that can safely be bought used and expected to work with the appropriate sensitivity?  Is there an easy way to test these, i.e. holding a lighter under one, or shoving it into a car exhaust?

Input appreciated.

I did find one test on youtube:


And it turns out they're associated with an American based company that does calibration in the U.S.:
https://www.forensicsdetectors.com/

They don't directly offer a carbon monoxide detector but rather their 4-gas analyzer that does O2, CO, H2S, and Combustibles (LEL or Low Explosive Limit).

In their review they acknowledge the Klein has a large japanese-made CO sensor with a 5-year life.  The Forensics Detectors company offers in-house calibration and even sells calibration kits.  I'm going to reach out to them and see what they say.

[ace1903]

I own industrial boilers service business. In daily work I use Testo 300 combustion analyzer to check ambient CO.
Basically all CO meters operate on same principle - potentiostatic cell (in price range we are talking about).
Most of the meters and detectors use cells from reputable sensors makers like Figaro (In one project I used TGS5042).
So accuracy and weaknesses are common to all brands of meters. If you are not poisoning the cell with chemicals and using at temperature extremes, they are accurate.
I use calibration gasses from Kleinschmidt GMBH and always readings are fine. They are not drifting over time.
Price difference is mostly due to factors like battery type, charging accessories, fancy display, not due to cost of the built in sensor.
Life is set in software to 5 or 10 years according local laws. If you are measuring contamination like 30 000ppm of course sensor life will be shortened.
But if you are using as alarm device on you belt it will never see more than 300ppm(lethal limit). I have some sensors that give to ppm good results after more than 19 years(i use them in hobby meters, not for business) .
If you need to explosion proof and able to operate in mines then certifications will drive price up.
Do you need to print report? Do you need to present the report to authorities?
I am satisfied with Testo brand, pricey but there is local office that does calibration checks and gives traceable record.
If you decide to buy used check the price of the replacement cell. You can buy working meter for cheap but if it needs expensive cell due to 5year lifetime can become bad deal.

For H2S it will drive price way more up. Why to buy it if you don't need it? H2S is not every day gas.
O2 cells have limited life 2-5years, so if you buy used device it is good idea to check date on it.

 

[Fried Chicken]

Fantastic.
Thank you for that information.

I think the Klein meter is the way to go.  I need this only for my own personal use to double check that my central heating is not putting CO into the house.  I have some symptoms that could be CO related but I want to be sure.

It looks like the forensics deteectors sells a standalone CO meter at a very good price and with a calibration.  I will probably get this.  I called them this morning, left a message, and never got a call back.  Californians I swear...

[Wim_L]

If you suspect your central heating has problems, why not hire a technician to measure it for you? Yes, it may be expensive, but if there is a problem you'll need someone to fix the thing anyway. Unless you suspect it's only happening during certain types of weather and that a one-time check won't discover the problem.

If you think you have a CO poisoning problem, it's also strongly recommended to immediately ventilate a lot and request medical attention. It can be life-threatening and it's not always immediately obvious how bad it is.

[Fried Chicken]

I appreciate that;

If there's an issue, I'll be the one to detect it and to fix it.

I know it can be very bad, but if I were at that level, I would be more alarmed.  If there is a CO problem, it's a small one, and a detector should detect it.

[stj]

you can buy CO alarms with a digital display for 30-40,
maybe you could use that in a modified housing with a pump and hose to "pinpoint" high CO sources.
maybe salvage the pump & hose from one of the cheap blood pressure cuffs you can get for about 10 now.

[Fried Chicken]

you can buy CO alarms with a digital display for 30-40,

I didn't even think to do that.

I found one at the local orange store, but only indicates that it can display from 30-999 and I'm not at that level (I hope).

I will look.

[Atlan]

Don't you have volunteer firefighters? They could come and measure gas concentrations as part of training and good words.