Kidde KN-COPP-3 Nighthawk Plug-In Carbon Monoxide Alarm with Battery Backup

We bought this carbon monoxide monitor as we are renovating an older house and have aging appliances not yet replaced. The monitor arrived in a timely manner and it was easy to install the back up battery. After reading other reviews I checked the date on our unit and it was made just a few months ago. It came with good and easy to follow instructions. The plug and cord are neatly house at the back of the unit, so if you have a close electrical outlet you can just plug it in. If not, the cord unravels and you can plug it in further away from the appliances. (just don't have it too far away or it may not be as effective in the case of a CO leak). We have had the unit for a few weeks now and it has constantly measured "0" (parts per million - ppm). Because the unit doesn't alarm for readings below 35 ppm, there is a button you can press to check if there have been any lower-level readings detected. Again, for us, when we checked through this function it also always read "0". We finally asked ourselves......does this unit even work?!! Well we found a way to check it out, and indeed, the unit does work very well. My husband took the unit to the garage, and then drove our car into the garage, turned off the engine and shut the door down. He waited a minute or less and the unit indeed detected a small amount of CO (15ppm - see picture). Because it was under 35 ppm, the unit did not alarm, but at least we now know it really does work. I would never suggest you try to check your unit by running your car in a closed garage. We were just measuring the fumes from an engine that was switched off, just as if you came home, parked and turned off your car, got out and shut the garage door. We are very happy with how the Kiddie Nighthawk CO detector works and are very glad to have it in our home - great peace of mind from a great product that we wouldn't hesitate to recommend to others.

I truly do hope that my home never experiences a monoxide issue, but if it does, I am confident that this one will do an excellent job. We had the local fire chief come to our house for a complimentary visual inspection of our preparedness for a fire/smoke/ or monoxide issue. He said that when we replace our 20+year old alarms that he strongly suggested we replace them with one that gives the ACTUAL reading and not just a beep. He said that then when they would respond to our house, we can give him the reading that shows on the alarm. This particular alarm does give these readings and that is why we selected it over others that we looked at. He told us that "extra" bit of information would be of much value to the responders to our house. They are quite nice to look at as well. One concern that I had was would this particular alarm take up both of the outlet plugs (due to the size). I did not want it to because I have to plug in my vacuum cleaner. Anyway, it was not an issue at all. It only takes up the bottom one and the top outlet is totally accessible for other appliances to plug into. It is a very nice alarm and I would highly recommend it and would definitely purchase again.

We ordered two of these for our home. We assume they are working as required to constantly sniff the air for CO. That's what we hope.

I have a boiler in one of the bed rooms so thought it was important to have a good alarm .put battery in plugged it in .Reading came up as "0".The next morning it did intermittent bleep I went to check it the battery was flat the plug was red hot ,fire hazard so I sent it back cost me £12.75 to send it to Spain !!!

I'd like to cover a few points in my review that have not been presented by other Amazon customers. This is a top-rated product by Consumer Reports and is an "Amazon Best-Seller CO Detector". Of the ~ 1,100 Customer Reviews I believe that it is about a 4.5, or better. I called Kidde Customer Service twice before my order was delivered (one pre and post purchase call). The product itself will last about ten years; Kidde provides a limited warranty of five years. Keep your invoice to prove your date of purchase. Otherwise, Kidde will use the earlier manufacture date that is stamped on the product. I purchased four of these units. One for each of our natural gas fireplaces and one near each of the two natural gas furnaces. It is somewhat large in physical size (6" H x 3 1/2" W x 1 1/2" D) which may cause problems depending on the location, i.e. a wall outlet. However, it is well-designed and completely self-contained. For example, the power connector and about 12-15 feet of connecting wire are integrated in to the unit. There is no requirement for a separate extension cord. The square power connection plug can be removed, rotated, and reinserted to facilitate almost any connection location or orientation. The unit also includes the screws and plastic anchors for a wall mount. It requires 110v household electricity but has a 9v battery backup which is provided. The instructions are easy to read and understand. There is an extendable plastic foot on the rear to allow for a table or desk top location. The date of manufacture is on the back in black letters on a yellow background. This date should be reasonably close to your date of purchase. If not, contact Amazon Customer Service. All four of mine were stamped April 17, 2015. I purchased my units on October 27, 2015. Recommendations: 1. Read the user guide after you place your order (it is available from the Kidde website) and before you install this product; 2. Be sure to register your units using the Kidde website to provide Kidde with a method to contact you if there are problems identified in the future or if there is a product recall/replacement; 3. Be sure to read "conditions That Can Produce CO" in section #1, the "Locations To Avoid" in section #3, and the maintenance recommendations in section #7.