It started going off almost the instant that I plugged it in.

Yeah, mine went off within seconds of putting it where the gas leak was. Since yours didn't go off, maybe contact the company and ask them about it. If it's defective, you definitely want a replacement.

I'm not positive whether or not it would detect without electricity, but I can tell you that the batteries don't last long if there's no electricity. Where I live, we lose power multiple times per year, not as often as 30 years ago, but maybe 5 or 6 times per year now (on a bad year). When that happens, the batteries will last maybe a half hour. Maybe a little longer or maybe a little less than that, I've never timed it. But they don't last long. So you can't operate it solely on the battery. Unless newer models are able to do that. Mine can't.

The only experience that I have with the battery is when the electricity goes out and the detector is only being powered by the battery. In those instances, it only lasts maybe 5 minutes (if that).

Ours didn't last that short.

I put mine in the location where the leak was, and if a new leak was to pop up, that's where it would happen. But every situation is different. I'd recommend going by what the instructions of your unit suggests.

Did you get one?

I'm definitely no expert, but you can call Kidde at 1-800-880-6788 and get their advice on placement. I just glanced over the manual and it basically just said to make sure that it's no more than 3 feet above the floor, when used in a 'table top' configuration. Plugging it directly into the wall and letting it be held in place at plug level is probably a good guide to go by as far as that goes. In my situation, I only have two things that use gas. The stove and the gas logs. The logs have a detector built in, so the stove is my only real concern. So I have mine located down where the lines connect. That way, I'll get an alarm at the first hint of a leak. By my thinking, based on what you said, your gas issue came from the apartment above yours. So that might be difficult to pinpoint the best location to detect that kind of leak. I would think that you'd need to try to determine the logical place where the gas may enter your apartment, from the leak upstairs. That could be anywhere, depending on where the gas travels in the upstairs apartment, though. I might be tempted to get a second unit, though, and have one near (or in) your bedroom and one in another part of the apartment. Kind of give yourself a bit of 'blanket' coverage, with the one in the bedroom acting as a bit more of an alarm clock in case of a leak while you're sleeping. This alarm is loud enough that if it goes off in your bedroom, I have very few doubts that it would wake you up. Even if you use some kind of white noise device while you're sleeping. But like I said, I'm no expert, these are just my opinions and what I would do in your situation. I would still recommend calling either Kidde or a local gas company and ask them for a consultation. Explosive gases aren't something to take too lightly.

That's a small visual indication, yes. The loud sound that it makes, is the most obvious signal though. If someone is hearing impaired, though, I think they'd want something that will be more visual than what this displays.

I've read various things, some say high, some say low. So I wouldn't want to tell you an answer and then be wrong and cause harm. So for that kind of question, I'd really suggest contacting Kiddie and asking them, or maybe even your local fire department. Surely they'd be able to give you some advice on this. Or even if you have a local natural gas or propane supplier, ask them. One of those entities would be more qualified to answer an important question like that, and I'd tend to trust their answer more than that of someone online.

31Mike the monitor i bought says 6” from the ceiling and at least 5’ away from the furnace so that’s what I did. Kind of makes sense since natural gas is mostly methane which has a lower density then air. I was asking because the house I bought had monitors close to the floor of the second level which I thought was odd. I also placed one monitor in each floor hallway.

@@peteross4879 They may have placed them lower for CO2, which is denser than air and hovers above the floor.

I don't know if it's required to be that close, that just happens to be where my leak was, and since the gas comes into the house for the stove at that location, I keep the detector there for potential future leaks. As far as getting one that may be more powerful, maybe call your gas company. They may know of one that's more powerful, or can detect leaks from a further distance than where I have mine. It's definitely a good thing to have though.

The flammable gas alarm is designed to sound when gas levels reach 25% of the lower explosive limit of gas in air. It's always useful and should be placed in a room where leaks are most likely to occur (eg. basement or kitchen). A human can detect odorant molecules in natural gas at a few parts per BILLION, equating to a methane from natural gas concentration in air of WELL below the lower explosion limit (

I'll test mine, in the same way, and see how mine reacts and let you know what happens.

I just did a quick search and so far I only see types that need to be plugged in. The one in this video does have a battery backup, but that only lasts for about 30 to 45 minutes after the power goes out. When I have a few free minutes later, I'll do some more research and let you know if I fins one that doesn't require electricity.

@@31Mike Thanks, I have been looking around but only found two types of natural gas alarm both need to be plugged in. I don't think co alarm can detect natural gas leaking, am I correct?

No, unless it specifically says that it also detects explosive gas. So far, I've only found types that need to be plugged in.

I'd call the gas company and see if they can send someone out to double check that there isn't even a small leak. Just to be on the safe side.

Update: so we called someone and there was no gas leak. After that I brought the detector back up and re-activated it. Not 10 seconds later it sounded again, and this was after I cleaned it. I took it to several different rooms, same thing. We did replace it with a first alert version and so far so good. The one that kept going off is now sitting in my slow growing collection. Oh and to be fair I brought the second detector from the basement up to the kitchen and it didn't go off.

These definitely work, they detected a Liquid Propane leak in my home within a matter of just a couple of minutes of being plugged in. Why didn't yours detect the gas? Were they plugged into the electricity? Were the batteries brand new? Was there too much ventilation (if the grill is outdoors)? I can't say. All I can say, is that the one that I bought, detected the leak extremely quickly.

One was brand new out of the package with new battery. The other we bought a few months ago. My wife smelled gas yesterday so I took it outside to do the grill test. It did nothing, so we bought another today and the same. I had all 4 burners on my Broilking blasting them with propane and nothing.

I will make a video tomorrow

I would definitely think that it would detect it, being in close proximity to the gas. If it was outdoors though, I don't know how that might affect the test. Before you give up on the idea of having a detector, I'd just suggest you call Kiddie and tell them about your test and see if they give some kind of valid justification as to why it didn't sound off when you tested it. I definitely like having it, after it so quickly alerted on my gas leak.

It is a false sense of security. I have spent hours trying to find one with good reviews, and they all seem to have duds. But 2, for me is ridiculous. I will call them on Monday.

We talked to the office, they knew who he was and we told the actual certified technician who came out to fix the leak. As for the smoke alarm, that's a complete mystery to me. I guess the good Lord was looking out for me that day.

31Mike Amen to that

Interesting. I'm grateful that it did, though. If not for that, I wouldn't have investigated just what was going on.

With mine, it was very subtle and near where the stove vents and it had been so gradual that we never really noticed it. But when the gas man came in, he said he could smell it.

Others have mentioned similar stories. For my situation, it went off almost immediately when I first plugged it in (as shown in the video). You should contact the company and tell them of your situation and see what they say. I'd be curious to know their reply, if you do.

Is it going off like an alarm, like in the video or is it just a little chirp every few minutes or so? Mine will chirp when the battery needs to be changed. If it's going off like in this video, it could be detecting gas.

That's a question that I don't have the answer for. Does the alarm go off? I would suggest contacting the gas company and ask them to send someone out to check for a leak.

Depends. If you press reset/test it will say 888, then say gas, then say 888 again, then back to 0. This is normal. It's a test

That you. This is the reason I am looking for one right now. My mother has lost her sense of smell.

Could be, but mine was 100% true. The propane company came out and found the leak. It was such a subtle leak that we couldn't really notice it, but when the propane guy came out to check it, he said he could smell it the moment he stepped through the door.

Yeah, apparently, the gas company sent out their truck driver (the guy who delivers gas) as opposed to someone who's actually qualified to check for leaks. He was a nice guy, but you wouldn't want an auto mechanic to perform heart surgery on you. They said that from now on, they'll only send their certified tech's out in this situation. Hopefully, they weren't just saying that.