Review of First Alert Battery Operated Carbon Monoxide Alarm

I know it’s not a fancy new stove, knife, or firearm, but a simple CO alarm is equally important as any other equipment you can purchase. Remember that winter is coming very soon and you need to always be thinking safety first. This First Alert CO400 Battery Powered Carbon Monoxide Alarmseemed to fit the bill nicely for what I wanted.

You see, a while back (many months) my CO alarm quit working inexplicably. Long story short, it has a built-in timer to quit working after 7 years! What a bunch of nonsense. Anyway, in the garbage it went and new CO alarm was added to the list. Since winter was just over I didn’t bother with buying a new one until now.

Anyway, I didn’t want to spend $30-40 on a new fancy one. This one was less than $20 and the best part is that it is battery operated using 2 AA batteries. Of course, a drawback is that it is ONLY powered with batteries and cannot be plugged into the wall outlet like my previous one was. Ultimately I decided that was no big deal.

Another potential drawback is that it does not include a digital readout, which sounds like a useful and necessary addition; however, from my previous experiences with a unit that did have a digital readout, it didn’t make a lick of difference to me. If the alarm went off I began to wonder why and took steps to alleviate the problem… even though I think my previous CO alarm was a bit crazy.

ThisFirst Alert CO Alarmis very small and can easily be mounted inconspicuously to a wall. So, given the small size, the fact that it uses AA batteries (instead of a 9-volt like my previous alarm), and the cost at less than $20, I would recommend one or two for your home. Like I said before, the digital readout wasn’t a big deal to me but there are other models that do include it. If this particular alarm doesn’t work for you then consider one of these other models…