Quality Carbon Monoxide Detectors for Scuba Cylinders

[TNEngineer]

I saw the above Forensics Detectors review and thought at first it would duplicate mine. But given the description and price mentioned, it cannot be the one we recently purchased so I'll add a shorty review of my own.

Like others here, we have an O2 analyzer (Palm O2) which works great. Small, rugged, lightweight, ideal for dive travel. Been using it for years and just replaced its sensor ($100) so it's good for another 3-4 years. But that leaves open the question of CO contamination, particularly since virtually all of our diving is at remote locations where we don't know the equipment nor the people. So I went looking for a good CO analyzer.

Turns out Palm used to offer one, but everyone (including Palm!) says "out of stock and no known date". All of the eBay and Amazon options have minimum CO thresholds that are far too high for scuba. Finally, we found Forensics. Most of theirs are higher range too, but they have one specific model that is basically purpose-built for dive gas analysis (model "FD-103-CO-LOW", link here: Carbon Monoxide Super-Meter | 0.1 ppm | USA NIST Calibration)

Instead of the usual 1ppm or greater resolution, this unit goes down to 0.1ppm. It's IP67 rated and has good drop resistance. Perfect for bashing in your dive bag and then accidentally dropping in the rinse tank!

The price ($185 when we bought ours) is more than the eBay knockoffs but less than the Palm O2. They estimate three years of useful life before the sensor ages out. The only downside to this unit is the sensor is not replaceable. Oh well... even if you simply discard the old unit and buy a fresh one, $185/3 = $62 per year to know your gas is safe is darned cheap life insurance!

We have a small neoprene zipper/velcro pouch that holds our Palm O2 and its accessories. This unit slipped right into that same pouch, so now all of our gas analysis gear is in one padded place. We just toss it in the gear bag. We keep both analyzers in ziploc bags to protect their sensors from temp/humidity swings while in storage; supposedly this lengthens their useful life.

Highly recommended. Both for the product, and the fun/playful vibe you get from the company. They make great products and obviously love what they do.

 

[Brandonkay0023]

I saw the above Forensics Detectors review and thought at first it would duplicate mine. But given the description and price mentioned, it cannot be the one we recently purchased so I'll add a shorty review of my own.

Like others here, we have an O2 analyzer (Palm O2) which works great. Small, rugged, lightweight, ideal for dive travel. Been using it for years and just replaced its sensor ($100) so it's good for another 3-4 years. But that leaves open the question of CO contamination, particularly since virtually all of our diving is at remote locations where we don't know the equipment nor the people. So I went looking for a good CO analyzer.

Turns out Palm used to offer one, but everyone (including Palm!) says "out of stock and no known date". All of the eBay and Amazon options have minimum CO thresholds that are far too high for scuba. Finally, we found Forensics. Most of theirs are higher range too, but they have one specific model that is basically purpose-built for dive gas analysis (model "FD-103-CO-LOW", link here: Carbon Monoxide Super-Meter | 0.1 ppm | USA NIST Calibration)

Instead of the usual 1ppm or greater resolution, this unit goes down to 0.1ppm. It's IP67 rated and has good drop resistance. Perfect for bashing in your dive bag and then accidentally dropping in the rinse tank!

The price ($185 when we bought ours) is more than the eBay knockoffs but less than the Palm O2. They estimate three years of useful life before the sensor ages out. The only downside to this unit is the sensor is not replaceable. Oh well... even if you simply discard the old unit and buy a fresh one, $185/3 = $62 per year to know your gas is safe is darned cheap life insurance!

We have a small neoprene zipper/velcro pouch that holds our Palm O2 and its accessories. This unit slipped right into that same pouch, so now all of our gas analysis gear is in one padded place. We just toss it in the gear bag. We keep both analyzers in ziploc bags to protect their sensors from temp/humidity swings while in storage; supposedly this lengthens their useful life.

Highly recommended. Both for the product, and the fun/playful vibe you get from the company. They make great products and obviously love what they do.

Completely agree with your experience. The diving-specific CO analyzer from Forensics Detectors really fills a crucial gap in the market, especially with Palm's CO analyzer being unavailable. Having precise low-range CO detection is essential for dive gas safety, particularly at remote locations where air quality can be uncertain. You can check their review on this link.

 

[Brandonkay0023]

Been diving a lot these past months and the analyzer's still performing consistently. The portability really makes a difference when checking tanks at different sites. Simple reliability is exactly what you need with safety equipment.

Carbon Monoxide Super-Meter | 0.1 ppm | USA NIST Calibration

Low level carbon monoxide meter which is the most sensitive detector on the market providing 0.1ppm of carbon monoxide gas resolution. low level CO detector, low level carbon monoxide detector, low level CO alarm, low level co monitor, carbon monoxide meter.

www.forensicsdetectors.com

 

[arkstorm]

Been diving a lot these past months and the analyzer's still performing consistently. The portability really makes a difference when checking tanks at different sites. Simple reliability is exactly what you need with safety equipment.

Carbon Monoxide Super-Meter | 0.1 ppm | USA NIST Calibration

Low level carbon monoxide meter which is the most sensitive detector on the market providing 0.1ppm of carbon monoxide gas resolution. low level CO detector, low level carbon monoxide detector, low level CO alarm, low level co monitor, carbon monoxide meter.

www.forensicsdetectors.com

Does that little scuba tank cap adapter that is pictured come with the kit?

 

[tmassey]

I saw the above Forensics Detectors review and thought at first it would duplicate mine. But given the description and price mentioned, it cannot be the one we recently purchased so I'll add a shorty review of my own.

Yes, the device you are describing is very much not the one that I covered in my review. Unfortunately, it seems the Amazon link I included is now mangled, so I included an update with a link back to the manufacturer website, as well as a screenshot of the device so that people can be clear which item I’m talking about.

Trust me: the difference between 0.1 ppm and one ppm is meaningless. The device won’t actually start to alarm unless it gets to at least a couple of PPM, and if you have any level of detectable CO, you need to deal with it. I would choose which device I wanted much more based on the form factor and price. For me, I’ll take the one that does the same thing for half the cost, but others value simplicity and convenience more.

I’m just glad that other people are finding this family of devices to work well for them, and that means more people are protected from an uncommon but very dangerous situation.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

... especially with Palm's CO analyzer being unavailable

Palm CO analyzers unavailable? Was that a temporary thing back in Oct? DGX has them in stock along with the sensors.

 

[bpodbielski]

Palm CO analyzers unavailable? Was that a temporary thing back in Oct? DGX has them in stock along with the sensors.

I think it might have just been temporary because DRIS has them in stock again as well

 

[LFMarm]

Completely agree with your experience. The diving-specific CO analyzer from Forensics Detectors really fills a crucial gap in the market, especially with Palm's CO analyzer being unavailable. Having precise low-range CO detection is essential for dive gas safety, particularly at remote locations where air quality can be uncertain. You can check their review on this link.

Looks great. Does 0.1 ppm vs 1 ppm resolution make a difference for scuba applications? Genuinely asking, not implying it doesn’tl.

 

[tmassey]

Looks great. Does 0.1 ppm vs 1 ppm resolution make a difference for scuba applications? Genuinely asking, not implying it doesn’tl.

Zero. The sensors aren’t capable of delivering that level of accuracy, so that level of precision is meaningless.

Besides, because of that lack of accuracy, the sensors won’t actually alarm until they detect at least 3 or so parts per million. If it’s 3.0 or 3.1 or 3.2, are you willing to breathe one over the other? No: if the sensor alarms at all, you need to not breathe the tank.

These really are pass/fail sensors. As long as it alarms at a sufficiently low number, which is low single digits, that’s all you really care about.

And that’s the problem with a lot of the cheap CO detectors on Amazon. Most of them won’t alarm until you are well into the double digits. For atmospheric pressure gas, that’s plenty low. But with the multiplicative effect of breathing under pressure like we do with Scuba, those numbers are way too high.

which doesn’t mean that buying that sensor is a problem: there are plenty of other reasons why someone might select that sensor. But precision should not be one of them. Like I said, that level of precision is literally meaningless.

ETA: by the way, all of what I just said above is exactly the same for oxygen sensors. We have oxygen sensors that give us 0.1% read out, but those read outs are just as meaningless. The biggest reason we use those tenths of percent is to make it clear that we are dealing with a measured value, and not an ideal or target value. If someone writes “32%“ on a tank, are they telling us that tank has 32% or they wanted 32%? But when someone writes “31.7%“ or even “32.0%“, we know that they are specifying a measured value.

 

[LFMarm]

Zero. The sensors aren’t capable of delivering that level of accuracy, so that level of precision is meaningless.

Besides, because of that lack of accuracy, the sensors won’t actually alarm until they detect at least 3 or so parts per million. If it’s 3.0 or 3.1 or 3.2, are you willing to breathe one over the other? No: if the sensor alarms at all, you need to not breathe the tank.

These really are pass/fail sensors. As long as it alarms at a sufficiently low number, which is low single digits, that’s all you really care about.

And that’s the problem with a lot of the cheap CO detectors on Amazon. Most of them won’t alarm until you are well into the double digits. For atmospheric pressure gas, that’s plenty low. But with the multiplicative effect of breathing under pressure like we do with Scuba, those numbers are way too high.

which doesn’t mean that buying that sensor is a problem: there are plenty of other reasons why someone might select that sensor. But precision should not be one of them. Like I said, that level of precision is literally meaningless.

ETA: by the way, all of what I just said above is exactly the same for oxygen sensors. We have oxygen sensors that give us 0.1% read out, but those read outs are just as meaningless. The biggest reason we use those tenths of percent is to make it clear that we are dealing with a measured value, and not an ideal or target value. If someone writes “32%“ on a tank, are they telling us that tank has 32% or they wanted 32%? But when someone writes “31.7%“ or even “32.0%“, we know that they are specifying a measured value.

However Forensics Detectors makes 2 sensors, one with 1 ppm precision and one with 0.1 ppm. Price of the more precise one is double. I wonder if the sensor is indeed more sensitive or if it’s just marketing.