Carbon monoxide alarms and gas alarms are very different, and many dealers and users often confuse the two. In fact, they vary greatly, and accidentally, if you install gas alarms on the locations that need carbon monoxide alarms, vice versa, it will bring great losses to people's lives and property.

Carbon monoxide alarms are used to detect carbon monoxide gas (CO). They can not be used to detect methane (CH4) and other alkane gases. Gas alarms are used to detect natural gas, which is the main ingredient methane gas. Gas alarms are for explosive measurement and carbon monoxide alarms are for the measurement of poison. Their sensor types are different with gas alarms using catalytic combustion sensors, and carbon monoxide alarms using electrochemical sensors.

Gas alarms on the market can usually be used to detect natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas or coal gas, etc.; city pipeline gas is usually one of these three gases. The main components of these gases are alkane gases such as methane (C4H4), which are mainly characterized by a pungent odor. When the concentration of these combustible gases in the air exceeds a certain standard it can cause an explosion. Gas alarms detect this explosive alkane gas and cannot be used to detect carbon monoxide gas.

City pipeline coal gas is a relatively special gas, which contains both CO components, but also alkane gas. Therefore, if you only detect whether there is leakage of pipeline gas, you can detect both with carbon monoxide alarms and gas alarms. But if you want to detect whether the pipeline natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas or coal gas in the combustion of excessive carbon monoxide gas, you need to use a carbon monoxide alarm. In addition, heating with coal stoves, burning coal, etc. produces carbon monoxide gas (CO), not methane (CH4) and other alkane gases. So you should use a carbon monoxide alarm instead of a gas alarm. If you use a coal stove for heating, burning coal, the occasion to install a gas alarm is of no use, people are poisoned, the gas alarm will not sound. This is quite dangerous.

In short, if you want to detect the poisonous gas, then be sure to use the carbon monoxide alarm. If you want to detect explosive gases, then be sure to choose a gas alarm. If you want to detect whether the pipeline is leaking, you can use gas alarms.