verdict: Unresponsive to carbon monoxide – Don’t Buy

We have tested six alarms that look like the alarm pictured here between 2016 and 2018 and each has failed to detect the presence of carbon monoxide reliably in our tests. If the CO alarm in your home looks like the one shown, you will need to replace it because our tests prove that it’s likely to be unsafe. We’ve given alarms that look like this one our Don’t Buy warning, based on the six seemingly identical alarms that failed our CO tests.

Alarms that look like the one featured here may come with an unfamiliar brand name, or be unbranded, and the packaging can vary from alarm to alarm. But everything we’ve seen in the tests we’ve carried out on six alarms that look like this leads us to believe that they are the same products – and will regularly fail to detect carbon monoxide. We’ve tested six versions of this alarm that we bought for less than £10 from Amazon and eBay. Each of the alarms we tested, first in 2016 and then again in 2018, failed to reliably detect carbon monoxide. Because of this, we have made all alarms that share this design Don’t Buys. Each alarm we’ve tested has come with instructions which wrongly advise consumers to not install the alarm in the kitchen, where in many UK homes you’ll find a gas boiler, which could be a potential source of carbon monoxide (CO).

 verdict: Doesn’t detect CO every time – Don’t Buy

This carbon monoxide (CO) alarm is dangerous and failed to detect CO in two of our carbon monoxide detection tests.  Following these gas detection failures, we’ve made it a Don’t Buy and our advice to you is to steer well clear of it. If you have one in your home, you should replace it with a well-known brand from a high street store or reputable online retailer.

This unbranded and dangerous carbon monoxide alarm is a Don’t Buy. It failed to detect the deadly gas twice in our CO detection tests. The failed tests involved testing it with a catastrophic concentration of CO and then seeing whether it could recover and work normally afterwards. In our tests, we found that it failed to detect the huge amount of CO and then failed to detect a lower concentration of CO and sound the alarm. We’ve made it a Don’t Buy because of these gas detection failures.

verdict: Failed to detect carbon monoxide three times in our tests

This carbon monoxide (CO) alarm failed to sound in one of our initial carbon monoxide detection tests and also failed to respond and sound the alarm in two later gas tests. Because of this, we’ve made it a Don’t Buy. It’s sometimes known as the JKD-512COM, and in other listings it’s unbranded. Our tests show that you can’t rely on it to detect carbon monoxide every time, so our advice is to give it a very wide berth. If you have one in your home, replace it as soon as possible with an alarm from a well-known brand, and buy from a high street store or reputable online retailer.

This unbranded carbon monoxide (CO) alarm failed to detect CO in three of our gas detection tests. The first failure was when we set it the challenge of detecting a potentially lethal, but low amount of the gas. Later failures were recorded when it failed to detect a huge concentration of the gas and then failed to detect a lower amount. The consequences of an alarm like this failing to sound in your home when you need it to don’t bear thinking about, and that’s why we’re making this dangerously unreliable alarm a Don’t Buy. Head over to our Best Buy carbon monoxide alarms to find the best alarm for you.

 verdict: Avoid this alarm – Don’t Buy.

This dangerous carbon monoxide (CO) alarm cannot be relied upon to detect CO and then sound the alarm when you need it to. That’s why we’re making it a Don’t Buy. It failed to detect CO in 17 of our detection tests and can’t be trusted to alert you if there’s a build-up of the deadly gas in your home. If you have this alarm, you should replace it as soon as possible with a model from a well-known brand.

This dangerous carbon monoxide (CO) alarm has failed 17 of our CO detection tests. What’s more, the instructions don’t meet the requirements of the carbon monoxide alarms standard, and when it does sound it’s too quiet. So, all things considered, this cheap and nasty alarm is the epitome of a Don’t Buy and should be avoided.

 verdict: Unreliable at detecting carbon monoxide – Don’t Buy

Bought from an online marketplace, this is yet another cheap and unbranded carbon monoxide (CO) alarm that you simply can’t rely on to detect CO. We’ve made it a Don’t Buy, as our test results show that after failing to detect CO three times, it’s more likely to endanger lives than to save them. If you have one in your home, replace it with an alarm from a well-known brand that’s available on the high street or from reputable online retailer.

This cheap, nasty and above all dangerous alarm failed to sound in three of our CO detection tests. The instructions give the wrong advice on where to site it, too. It failed to sound in the presence of a huge amount of CO and then failed to recover and sound with a lower concentration of the gas. And in our 90 day test, where the alarm is tested on day one of testing and again on day 90, we found that it again failed to detect the gas. If our test results are mirrored in your home, this alarm would simply fail to detect CO reliably enough. That’s why we’ve made it a Don’t Buy and are warning consumers about it.

 verdict: Excellent

The Lifesaver Carbon Monoxide Alarm 5CO comes with replaceable batteries that you’ll need to change every two to three years during its seven-year lifetime. In return for this upkeep, you’d expect to be able to rely on the Lifesaver Carbon Monoxide Alarm to live up to its reassuring name. To find out if this trust is justified, we tested it back in 2016 against four different levels of the poisonous gas in our test lab. Read on for the results of our test of this Lifesaver carbon monoxide alarm.

This reliable and loud carbon monoxide alarm did brilliantly in our tests, which is why it’s a Best Buy. It detected all levels of carbon monoxide in our 30+ lab tests, it recovered well to sound again following exposure to a huge amount of the gas and it was just as effective at the end of our three months of testing as it was on day one. So, don’t let the fact that it’s a few years old now get in the way of you buying an excellent carbon monoxide alarm.

 verdict: Dangerously unreliable – Don’t Buy

This unbelievably dangerous carbon monoxide (CO) alarm failed to detect the deadly gas in every single one of our 38 tests. That’s why we’re making it a Don’t Buy. We bought it from eBay, but it’s also available from other online marketplaces. If you have an alarm that looks like this in your home, your best course of action is to replace it with an alarm from a well-known brand that you buy from a high street shop or reputable online retailer.

This alarm simply can’t detect carbon monoxide (CO) and should be avoided. In our tests it failed to detect the gas every single time and that’s why we have made it a Don’t Buy. And like many of the other alarms that we bought from online marketplaces, the instructions are misleading and potentially dangerous. So, ignore the cheap price and don’t buy this dangerously unresponsive alarm.

 verdict: Dangerously unresponsive – Don’t Buy

This unsafe carbon monoxide (CO) alarm failed to detect the deadly gas in all but one of our tests – registering 37 failures to detect CO and sound the alarm – so we’re making it a Don’t Buy. We bought it from eBay, but it’s available from other online marketplaces too. In common with a collection of other cheap and unbranded alarms that we have bought and tested through this kind of site, you simply can’t rely on it to detect carbon monoxide when you need it to. If you have an alarm that looks like this in your home, replace it with a well-known brand from a high street store or reputable online retailer.

This is yet another unresponsive and downright unsafe carbon monoxide (CO) alarm that we bought from an online marketplace. It failed all but one of our CO detection tests, so in your home you just wouldn’t be able to trust it to alert you about a potentially deadly build-up of the gas. It’s far too quiet when it does sound and the instructions are potentially misleading. This alarm is one of the more worrying and dangerous products that we’ve tested, because of this we’ve made it a Don’t Buy and we would strongly advise you against buying it.

 verdict: Very good indeed

You’ll need to replace the batteries in the Kidde Carbon Monoxide Alarm 7CO every two to three years, but in return it promises a decade of faithful service. So, is this 2016 carbon monoxide detector a worthwhile investment? We tested its ability to alert you to the presence of carbon monoxide in a series of exacting tests, and assessed the clarity of its alarm and installation instructions. Check our results to discover if this carbon monoxide detector has what it takes to be a Best Buy alarm.

This brilliant carbon monoxide alarm passed all 30+ gas detection tests we set it, including detecting low, middling and high levels of the gas. It was loud enough to wake the whole house and we liked the fact that it was just as good at detecting carbon monoxide on day 90 of our tests as it was on day one. All in all, a clear Best Buy and one for your shortlist despite its advancing years.

 verdict: Outstanding

The Kidde 10SCO combination smoke and CO alarm is built to detect both smoke and carbon monoxide. This review covers how it fared in our tests when challenged to detect carbon monoxide back in 2018. It’s powered by a 9v battery and comes with a 10-year warranty and will sound to let you know when it’s reached the end of its working life. Read on for our full review to find out how this Kidde smoke and CO alarm fared in our  detection tests.

This Kidde alarm did a fine job of detecting carbon monoxide in our tests. We set it the challenge of detecting a rising amount of the gas, from a very low level where the alarm shouldn’t sound, right up to levels that could kill. Each time we tested it, the Kidde 10SCO aced our tests and that’s why we’re very happy to make it a Best Buy as a carbon monoxide alarm. As a smoke alarm it wasn’t bad at all, but just fell short of breaking into Best Buy territory. So, don’t worry about this alarm not being a brand new design – it might be a 2018 model but it’s still one of the better alarms that we’ve tested.

 verdict: Unresponsive to carbon monoxide – Don’t Buy

We have tested six alarms that look like the alarm pictured here between 2016 and 2018 and each has failed to detect the presence of carbon monoxide reliably in our tests. If the CO alarm in your home looks like the one shown, you will need to replace it because our tests prove that it’s likely to be unsafe. We’ve given alarms that look like this one our Don’t Buy warning, based on the six seemingly identical alarms that failed our CO tests.

Alarms that look like the one featured here may come with an unfamiliar brand name, or be unbranded, and the packaging can vary from alarm to alarm. But everything we’ve seen in the tests we’ve carried out on six alarms that look like this leads us to believe that they are the same products – and will regularly fail to detect carbon monoxide. We’ve tested six versions of this alarm that we bought for less than £10 from Amazon and eBay. Each of the alarms we tested, first in 2016 and then again in 2018, failed to reliably detect carbon monoxide. Because of this, we have made all alarms that share this design Don’t Buys. Each alarm we’ve tested has come with instructions which wrongly advise consumers to not install the alarm in the kitchen, where in many UK homes you’ll find a gas boiler, which could be a potential source of carbon monoxide (CO).

 verdict: Doesn’t detect CO every time – Don’t Buy

This carbon monoxide (CO) alarm is dangerous and failed to detect CO in two of our carbon monoxide detection tests.  Following these gas detection failures, we’ve made it a Don’t Buy and our advice to you is to steer well clear of it. If you have one in your home, you should replace it with a well-known brand from a high street store or reputable online retailer.

This unbranded and dangerous carbon monoxide alarm is a Don’t Buy. It failed to detect the deadly gas twice in our CO detection tests. The failed tests involved testing it with a catastrophic concentration of CO and then seeing whether it could recover and work normally afterwards. In our tests, we found that it failed to detect the huge amount of CO and then failed to detect a lower concentration of CO and sound the alarm. We’ve made it a Don’t Buy because of these gas detection failures.

 verdict: Failed to detect carbon monoxide three times in our tests

This carbon monoxide (CO) alarm failed to sound in one of our initial carbon monoxide detection tests and also failed to respond and sound the alarm in two later gas tests. Because of this, we’ve made it a Don’t Buy. It’s sometimes known as the JKD-512COM, and in other listings it’s unbranded. Our tests show that you can’t rely on it to detect carbon monoxide every time, so our advice is to give it a very wide berth. If you have one in your home, replace it as soon as possible with an alarm from a well-known brand, and buy from a high street store or reputable online retailer.

This unbranded carbon monoxide (CO) alarm failed to detect CO in three of our gas detection tests. The first failure was when we set it the challenge of detecting a potentially lethal, but low amount of the gas. Later failures were recorded when it failed to detect a huge concentration of the gas and then failed to detect a lower amount. The consequences of an alarm like this failing to sound in your home when you need it to don’t bear thinking about, and that’s why we’re making this dangerously unreliable alarm a Don’t Buy. Head over to our Best Buy carbon monoxide alarms to find the best alarm for you.

 verdict: Avoid this alarm – Don’t Buy.

This dangerous carbon monoxide (CO) alarm cannot be relied upon to detect CO and then sound the alarm when you need it to. That’s why we’re making it a Don’t Buy. It failed to detect CO in 17 of our detection tests and can’t be trusted to alert you if there’s a build-up of the deadly gas in your home. If you have this alarm, you should replace it as soon as possible with a model from a well-known brand.

This dangerous carbon monoxide (CO) alarm has failed 17 of our CO detection tests. What’s more, the instructions don’t meet the requirements of the carbon monoxide alarms standard, and when it does sound it’s too quiet. So, all things considered, this cheap and nasty alarm is the epitome of a Don’t Buy and should be avoided.

 verdict: Unreliable at detecting carbon monoxide – Don’t Buy

Bought from an online marketplace, this is yet another cheap and unbranded carbon monoxide (CO) alarm that you simply can’t rely on to detect CO. We’ve made it a Don’t Buy, as our test results show that after failing to detect CO three times, it’s more likely to endanger lives than to save them. If you have one in your home, replace it with an alarm from a well-known brand that’s available on the high street or from reputable online retailer.

This cheap, nasty and above all dangerous alarm failed to sound in three of our CO detection tests. The instructions give the wrong advice on where to site it, too. It failed to sound in the presence of a huge amount of CO and then failed to recover and sound with a lower concentration of the gas. And in our 90 day test, where the alarm is tested on day one of testing and again on day 90, we found that it again failed to detect the gas. If our test results are mirrored in your home, this alarm would simply fail to detect CO reliably enough. That’s why we’ve made it a Don’t Buy and are warning consumers about it.

verdict: Excellent

The Lifesaver Carbon Monoxide Alarm 5CO comes with replaceable batteries that you’ll need to change every two to three years during its seven-year lifetime. In return for this upkeep, you’d expect to be able to rely on the Lifesaver Carbon Monoxide Alarm to live up to its reassuring name. To find out if this trust is justified, we tested it back in 2016 against four different levels of the poisonous gas in our test lab. Read on for the results of our test of this Lifesaver carbon monoxide alarm.

This reliable and loud carbon monoxide alarm did brilliantly in our tests, which is why it’s a Best Buy. It detected all levels of carbon monoxide in our 30+ lab tests, it recovered well to sound again following exposure to a huge amount of the gas and it was just as effective at the end of our three months of testing as it was on day one. So, don’t let the fact that it’s a few years old now get in the way of you buying an excellent carbon monoxide alarm.

 verdict: Dangerously unreliable – Don’t Buy

This unbelievably dangerous carbon monoxide (CO) alarm failed to detect the deadly gas in every single one of our 38 tests. That’s why we’re making it a Don’t Buy. We bought it from eBay, but it’s also available from other online marketplaces. If you have an alarm that looks like this in your home, your best course of action is to replace it with an alarm from a well-known brand that you buy from a high street shop or reputable online retailer.

This alarm simply can’t detect carbon monoxide (CO) and should be avoided. In our tests it failed to detect the gas every single time and that’s why we have made it a Don’t Buy. And like many of the other alarms that we bought from online marketplaces, the instructions are misleading and potentially dangerous. So, ignore the cheap price and don’t buy this dangerously unresponsive alarm.

 verdict: Dangerously unresponsive – Don’t Buy

This unsafe carbon monoxide (CO) alarm failed to detect the deadly gas in all but one of our tests – registering 37 failures to detect CO and sound the alarm – so we’re making it a Don’t Buy. We bought it from eBay, but it’s available from other online marketplaces too. In common with a collection of other cheap and unbranded alarms that we have bought and tested through this kind of site, you simply can’t rely on it to detect carbon monoxide when you need it to. If you have an alarm that looks like this in your home, replace it with a well-known brand from a high street store or reputable online retailer.

This is yet another unresponsive and downright unsafe carbon monoxide (CO) alarm that we bought from an online marketplace. It failed all but one of our CO detection tests, so in your home you just wouldn’t be able to trust it to alert you about a potentially deadly build-up of the gas. It’s far too quiet when it does sound and the instructions are potentially misleading. This alarm is one of the more worrying and dangerous products that we’ve tested, because of this we’ve made it a Don’t Buy and we would strongly advise you against buying it.

verdict: Very good indeed

You’ll need to replace the batteries in the Kidde Carbon Monoxide Alarm 7CO every two to three years, but in return it promises a decade of faithful service. So, is this 2016 carbon monoxide detector a worthwhile investment? We tested its ability to alert you to the presence of carbon monoxide in a series of exacting tests, and assessed the clarity of its alarm and installation instructions. Check our results to discover if this carbon monoxide detector has what it takes to be a Best Buy alarm.

This brilliant carbon monoxide alarm passed all 30+ gas detection tests we set it, including detecting low, middling and high levels of the gas. It was loud enough to wake the whole house and we liked the fact that it was just as good at detecting carbon monoxide on day 90 of our tests as it was on day one. All in all, a clear Best Buy and one for your shortlist despite its advancing years.