Tag Archives: Fires

Smoke, Fire, Gas Safety

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Did you know that there is a date code on the smoke detector as well as your carbon monoxide detector in your RV?  Did you know that the propane detector in your RV has an end of life?

I sure didn’t know.  If you are just changing the detector batteries at the beginning of each RV season and removing the batteries at the end of each season you may not be doing everything you  need to be safe, there is more to it.  When was the last time you tested all your detectors to be sure that they all worked? (In many cases pushing the test button on the detector does not test the most important part of the detector, the sensor.)  Do you know how to test the detectors?  When is the last time you had a fire drill in your RV?

Let’s look for some answers.  On the back of every smoke detector there is a date code.  You may have to hunt for it but it is there.

Beginning in 1999, Underwriters Laboratories (UL) required the manufacturing date code on the back of the device to be printed in plain English. This information may appear on the back of the device, on the face of the horn, in the battery compartment or on the top sensing chamber.

It is widely held in the RV industry that if your detector is more than five years old, or is out of date, it should be replaced.

Some detectors have permanent batteries built-in and others need to be replaced annually.  Always use alkaline batteries when replacing batteries in detectors.  Alkaline batteries last the longest in low power usage situations, such as detectors.

Now let’s talk turkey.  Most RV manufactures use the lowest cost, simplest smoke detector they can in their rigs.  So false alarms and the possibility of alarm failures are there.  What can you do, upgrade your standard smoke detector to a combination ionization and Photoelectric smoke particle alarm such as the

Kidde Model Pi9010 Dual Sensing Smoke Detector .

These alarms have fewer false alarms and will give you and your family more time to get out if there is an emergency.

Most fire safety experts agree that you have about 20 seconds to get out of a RV that is on fire before you will be overcome and not be able to get out.

Where should I put the smoke detectors in the RV you ask?  One should be in the Master bedroom and one in the Bunkhouse (if your RV has one).  Another one should be located in the kitchen area of the rig.

You can test this type of detector by using a burning candle near the detector and then blowing it out.  See what happens.  Also you can push the button located on the detector to test the battery.  Pushing the button just test the battery and the electronics and does not check the sensor inside the unit.  The candle does that.

Next we have the Carbon Monoxide detector.  This detector looks for the gas from combustion. CM gas is odorless, colorless, and tasteless.  This is a very deadly gas.  Every year there are deaths caused by CM gas when people run gasoline generators outside of their trailer. This detector can be located in the hallway to the bedrooms or in the bedroom itself.  Don’t forget to put one in the bunkhouse. It should be located off the floor about head high or higher. In my rig the detector is located on the ceiling. The CM gas is lighter than air and will be found near the ceiling first.  Here is the one that I have  Battery Operated Carbon-Monoxide Detector.

Battery Operated Carbon-Monoxide Detector

Be sure to replace the batteries at the beginning of the RV season (remove batteries at the end of season) and keep the surface of the detector clean.

The LP Gas Detector is the last of the required detectors in your RV.  This one usually runs off of the 12volt battery system of the RV.  It is located very near the floor usually in the hallway to the master bedroom, but not always.  This is the guy that will detect if you stove, oven, furnace, refrigerator, or any other LP gas product in the RV is leaking LP into your breathing space.  LP Gas is heavier than air and sinks to the floor and builds up from there.  It has an bad odor that has been added to the gas by the LP Gas provider.  So LP Gas is not odorless, you sure can smell it.  Unless of course you are sleeping.  If you smell gas get out, get out now, do not look for the leak just get out, and get help.

Here is a 12volt LP Gas detector that has gotten good reviews and could replace what you are currently using if after testing yours does not work or the 5 year replacement date is up.  Remember pushing the test button on a detector does not test the sensor just the electronics and sounder.  Here is a detector that has gotten good reviews 12v LP Gas Detector.

12v LP Gas Detector

So how do you test one of these?  Remember those BIC lighters and Charcoal Starters?  Well get down near the detector and flick the BIC but do not light it.  Hold the lighter near the detector for a few seconds and you should set the alarm going.  Stop the flow of gas from the BIC and blow on the detector to dissipate the gas and the alarm should stop sounding.

A word of caution here I think is advisable.  I have heard that people are replacing the two gas detectors with one that claims it will do both jobs.  I would not want to bet my family’s safety on this all in one detector.  These gases are not the same weight in the air one rises and one sinks, now how is one detector going to be in the right place to detect the right gas?  Just say’in.

Now lets talk about fire fighting.  Don’t do it.  Get Out!!!  If you must fight the fire to give yourself and your family more time to get out, do you have the right fire extinguisher?  Here again, in most cases, the cheapest fire extinguisher was installed in your rig.  When was the last time you check the extinguisher?  Now is good time before you start off for this season.  If it is a powder type, turn it over a few times to resettle the powder.  If it is a squeeze the trigger type what is the date of manufacture?  You should plan on replacing the trigger type ever six years or sooner if the gage says so.   RVers die every year from rig fires, use the fire extinguisher to give you and your family time to get OUT not to fight the fire.

You need a fire extinguisher in each bedroom, in the kitchen area, and at the front and back door of the RV.  I recommend using Fire Gone 2NBFG2704

Fire Gone 2NBFG2704

as the best you can get to give you more time.  If the kids are old enough be sure they can operate the Fire Gone and be sure to put one in the bunkhouse.

Because of recent fire events, the following fire suppression device was developed RV Refer Compartment Fire Suppression.

RV Refer Compartment Fire Suppression

Because of the number of fires that have been caused (or thought to have been caused) by refrigerators in RVs, a automatic fire suppression system has been developed, shown above.  This system is one the average RVer can install and will activate in the presents of a fire in the the refrigerator compartment of an RV.  While you still need to get out as quickly as possible this unit may put the fire out completely or give you more time to get out either way it is a plus.

OK the fire drill.  Do you know how to get out of your Rig if the front door is blocked by fire?  In each bedroom area of the rig as well as other locations you will see a window with a red leaver at the bottom.  With the word EMERGENCY EXIT printed on it.  Move the handle in the direction indicated and the window will open and you can climb out.  Of course it will be a real job because you may have forgot a few tools that will help make it easier.  First did you have your emergency window prop open stick?  If you said no, you should.  Take and old broom handle, rake handle, hunk of PVC, etc, and cut it to 24″ long and paint it red.  Attach two dots of hook and loop to the top and bottom of the stick and to the wall along side or below the window and voila you are ready.  When the emergency occurs open the window put in your prop stick and pull a blanket or comforter from the bed or a blanket from other area and lay it across the bottom of the window frame covering the exit handle area of the window.  This will stop you from being cut or badly scratched by the window frame as you crawl out.

Have a meeting place well outside of the rig area, that everyone knows and will meet at if there is a fire so you can take a head count and be sure everyone is safe.

Last but not the least.  Do the kids know how to get out?  Each season before you hit the road you should go over the fire safety rules and how to get out.

Rule number,

  1. GET OUT
  2. GET OUT
  3. NEVER FIGHT THE FIRE (you have approx 20sec to get out before you can’t)
  4. DO NOT GO BACK FOR THE DOG, CAT or GOLDFISH
  5. EVERYONE MEETS ACROSS THE ROAD

I am sure you get the picture.  Cats and dogs are part of the family for sure, but they are not humans and the kids and grandma are far more important.  Be sure to remind the kids of that.

Fire Safety Quick Check

  1. Test all Fire, LP Gas, and CM detectors
  2. Do not fight the fire GET OUT!!!!
  3. Know where the emergency exits are located
  4. Have an escape plan
  5. Have fire drills
  6. Be sure the fire extinguishers are up to date

Until next time

Bugs, Bugs, And More Bugs

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 I am sure that you have had your fair share of bugs either the crawling type or the buzz bomb type. I will try to give you some hints and tips on how to get rid of both types safely and cheaply. 



 So lets go.

Ants

Ants we all seem to collect them either during storage or while camping. Here is a cheap and pet safe way to get rid of them both in the RV or your sticks and bricks.

You need to mix in equal parts of

1 part baking soda

and

1 part powdered sugar (not the granulated kind used in coffee)

You will need.

 

1 lid from any jar

Mix the baking soda and powdered sugar and put into jar lid and put out where you have seen the ants. It will not be long and the ants will be gone. So you may ask why this works. Inside of ants there is an acid type fluid when mixed with the baking soda causes the ants to explode. If you or the dog should eat the mixture nothing much happens, it just doesn’t taste good.

Corn meal is another safe way to get rid of ants, but it can be a bit messy. Just sprinkle the meal around the nesting area or along the ant trail. In a day or so the ants will be gone.

Stink Bugs

These little devils are not native to the USA but, like many of our ancestors have immigrated to a better life here in the USA. So how do you get rid of them now that they have hitched a ride in your RV?

In a spray bottle, combine 32 ounces of hot water and three-quarters of a cup of Dawn dish washing liquid and spray the exterior of your RV’s, windows, and doors. On the inside spray around baseboards inside cabinets, closets, and any other dark area inside the RV. For an extra kick, you can use the anti-bacterial variety of dish washing liquid, but understand that it contains additional chemicals. Of course a good bug spray will also work but might not be safe for Fido.

Wasps

You are getting your RV ready to go for spring and you spie a wasps nest or several wasps returning to the same spot time after time. What can you do? Well spray the area or nest with WD40 and that will rid you of the nest or neutralize the area that the wasps were going to use to build their nest.

There are also a variety of commercially made glass wasp traps that claim that they are helpful in reducing wasp populations in the area. The trick is to make sure you keep replacing the bait, as wasps like fresh bait. And also, please consider using savory bait, such as tuna, as that will attract the yellow jackets and wasps, but not honeybees, which a sweet bait will. The glass traps are actually very pretty, but you can also make your own inexpensive version out of any type of plastic bottle (soda pop bottle, or water bottle). Follow these instructions to make your own.

Mud Dauber (Wasp)

While these wasps are non aggressive to humans, they do cause problems to RVers by getting into places they should not be.  Like gas orifices of the heating system, hot water system, and refrigerator.  The best defence here is to plug the holes leading into these areas of the RV.  See below for screening suggestions.

Mosquito

The scourge of the RV camping experience the Mosquito. First how do you keep them off you? Use Skin-So-Soft. You can purchase here Skin-So-Soft and it really does work for several hours. It is safe for kids and does not contain Deets. However during scientific tests, Deep Woods Off, proved to be the best you could buy in keeping Mosquitoes away from you. BUT it does contain DEETS. Please be careful when using Deets around children. Be sure to follow directions for use of the product.

So what about those flying around? We need to construct a mosquito trap. Please see below;

Take a plastic water bottle and cut the neck off. (The neck is the cone part of the bottle including the cap.)

Flip the neck upside-down, removing the cap first, and place the neck into the bottle.

Tape and/or staple the top together or punch a couple of holes and keep them together by two screws, which you can even use to hang the trap up.

Bait the trap. Mix 1/4 cup of Brown Sugar with 8oz of hot water. Mix thoroughly and allow to cool. After the mixture cools, pour into the bottom of the plastic bottle. Add 1/4 TSP of Yeast. DO NOT MIX!!! The mixture gives off carbon dioxide that attracts the Mosquitoes.

Tape some string to the bottle, (or make holes and put the string through) and hang it up near where you plan to be either outside or inside.

Once the Mosquitoes are tricked into going in they can’t figure out how to get out, so they get trapped and die.

Dispose of the Mosquito trap regularly whenever the number of dead Mosquitoes does not appear to be increasing.

You are now finished. You have saved the planet and your camping area from thousands (well maybe hundreds) of Mosquitoes.

We thank you!

So how do you stop or slow down bugs getting into your RV when the front door is kept closed most of the time?  You put screens over the openings caused by the water heater, furnace, and refrigerator.

Lets take each one and see what can be done.

Water heater.  You can buy a water heater vent screen, such as this one, Flying Insect Screen

Flying Insect Screen

and install it (easy DIY project) over the water heater RV vent.  I have a KZ Spree and could not find a water heater vent cover so I covered the inside of the water heater cover louvers with insect screen and used silicone to bond the screen to the metal water heater cover.  Works great.

Furnace vent. You can buy a furnace vent screen, such as this one, RV Furnace Screen

Kit comes with everything you need and will keep the Mud Daubers out.

Refrigerator Vents.  You can buy a refrigerator vent screen, such as this one, Refrigerator Vent Screens

I installed these on my KZ Spree and use some zip ties to hold the screens in place so they would not move around.  This was an simple DIY project and will keep the bugs and Mud Daubers out.  Check around windows and doors for any cracks or small openings that may have developed and keep storage doors closed while camping and you should keep the bugs out and enjoy the indoors as much as the outdoors.

 

Until Next Time.