Last Updated: 01/01/2022

As the BBQ installation is coming to an end, I went ahead and order the Cabac GK601 Gas detector alarm. It arrived today, so before installing, as usual, I dismantle it to get a better understanding of this product quality. The 9kg Gas bottle will be sitting in the bin next to the BBQ, so I wanted a Gas detector permanently wired into Gigi to give me that little extra peace of mind. I had the pleasure to witness a 9kg gas bottle exploding many years ago, when a vehicle was in flame and I went to help the owner with a big fire extinguisher that I had in my vehicle.. As my extinguisher run out of powder, I went back to my vehicle, about 30 metres away, to get the other little one I had. That’s when the van in flame exploded. The owner had a 9kg gas bottle inside the vehicle and completely forgot about it.. To cut the story short, the van was disintegrated by the explosion, and I was just lucky that my extinguisher had run out, otherwise I wouldn’t be here today telling the story..

This perhaps does explain why I didn’t install any gas appliances inside Gigi and to this day I’m still not comfortable around gas and/or gas appliances.. Ok, what happen then was an extreme, but even a small gas leak if unnoticed, could lead to the same result.. Whit this in mind I started to look for a Gas detector online. The price range is unbelievable and because I had no previous experience on the matter, I started to look at what most RV company do use. It seems that the GK601, that does come in several flavours, is the most popular one, so I went ahead and purchase one from my friend OuRVan RV in Victoria. I had previously made some purchase from this company, and they seem to always have better prices than the competition and a very quick delivery system. Highly recommended..

Now the unit I got is advertised as:

12V Gas Detector Wall Mounted White Caravan Motorhome 550-02010

The 12V gas detector can be installed in homes, motorhomes & caravans.

It detects a gas leakage and triggers the alarm when the gas level reaches 10% of the LEL (Lowest Explosion Limit) in the air.

Specifications
Dimensions: W x D x H – 80mm x 40mm x 120mm
Power Consumption: 3.5W
Alarm Level: 10% of the LEL (Lowest Explosion Limit) in the air
Alarm Method: Visual & Audible
Sound Level: 70db
Weight: 270g
Everything so far is correct other than the bit about the Alarm method where it says Visual & Audible.. That it simply ain’t true! Let me explain..
This here on the left is the model I got. It seems that there are three models available:
  • 240 Volts
  • 12 Volts
  • 240 and 12 Volts with red plastic cover

Now I don’t really mind that the model I got has a plastic cover that does prevent the two little red LED from showing when the alarm is on, but what I’m a bit more concern about, is how low those 70db do sound. To give you an idea, the sound output is not much more than the one coming out of a little portable alarm clock. To be honest, I was expecting a similar level of sound as the one of most smoke detector, but this is definitely not the case..

I don’t mind the lack of visual alarm as the detector is located in the bin, so it is out of sight, but the low audible alarm is a bit of a worry. When asleep, I’m about 7 metres away from this device and the sound has to go thought the floor to actually reach the bedroom. If you also have snoring issues, as most human being, we could be in trouble. A possible solution to it could be to relocate just the piezo inside the vehicle in a more audible position. As with most piezo it wouldn’t be a hard job, but just the inconvenience of having to run a little wire cable from the detector to the piezo. Yes I think I will go in that direction just to be sure that I can actually hear it if the alarm goes off..

If I had heard the sound before the purchase, I would have perhaps kept looking for something louder to the same level as most smoke detectors..

Now, if the visual alarm is part of your requirement, you have two options here:

  1.  Purchase the model that does have the red plastic bottom cover, so that you can see the LED when flashing..
  2. Simply remove the bottom cover from the unit as it does really nothing. Perhaps at one stage it had a 9v backup battery in there or maybe they made another different model..

Bear in mind that the other three LED in the front are flashing as well when the alarm in off, so it is not that much difference

You can see the unit on the right with the red plastic bottom cover.. Other than that the specs remain the same. Before I forget, the models are listed as GK601 for detecting LPG (butane/propane, same thing really), the GK401 for detecting natural gas (methane) and the GK751 for detecting carbon monoxide, so it is important that you get the right one for your application..

My unit did came with a little twin wire poking out of the unit with a standard red/black colours. As it is a 12 Volts unit, you would presume that the red is positive and the black negative, but by looking at the little manual that came with it, it is obvious that the red is plugged in the negative and the black in the positive.. Because you can tell that these a Chinglish instruction, and I didn’t wanted to take any risk of burning the unit, I went ahead and open it to see what was what..

The unit has inside the usual bunch of components, but I was pleased to see that 4 diode bridge rectifier (N1 in the picture), that makes not important which ever way you connect it. Red or black makes no difference!  The N2 is the “not so loud” piezo that may do the job.. Beside the green LED, you also have a “test” button to confirm that the unit is working..

There are about $25 worth of components in there, so if you can buy this unit at around the $50-60 dollars mark, while you are not getting a bargain, you don’t get ripped off either.. I have seen some place selling those unit for $80-120, so look around or simply go to the link above where it sells for $53.70..

Once again, because of the lower voltage, I had to connect it to one of my little voltage converter, as it seems that while the 24 volts model does exist, nobody wants to keep one in stock.. I mounted the unit as per recommendation as close and as low as possible to the bin floor (LPG is heavier than air), so that in case of a leak, the GK601 may save the day..

I gave it a lower rating, simply because of the LED being covered by the white bottom plastic, but more importantly because of the low piezo buzzer sound level.. Here is the link to the manual just in case… Cabac GK Series manual

For a detector on a budget it is ok but if money is not an issue, I would aim at something a fraction better in sound level..

 

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