I'm that guy! Now I'm an advocate for CO protection. Even the "Expensive" Guardian panel mount units are worth the price in my opinion. Yes, I guess it is a rare way to die in aviation. But 4 people just did, one person in Alaska last year, I should have in Feb 2017, and another in Alaska in 2016. Enough people have died that the NTSB believes its a major problem.
After my accident I organize a discounted group buy for the Sensorcon portable for fellow pilots on Mooneyspace. I was expecting 20-25 pilots to participate and it has snowballed to well over 600 with the help of Beechtalk, other forums, and my public speaking events. Many report back problems they find. I have had 4 solid reports of "saves". And several more of situations that could have escalated given time to. Not all have been heater related. One Turbo Mooney (Bravo) owner had his alarm go off during a climb in IMC. He declared an emergency and flew the ILS back to his departure airport. Mechanics found that the V-band clamp on the hot side of the turbo had come loose. He was at the start of a 2hr X/C over IMC, that could have ended badly. The NTSB report wouldn't have mentioned CO, but the detector was what alerted him to the problem.
Just inspections alone are not adequate enough. My accident happened 88hrs since the previous annual, it was brought on metal fatigue and not corrosion. So it looked great and passed the low pressure look for bubble test at annual. I'm guessing the crack had propagated withing the proceeding 10hrs. Good low level detectors are much more reliable than a once per year inspection.
It's interesting to note that only 50% of the CO accidents are caused from a faulty heating system. Many exhaust failures can find there way into the cabin. So not turning your heat on mitigates the risk but doesn't eliminate it.
If anyone is interested in the discounts, both are for 20% off. I have no affiliation with either company.
www.sensorcon.com
Code: aircraft2017
www.guardianavionics.com
Code: coaware
Cheers,
Dan