Bristol Caravans and Motorhomes
Before you set off on your next adventure, have you checked your motorhome for carbon monoxide safety?
A carbon monoxide test verifies that your LPG-burning appliances are working correctly and that exhaust gases are being safely vented outside your living space. By catching faults early, you help protect everyone onboard, prevent serious safety risks, and travel with peace of mind knowing your motorhome has been professionally checked for safe, reliable use in every season.
A carbon monoxide (CO) test measures whether LPG-burning appliances in your motorhome are burning efficiently. Carbon monoxide is colourless, odourless, and extremely dangerous, which makes it especially risky in enclosed environments like motorhomes, caravans and campervans.
In addition to a CO test, we strongly recommend a CO alarm because if an LPG burning appliacne even has a small leak in the flew that allows combustion into the living area you should ahve an alarm fitted so that you are safe whenever your appliances are burning even over night. A dedicated CO alarms means peace of mind knowing your vehicle is safe to live and sleep in, maning that everything is operating as it should.
In the UK, a CO test is not specifically mandated by law for private motorhome owners. However, professional motorhome workshops often include this as part of their habitation service checks and may be required by rental companies, dealers or insurers.
If you are selling your motorhome, this is a great test to include in your buyers pack proving your vehicle well maintained and safe. The best practice is ensuring a CO test is included in your annual habitations service.
Most professionals recommend an annual CO test as part of a routine habitation or safety inspection. This ensures that appliances remain safe after regular use, vibration from driving, and normal wear and tear.
Additional testing is also sensible after any appliance repair, modification or if you notice symptoms such as headaches, dizziness or a CO alarm triggering. Regular testing helps catch small issues before they become serious safety risks.
This typically includes room heaters, water heaters and LPG refrigerators. The test looks at how well these appliances are burning LPG by measuring the exhaust gases at the external flew point. Even appliances that appear to work normally can produce dangerous CO levels if ventilation or combustion is compromised.
GaS COOKERS AND OVENS do not have external flews and are not included in this test. CO gasd is monitored inside the habitiation area with a CO alarm which should be tested annually by the service enigner during your habitation check.
If your motorhome fails a CO test, it indicates that one or more of your appliances are producing unsafe levels of carbon monoxide. The enginer will usually request additional time to investigate the surce of the problem to enable a recommend repair or adjustment.
In most cases, the issue can be resolved by servicing, cleaning, sealing, or replacing faulty components. While a failure can feel worrying, it is far better to discover the problem during a test than through a health emergency.
A CO alarm is a vital safety device that warns you when carbon monoxide levels become dangerous. However, it only alerts you once CO is already present, which may be late in the process.
A CO test, on the other hand, checks appliances proactively to ensure they are operating safely in the first place.
Both are important: the test reduces the risk, and the alarm provides protection if something goes wrong.
Welcome to the team here at Bristol Caravans and Motorhomes. We’re really proud of the team, and over the years it’s been our pleasure to provide advice and services to our ever-growing loyal customers.
Thank you for trusting us with your investment.
“We arrived at Llanfyllin, and it was raining so hard it was difficult to find our plot. Once parked up, it took just 90 seconds as we let our automatic levelling system get us level. Thank you, Bristol Caravans, for fitting our amazing levelling system.”
Jake and Carol Smith
