Carbon Monoxide poisoning sends more than 20,000 people to the emergency room each year. This is According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC.gov). Just in the US, there are more than 400 non-fire related Carbon Monoxide deaths each year. A large portion of these is due to the misuse of portable generators. Briggs & Stratton CO Guard is a Carbon Monoxide shutdown technology aimed at helping to reduce these deaths and emergency room visits, due to portable generators.
Hurricanes and Generators
With OPE Reviews headquarters in Central Florida (Lakeland), we have a very good understanding of hurricanes. We know all too well the melodious sounds of generators running through the night. While Hurricane Irma (2017) didn’t strike as hard as originally intended, the wide-spread and slow-moving storm left many without power. Personally, my home lost power for more than 10 days. What do we do? We find generators and try to at least keep the refrigerator/freezer running. Many followed this same routine, however, safety was not always first.
While Hurricane Irma claimed the lives of at least 72 in Florida, many of these were post-storm related. Generators running indoors or running just outside an open window claimed many lives and sent hundreds more to the ER.
Related Content: As the hurricane season nears again, check out the GenTent Generator Cover Review.
Briggs & Stratton CO Guard
Even with the Briggs & Stratton CO Guard technology, Briggs states profoundly the only safe place to operate a portable generator is outside in a proper area. Over the next 18 months, this CO Guard technology will be introduced on the new portable generator models manufactured in the US. This CO shutdown technology shuts down the portable generator if harmful levels of CO is detected.
Check out www.TakeYourGeneratorOutside.com for properly operating a portable generator.
“The announcement of CO Guard technology comes after several years of Briggs & Stratton dedicating resources to create the most comprehensive solution to reduce the number of carbon monoxide-related injuries and deaths caused by improper use of portable generators,” said Mike Derra, Briggs & Stratton Corporation director of engineering. “Extensive modeling and testing confirm CO Guard lowers the risk of carbon monoxide deaths far more than existing technology on the market.”
Carbon Monoxide Shutdown
Once the Briggs & Stratton CO Guard recognizes harmful Carbon Monoxide levels, the generator shuts down. An LED light will illuminate on the display panel notifying the user once a shutdown occurs. Users will not be able to restart the generator until the Briggs & Stratton CO Guard technology confirms a safe level of Carbon Monoxide.
More than 52 million of these same type CO sensors have been proven in Carbon Monoxide detectors for years. To further ensure real operating environments, these sensors prove to function in temperatures from -20F to 122F.
The first portable generators with the Briggs & Stratton CO Guard technology will begin hitting the shelves in Fall 2018. Several portable generator brands will feature this CO Guard technology. Consumers can identify the featured generators from the CO Guard icon located on the generator’s packaging and control panel.
For more information on Briggs & Stratton CO Guard, click here .
