I thought it a shame that John Howard's otherwise excellent recent piece in narrowboatworld about the dangers of Carbon Monoxide (CO) on boats was let down by his statement that he had bought CO detectors 'off eBay, for a little over £5.00 each'.
I certainly would not trust my life, nor those of my friends or family, on devices as cheap as a fiver from eBay. Having looked on eBay myself, quality, branded CO detectors from reputable manufacturers such as Honeywell or Kidde (I have the Honeywell myself, which seems to be an 'industry standard') sell from UK suppliers in the £15 to £25 region; still not expensive but at least one knows for sure the device will do its job if and when needed.
I simply do not think it is worth risking life by trying to save a tenner or so on something so important; even if the device carries the relevant standards markings, experience has shown that for many products sourced in the Far East and sold through the likes of eBay, these are often faked.
Alan N Estherby