[Emma Mirren]

Saw the CarbonOne Safe at a friend’s place and the box says it detects natural gas and propane too. I’m thinking of getting one for my kitchen but I’m a bit skeptical about the gas detection part. Does it actually pick up those other gases or is that just marketing talk? I don’t want to rely on it if it’s only good for CO and smoke. Anyone know if the natural gas and propane detection is legit or just a bonus feature?

[Chris Writes]

The gas detection part is the main reason I grabbed one for my kitchen. I’ve had it about eight months now and it’s gone off twice when my wife was cooking with the gas stove and something boiled over. Both times it picked up the gas before the smoke alarm even thought about chirping, which kind of surprised me because I figured the smoke sensor would be the first to react. I can’t prove it would catch a slow leak from a pipe or anything like that, but for everyday cooking mishaps it’s definitely doing something on the gas side, not just sitting there pretending. Whether it’s as sensitive as a dedicated gas alarm, no clue, but it’s not dead weight in that department like I half expected when I bought it. The plug-in thing is handy too since I didn’t have to mess with wiring, and the little screen showing numbers is weirdly satisfying. So yeah, I’d say the 4-in-1 claim has held up in my experience, at least for the propane and gas side.

[Tom911]

The gas sensors are real, just not as sensitive as a dedicated gas alarm. Mine picked up a propane leak in the garage, but it took a minute or two. Fine as a backup, wouldn’t trust it as the only thing.

[Alex Morgan]

I kind of expected the gas part to be mostly label decoration when I first saw one of these, but that’s not really what bugged me. What bugged me is that people treat “4-in-1” like it means all four things work equally well. It doesn’t. The CO side is the part that actually has a real sensor behind it. The natural gas and propane side is more of a general air quality sniffing thing from what I can tell, and placement matters way more than the box lets on.

I had a plug-in combo unit before this one, different brand, and it sat in a hallway outlet for like a year. Never made a peep. Then I moved it into the kitchen near the stove and it started chirping at me every time I cooked with the burner on high for a while. Nothing was actually leaking. It was just steam and cooking junk confusing it. That told me the gas detection is real enough to react to stuff, but not smart enough to know the difference between a hazard and dinner.

So my take is the gas sensors exist, but I wouldn’t buy it thinking you’re getting a dedicated gas alarm packed in for free. If you mainly want CO and smoke coverage with the gas thing as a bonus, fine. If natural gas is your actual worry, that’s a different purchase.

[HarperL]

I’d probably just get a separate natural gas alarm if that’s the part you actually care about. The combo units are fine for smoke and CO, but I wouldn’t trust the gas sensor as my only warning. For a kitchen, a dedicated plug-in gas alarm feels like the safer bet.

[Old Dave]

The gas side isn’t fake, but I wouldn’t call it 4-in-1 in any meaningful sense. Mine has been plugged in near the furnace for about a year and a half and it has never once gone off for gas, even when my wife left a burner on low for a solid twenty minutes and the whole place smelled like it. That tells me the sensor is either real picky about concentration or it just isn’t tuned for slow leaks. It does read CO just fine, caught a bad reading once when the flue was acting up. So the CO and smoke part is doing its job. The gas part is there, technically, but I wouldn’t trust it as my only line of defense in a kitchen. If you actually want gas coverage, get a proper alarm for that and let this thing handle the other stuff.

[Alex_28]

I don’t think the gas part is worth paying extra for. Mine never reacted to a small gas smell near the stove, only the smoke side has ever gone off. If gas detection is what you actually want, a cheap standalone alarm seems like the safer bet.

[Nina Ray]

I actually disagree with the idea that the gas side is just marketing. My parents have one in their kitchen and it did react when their propane line had a tiny leak, so the sensor isn’t fake. That said I doubt it’s as reliable as a dedicated alarm if gas detection is your main worry.

[Dani Moon]

I wouldn’t trust the gas side of any plug-in combo unit to be my main line of defense. I had a similar multi-gas thing in my last apartment and the CO part was fine, but the natural gas detection was pretty hit or miss. It only went off once when my landlord was doing something with the stove and there was a strong smell, so it did technically work, but I have no idea if it would have caught a slow leak before it got bad. That’s my issue with these things. The smoke and CO sensors are proven tech, the gas sensor is the wild card. If you actually have a gas line in your kitchen and you’re worried about it, I’d spend the money on a dedicated gas alarm instead of trusting a combo unit to cover everything. The CarbonOne is probably fine as a general alarm, just don’t treat the gas part as your only safety net.

[Tom Briggs]

The gas detection isn’t marketing, but I don’t think it’s a strong point either. Mine sits in the utility room and it has only ever gone off from dust burning off the furnace, never gas. If gas is the main reason you’re buying it, I’d get a dedicated alarm for that.

[T_Holloway]

I don’t get why everyone treats the gas side like an afterthought. Mine sits about six feet from the stove and it went off twice when a burner didn’t light right, both times before I smelled anything. The smoke part is whatever, that’s not why I bought it. If you’re actually worried about a gas leak in a kitchen, placement matters more than the box label.

[Emma Jarris]

I’ve had mine in the kitchen for close to two years and it has picked up a faint gas smell near the stove twice, so the gas sensor isn’t just for show. For me the real selling point is having one plug-in unit instead of three separate gadgets cluttering up the wall. I’d still keep a basic smoke alarm up, but for everyday kitchen coverage it’s been handy.

[Jason Brown]

I’d still get one, but I wouldn’t buy it for the gas side alone. Mine’s been plugged in for maybe eight months now, mostly because I wanted the CO and smoke coverage in one outlet. The gas sensors are there, and I don’t think they’re fake, but they’re not what sold me.

What actually made me decide was a small leak on a camping stove in the garage. I had the detector out there while I was sorting stuff, and it chirped before I could smell anything. Not a full alarm, just enough to make me check, and sure enough the connection wasn’t tight. That told me the sensor isn’t completely asleep. But I’ve also had it sit through a burner being left on low for a couple minutes with no reaction until the smell was already obvious, so it’s clearly not instant or super sensitive.

If I were you, I’d get it for the combo convenience and treat the natural gas and propane part as a secondary layer, not the only thing between you and a leak. For a kitchen, placement matters more than people admit. Mine only started behaving predictably once I moved it away from the stove hood and closer to where gas would actually pool.

So yeah, I’d buy it again for my place, but I wouldn’t pay extra just for the gas claim. The 4-in-1 label is a bit generous. It does more than CO and smoke, just not in a way I’d bet the house on.

[Alex M.]

I’ve had mine for about a year and the only gas it’s ever flagged was from a stuck burner knob, nothing else. So the natural gas and propane detection does work, but it’s not like it’s sniffing out every little thing in the kitchen. If that’s the main reason you’re buying it, I’d probably look at a dedicated gas alarm instead.

[Emma Mirren]

I actually ended up grabbing one after starting this thread, mostly for the smoke and CO side like I figured. The gas part is there but I’m not leaning on it as my only warning. Appreciate all the replies, gave me a better sense of what to expect.

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