I took my carbon monoxide monitor outside by a pipe on the heater unit and it went berserk. It hasn't gone off inside the house yet, but i am worried that the CO gas could get inside my house. Should I be as worried as i am or should it be safe for my family?
the above answer is great for CO gas, totally right. But to answer the question about not getting hot air... there is a pilot that may need to be lit on your unit, depending how old it is. Or the ignitor isnt working properly (think of a gas bbq, the red button). On some newer models it is automatic but if it fails you'll get no fire, therefore no heat! Check that the gas is being ignited in the FAU (forced air unit....the heating part of your heater/ac).
Your safe, CO comes from the combustion of fuel as in natural gas, propane, etc. Furnaces for residential use are designed to burn this fuel and pass it through a sealed heat exchanger and then outside through a flu vent. The heat is transferred to the house air that is passing over it as it is redistributed through out the house. The only concern you should have about CO poisoning is if there is a crack in the heat exchanger. Place your CO monitor close to an air vent in the house and you'll be fine. Even if you did have a cracked heat exchanger the only time you would get CO gasses into your house directly would be during the heating operation of the furnace. It would def set off the alarm, but traces of CO in your ducting would be more likely to give everyone a nasty headache than kill you or your family. If you are really concerned then call out a service mechanic to inspect your system and heat exchanger.
