Exhaust fumes

I've been running my Wyvern engine on Alkylate petrol. Although more expensive, this fuel doesn't go off with time (which is useful if you only use small amounts) and has a cleaner exhaust with no choking fumes. We had a thunderstorm this morning and I was optimising the engine carb in the workshop - I guess the engine ran for about 10 minutes all together. About a quarter of an hour later a piercing alarm which I've never heard before went off - it was the Carbon Monoxide monitor in the living room. Clearly enough CO had drifted out of the workshop, through the utility room, into the kitchen, through the hall and into the living room where the monitor sits on top of a tall bookcase.

Makes one wonder what the CO concentration was in the workshop. Just because there are no smelly fumes that does not mean that the combustion products can be ignored. A salutary warning.

Rod

Also shows how sensitive the alarm is. Ian S C

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You cannot see, smell or taste CO. That is one on the things that makes it so dangerous.

Nick

It is indeed nasty stuff. We've got an alarm because we've got an open "coal effect" gas fire in the living room. Chatting to the gas service engineer, he was commenting that most deaths from CO poisoning were from log burning stoves. Whereas the installation of gas fires is highly regulated in the UK, there is no control over solid fuel stoves. Bloke comes in from the pub, gets another beer, shoves some logs on the stove, falls asleep, never wakes up. In 2011/12 there were 11 deaths from solid fuel fires, 2 from mains gas fires and only one from diesel/petrol combustion.

Not a high percentage of the population in total but the gas figures have gone done from 10s per year in the'90s.

Be careful out there,

Rod

Interesting stats Rod. I wonder how many "near misses" there are?

I bought a house a couple of years ago, with open "coal effect" gas fires in the front and back rooms. What didn't show up in the survey was that the front room flue was completely blocked - which didn't show up in the survey. Luckily I checked both flue's before the fires were used.

What bothers me about that is how lethal that situation is, it would only take a surveyor 5 minutes to check and yet it is not covered in the standard RICS survey and is not done.

Steve

As pointed out by Nick-G you cannot see, taste or smell carbon monoxide. The only indications are your skin turns a bright pink colour before you become drowsy and slightly confused. After that it is the big sleep.

Never, never run an I/C engine inside a closed workshop or garage

Mike

I don't think that is strictly true. We had a solid fuel wood burner installed a couple of years ago and the regulations were very tight indeed and the fitter definitely has to install a working CO monitor in the room. I suppose it's up to you whether you maintain it - just like a smoke alarm - but he would not leave without making sure it was working. I don't think there is any obligation to install a CO monitor with a gas fire... ?

Diane

Isn't there some traditional technique about putting your wife in a cage and when she stops singing you know there's a problem?

We had a "real effect" fire that was used very rarely, but turned it on one cold night when the central heating went down.

Within minutes I was feeling giddy and sick but had the presence to consider CO so turned the fire off and opened the outside door. Was fine in 20 mins.

Had the flue checked and the gas man shone a torch up the flue and could see the light through the wallpaper, the flue and plaster had cracked but the paper stretched.

The fire has gone and the flue blocked up, but still gives me the shivers, had I not been aware of CO I and the kids - asleep upstairs - would have been goners

Trevor

I've had a portable gas fire I never trusted, so I put a CO alarm in the same room.

It went down the tip after that.

Neil

I'v got a portable unflued gas heater here, my mum bought it after we were snowed in for a week without power in 1992, it has been used, but the 9kg LPG cylinder is on it's original fill, and still 3/4 full. I think some countries have banned them, them that do that sort of thing here say they are OK. Apart from gassing ones self, you are likely to drown from the water generated by the burn of LPG. Ian S C

There are new regulations, it is now necessary to check for gas fume leaks in enclosed flues like where they go all the way up through the house and have an outlet on the ridge. If there is not an inspection flap in that enclosure then one has to be cut so that probe can be inserted. The certificate has a waiver you can sign to accept the fact it has not been tested, this to save the engineers being charged f there is a death.

The worst I have is a gas fire in the living room which just outlets through the wall, original fitting by the builder. When used it fills the room with paint smell which soon makes me turn it off.

Clive