Fumes from the Heater?

[FabioC]

I do not know whether I am paranoid or I have a fume issue...

In my Jeanneau 349, I have a small Webasto heater (it came with the boat). When I turn it on, after about an hour, I get a strong headache and sometimes I even get a little dizzy. I have two CO detectors on the boat (I tested them, they are both working and especially one of them is located in the proximity of a vent from the heater) and they do not go off.

Am I paranoid or is it just a coincidence that I get a headache when the heater is on (I do not get headaches frequently, though) or do I have a fumes issue?

What can this be (does not seem to be CO, otherwise the detectors would go off, instead they keep showing 0) and how can I test to understand what is happening, if anything?

Thank you!

[hpeer]

o test the carbon monoxide detector, simply press the “test” button. It will tell you if the device has enough electrical power from the batteries or outlet. If the detector does not produce a high-pitched beeping noise, it needs new batteries or should be replaced.

Confirm the functionality of a digital detector by testing it with a low level of the gas. Move a lit incense wand or cigarette by the detector to see if the display confirms the presence of carbon monoxide. If the detected level is below 70 parts per million, the detector might not sound.

https://ehlersheatcool.com/blog/carb...tector-working

And/or get a specialized CO Monitor that will read low levels of the gas. Not sure this one will do but maybe. Supposedly reads as low as 35ppm.

https://pksafety.com/3m-scott-safety...xoCKqoQAvD_BwE

[Lepke]

The boat interior could be low on oxygen if you have it sealed up tight. Decades ago cabin fever was common in cold climates where people closed up their cabin tight and were heating with a wood stove or fireplace, burning up oxygen. If closed up tight, a slight vacuum is created in the cabin and enough fresh air is pulled down the chimney to keep the fire going, in spite of combustion air rising.

[FabioC]

Originally Posted by hpeer

https://ehlersheatcool.com/blog/carb...tector-working

And/or get a specialized CO Monitor that will read low levels of the gas. Not sure this one will do but maybe. Supposedly reads as low as 35ppm.

https://pksafety.com/3m-scott-safety...xoCKqoQAvD_BwE

I tested the CO detectors and they are working, so it does not seem to be a CO problem. Still, I am consistently experiencing headaches when the heater is on (and I do not suffer of headaches otherwise). That's the reason why I am wondering whether I am just paranoid (or it is some weird coincidence, but it has happened several times) or there is some other fume emission issue with the heater, but I would not know what it could be...

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by Lepke

The boat interior could be low on oxygen if you have it sealed up tight. Decades ago cabin fever was common in cold climates where people closed up their cabin tight and were heating with a wood stove or fireplace, burning up oxygen. If closed up tight, a slight vacuum is created in the cabin and enough fresh air is pulled down the chimney to keep the fire going, in spite of combustion air rising.

This ......

Install an oxygen depletion sensor.

[FabioC]

Originally Posted by boatpoker

This ......

Install an oxygen depletion sensor.

That is a good idea, I'll try that.
Thank you!

[wingssail]

I can think of a few possibilities (excluding CO2).

Maybe some of the exhaust from outside is getting back in the cabin. It is burned diesel.

Maybe the heater is using all the oxygen, they usually need a good source.

Maybe the heater's combustion chamber has a leak or is burned out.

Have you consulted with a seller of these heaters?

My first thought was that it could a bit psychological, Now I am wondering if a bit of smoke and the gentle motion at the dock could be affecting you.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by FabioC

That is a good idea, I'll try that.
Thank you!

A simpler test would be to run the heater with a couple of ports open...

Jim

[FabioC]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

A simpler test would be to run the heater with a couple of ports open...

Jim

I did run the heater with the companionway open, same effect of headache.
However, if I stop the heater and leave the companionway open, the headache subsides after a while. The open companionway alone does not create a draft down below, but it should provide plenty of oxygen (I would be sitting in the salon, in reasonable proximity of the companionway and still getting headache)

That is why I am a bit puzzled by this. It can certainly be psychological (maybe all the stories of heaters producing toxic fumes in the cabin make me imagine something that is not there), but it is happening too consistently for not at least suspecting something else, that is why I am asking. A couple of times I was even a bit dizzy (with the heater on and the companionway open), then went on deck and after a few minutes started feeling better.

[Pete7]

Any divers near you? To use nitrox mix gasses most will have a O2 analyzer which will instantly show the partial pressure of oxygen in the cabin as a percentage of the air. Not worth buying one, you just need to borrow it for a few hours.

oh and does the heater take the fresh air from outside or recirculate it inside the cabin?

[Lost Horizons]

Originally Posted by FabioC

I tested the CO detectors and they are working, so it does not seem to be a CO problem.

How did you test them, and what does it mean, they are working?
All you know is that the detectors are not showing CO concentration above a certain threshold. Possibly, you get headaches from a CO concentration below the threshold. To be certain you need to get a gas detector with higher precision and resolution, measure the CO concentration that coincides with a developing headache, and then reproduce the same concentration elsewhere (using the same detector) and see if it gives you a headache again. If yes, you have your answer. If not, it is not a heater. At least not the CO emissions.

[thinwater]

Carbon dioxide can also cause headaches. Though not as lethal as CO, it can be deadly. And you buy cheap detectors. Normally it will go hand-in-hand with low oxygen.

[tarian]

Agreed with those on the 0xygen levels it sounds that there maybe a little to much CO2 this will cause your headaches , do you have vents and keeping a flow of fresh air into the boat via dorados etc.
Your CO2 is coming from you and no O2 is being replaced

[hpeer]

Says he gets the same issue with the companionway open.

That makes it a stumper.

[tarian]

Originally Posted by hpeer

Says he gets the same issue with the companionway open.

That makes it a stumper.

Oh maybe allergic to his boat then , if clean fresh air is coming in and his CO monitors are not going off , then look at fabrics, dust, mould, the WIFE