Timely Warning around Carbon Monoxide

[dirkdig]

Should they be placed near the ceiling or down as low as possible?

[Bash]

Originally Posted by dirkdig

Should they be placed near the ceiling or down as low as possible?

Mine, which were factory installed, are up high. I have four CO detectors, one in each sleeping cabin, and one in the main saloon.

That's on a boat without an internal combustion generator. I have a diesel furnace, however, and a propane stove/oven. And in the winter months I burn oil lamps (paraffin) every night.

[Bash]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

Bash, dear boy that he is, has skewed the illness with a different reason.

I'm feeling, cough, the love.

Here's the problem: our hemoglobin has an affinity with CO. It would rather bond with CO than O2. If there's CO in the air, your hemoglobin will grab onto it and hold onto it for a very long time. This, in turn, limits your intake of oxygen.

Of course, this is only a problem for cruisers who run on hemoglobin.

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by Bash

Of course, this is only a problem for cruisers who run on hemoglobin.

I have very little. not much needed in my smally stony heart.

[ausaviator]

In summary... you'd be crazy not to have an electronic detector !

[zboss]

Originally Posted by ausaviator

In summary... you'd be crazy not to have an electronic detector !

Can you use off the shelf 9 volt CO detectors from a "big box" store?

[gjordan]

I had to go back to the medical report that Bash linked to, to believe what I read. Per given HP , diesel exhaust is 100 times more toxic than petrol exhaust. That takes away any argument about worrying less about diesel exhaust. I would not have believed it , had it not come from a major medical review. Scary stuff!!!!! _____Grant.

[ausaviator]

Can you use off the shelf 9 volt CO detectors from a "big box" store?

You can do whatever you want, but just remember that 5 souls amost lost their lives in this Oceanis. A whole family...

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by gjordan

I had to go back to the medical report that Bash linked to, to believe what I read. Per given HP , diesel exhaust is 100 times more toxic than petrol exhaust. That takes away any argument about worrying less about diesel exhaust. I would not have believed it , had it not come from a major medical review. Scary stuff!!!!! _____Grant.

Ummmmm then you better have a chat to a doctor/hospital/poisons information etc, because thats not quite in the land of reality.


Mark

[transmitterdan]

Originally Posted by zboss

Can you use off the shelf 9 volt CO detectors from a "big box" store?

Yes, you can. They work quite well. Be sure to change the battery every 6 months. Don't wait for it to beep the low batt warning because it might beep when you are not aboard then the battery could die completely and you would never know. Also, pay attention to the life span of the sensor and replace it as the manufacturer recommends.

[gjordan]

Mark, you might actually go back and read the very interesting link that Bash put up. I didnt believe it at first , but a second read made me change my mind. Perhaps your ideas are set as hard as your stony little heart. _____Grant.

[transmitterdan]

You guys are confusing people. No one said a person can breath diesel exhaust and live. Yes it usually has a lot less CO than petrol fumes but not always. If a Diesel engine is not running at peak efficiency due to combustion problems it can produce CO. CO in very small concentrations <500ppm can cause injury and death. CO is lighter than air so it can be trapped in a cabin. Also, your neighbor may be spewing CO from their petrol generator.

The cost of a detector is so low that all boats with sleeping space should have one or more depending on cabin arrangements. No one can reasonably argue that CO detectors are useless on diesel boats. If someone wants to make that argument then they are plain and simple idiots.

[David_Old_Jersey]

I know someone who nearly gassed his Father with a diesel engine on a boat (wanky exhaust leaked into the saloon via an open bulkhead access panel). No idea what "ingredient" would have killed him - but he were none too happy later .

No names .

[jeanathon]

Originally Posted by ausaviator

In summary... you'd be crazy not to have an electronic detector !

Or get a non electrical one. No need for batteries!

[gjordan]

I also almost gassed a crew coming up the California coast. She was supposed to relieve me at midnight and didnt appear on deck. I went below to wake her, and it was smokey as hell and I had to shake her a bunch to wake her. She came on deck and got very sick, and had headaches for three days after. Neither of us went below decks for the remaining 12 or so hours of the trip. An old rusty exhaust pipe weld had let go. Yes it was a diesel. _______Grant.