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Carbon monoxide alarm


Kismet

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Hello,

wondering if anyone could help,

I am currently moored in a covered wet dock repainting my boat. currently at the sanding stage so there is ALOT of paint dust in the air. My carbon monoxide alarm went off, and I am confused why. I was cooking about two hours earlier with the oven, with all doors and windows closed but other than that no gas is being used, the engine isn’t on. I then opened the doors and windows and the alarm went back to 0. I’m really confused as to why there would be carbon monoxide, if I am not burning anything- could it be something to do with the paint particles in the air? Or something more serious, gas leak etc? 

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Where are the batteries located? Check the temperature of them. If one is hot, then it could be faulty and outgassing Hydrogen, which can also set of CO alarms. If it is, then remove it from the battery bank ASAP.

Alternatively, have you had a solid fuel stove lit at all? If so, where are you storing ash?

Worth running a vacuum cleaner over the alarm to clear dust from the sensor. The alarm manufacturer will likely recommend doing this regularly anyway in the destructions.

Don't ignore it. They can be tricked by a few things, but CO alarms are good at detecting CO. If you aren't painting yet, then there shouldn't be solvents around in the air.

What are the flame colours on the cooker? Blue, or yellow? Yellow is insufficient combustion, so more CO.

 

Jen

Edited by Jen-in-Wellies
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Thanks for the reply Jen,

 

I have a solid fuel stove but not using it at the moment during summer.

checked my hob and oven, both burning blue. 
Will check the batteries now though, and give it a Hoover! Thanks for advice 

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2 hours ago, Kismet said:

Thanks for the reply Jen,

 

I have a solid fuel stove but not using it at the moment during summer.

checked my hob and oven, both burning blue. 
Will check the batteries now though, and give it a Hoover! Thanks for advice 

My carbon monoxide alarm went off due to the battery "gassing"through overcharging.

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If you were cooking a significant amount , with all the windows and doors shut, and in a comparatively restricted space, I'm not surprised the alarm went off. There are regular tragic reports of CO deaths  mainly in cabin cruisers where the occupants have used cooking appliances as a form of heating. Open flames, even if burning well, give off high CO, and oxygen depletion due to lack of ventilation will increase this further. Dangerous levels can be reached before any noticeable change of the flame.

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On the 2 occasions that I have had a BSS inspection done, the inspector has explained that the ventilation advice is based on the chance that:

 

The shower is running the gas water heater at full heat.

All 4 oven rings and the oven are on full.

(maybe something else, but I cant see or think of it right now).

 

He states that these are the rules, even though the only time it might happen is on Christmas Day, cooking the dinner, and having a quick shower whilst waiting for the turkey to finish cooking.

 

My take on this is that, on a boat that has passed the BSS without a ventilation advisory, the chances of exceeding CO and Oxygen limits, even with all windows, doors and hatches shut, are slim to nil, (or they should be)..

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2 minutes ago, Richard10002 said:

My take on this is that, on a boat that has passed the BSS without a ventilation advisory, the chances of exceeding CO and Oxygen limits, even with all windows, doors and hatches shut, are slim to nil, (or they should be)..

Yet the CO alarm went off... there must be a reason. 

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15 minutes ago, Richard10002 said:

 

My take on this is that, on a boat that has passed the BSS without a ventilation advisory, the chances of exceeding CO and Oxygen limits, even with all windows, doors and hatches shut, are slim to nil, (or they should be)..

And if outdoors, that would probably be the case. But with the boat in an enclosed wet dock, with no wind and little ventilation to the outside world, perhaps the CO-rich air in the boat is just hanging around in the boat. 

Better to open a couple of doors from the dock to the outside world when you don't actually need them closed.

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17 minutes ago, WotEver said:

Yet the CO alarm went off... there must be a reason. 

Not disagreeing with that. 

2 minutes ago, David Mack said:

Better to open a couple of doors from the dock to the outside world when you don't actually need them closed.

and not disagreeing with that :) 

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