Thin flue Pipe and terrible Asthma

[Chewbacka]

Asthma can also be caused by moulds etc caused by damp. If the boat was fine in the summer (low humidity), but now you are having trouble (high humidity), it may be the stove, or it may be the moulds etc. Try burning good dry hardwood for a few days and see if that helps.

 

Added = I also suffer a bit in the spring and autumn which is related to (I think) tree pollen in spring and moulds in the autumn.

Are you under or near a lot of trees or other plants that may be causing it. Have you tried moving the boat to a more exposed location?

Also some coal contains more sulphur than others, so are you using proper brand stuff or is it some smoky coal with lots of tar?

 

Just ideas that may help you identify the cause.

Edited December 15, 2015 by Chewbacka

[Neil Smith]

He said its not as bad when burning wood so might be worth changing coal types and wearing a good dust mask when clearing ash and for a while after.

 

Neil.

[valrene9600]

Thankyou all for the replies so far. It only seems to be triggered when the stove is on the go, it does seem more-so when burning coal than wood.

 

I do shut up all windows nice and tight.

 

Money is an issue so cruising is all my budget is allowing for at the mo, but I suspect an electric heater or alternative would alleviate it.

 

I still wonder if it may be down to the flue. Has anybody else used a flue that is only about a mm thick, is this a very daft thing I have done on istallation? I'm guessing it would effect the draw.

So what was the result of the smoke test match?

[jake_crew]

I believe a lot of wood from engineered items like pallets is " tanilised " - an injected preservative - the fumes from which are not good for you, especially when burnt.

 

Please people, don't confuse CO2 with CO. They are both asphyxiants, but CO is more dangerous than CO2. Be sure which gas it is your detector is for.

 

Personally I find the fumes from the loo bloo don't give me asthama (which I am prone to) but just make me feel unwell.

[Loafer]

Can I just add 2p-worth to this:

 

You don't want them all around your stove, you want them next to where you sleep.

 

Agreed. If CO is leaking from your stove, it will rise up above the stove because it's hot at that stage. This will then drift around the ceiling area for a while and then eventually mix with the ambient temperature air in the rest of the boat, and therefore start to descend again.

 

This means that your stove-located CO alarms MIGHT not see any CO, and not go off.

 

Put one in each bedroom space at pillow height. You'll also hear the alarm better there, and then go an open all the doors and windows, then get the stove looked at as soon as possible.

[GUMPY]

Can I just add 2p-worth to this:

 

 

Agreed. If CO is leaking from your stove, it will rise up above the stove because it's hot at that stage. This will then drift around the ceiling area for a while and then eventually mix with the ambient temperature air in the rest of the boat, and therefore start to descend again.

 

This means that your stove-located CO alarms MIGHT not see any CO, and not go off.

 

Put one in each bedroom space at pillow height. You'll also hear the alarm better there, and then go an open all the doors and windows, then get the stove looked at as soon as possible.

When our stove split the CO alarm in the living area didn't sound, the one in the bedroom did. When I swaped them over the one in the bedroom sounded and the other was silent.........

[cutsurfer]

UPDATE

 

Thank you all very much for the replies, everything that everyone is saying is proving useful, not something that can always be said in forums so thank for the input I massively appreciate it.

 

The comments on damp are hugely valid, especially since the window above my bed has started to leak more and more in this horrendously wet winter we are having and despite not wanting to it seems I will have to remove it and reseal it over christmas so this could be a big factor. Another horrible discovery tonight revealed my water pump has leaked and waterlogged the floorboards near the stove too, double whammy!! (thankyou canal gods )

 

I had the co2 alarms near the stove as I have been forced down to the L-seat bed near the stove as the leaky window keeps missing my strategically placed trays and onto my bedsheets...doh, so I placed two by the fire a few feet away and one above my head on a shelf, you can probably sense the paranoia.

 

I have bought a thicker flue pipe but am putting off installing this as most oppinion seems to be that despite being only thin flue pipe it should be fine. plus it will be a pig to fit as I t seems diffiult to buy thicker cast iron elbows for the pipe.

 

SMOKE TEST- This came back as I thought, no obvious leaks anywhere.

 

I did keep all ventilation holes and added another mushroom over summer in line with the surveyors recommendations.

 

So my course off action is going to be:

 

1) clear the damp by removing windows and resealing and also replacing water pump.

2) Buy an air purifier to see if this helps.

3) Try some different coal, I have also gone for the cheapest I can find as money is tight.

4) If I have any time left over and it is physically possible I will try and fit the thicker flue pipe but this may prove a lost cause.

 

thanks again for everybodies help, I am still keen to hear ideas and will try to update on anything that seems liek its helped

[Dinz]

Thankyou all for the replies so far. It only seems to be triggered when the stove is on the go, it does seem more-so when burning coal than wood.

 

I do shut up all windows nice and tight.

 

Money is an issue so cruising is all my budget is allowing for at the mo, but I suspect an electric heater or alternative would alleviate it.

 

I still wonder if it may be down to the flue. Has anybody else used a flue that is only about a mm thick, is this a very daft thing I have done on istallation? I'm guessing it would effect the draw.

AHA!

[bizzard]

There's always Ally's www. Woodynose.com to fall back on which might be the cheapest solution, although the leaks need fixing.

[cutsurfer]

Just an update to anybody interested, I have been being super careful about sweeping up soot and ash and have also opened doors when lighting the stove and this seems to have helped a-lot. still yet to try the woody-nose but looking forward to giving that a go,

 

just to be sure about the flue working properly I replaced it with a much thicker pipe and it has made no difference,in-fact the stove (an aarow acorn 4kw) infact seems even harder to light and get hot, seems to require an absolute mountain of kindling to stand any chance at all of getting any coal going.

 

Seeing the difference with my mate's morso squirrel I think I may invest in a new stove.

 

But for now the breathing seems to have improved never the less :-)

 

happy xmas all.

[Phil Ambrose]

FWIW, I read the thread and the comments about air filters and as my wife has COPD I thought I would try one of the many HEPA filter units on offer on eBay, bought one that covers 20 to 30 square metres, and it does seem to have helped. Noticed that after her dusting and polishing it's only a couple of days before a layer of dust is back again. Have had it running for over a week now and guess what? yes no dust visible

Phil

Edited December 27, 2015 by Phil Ambrose

[sjc]

I suffer from asthma, in my case damp / musty conditions are an absolute no no. I can tolerate it during the day ( although I don't like to ) but overnight I have no chance. I suspect the stove is innocent and the damp is the cause, especially as you close ALL windows, I always insist on cracking a couple open whatever the temperature. Last year we bought a Meaco dehumidifier ( 240v ) which helps a lot as it keeps the atmosphere dry overnight ( almost zero condensation ) - you may not be able to do this without a shoreline, in which case ventilation is your best bet. However, for me, once the damp has taken hold it is a big job to clear it to keep my lungs happy, you may need a good dry summer to do that, in my case even that didn't work !

[Chewbacka]

...................................in-fact the stove (an aarow acorn 4kw) infact seems even harder to light and get hot, seems to require an absolute mountain of kindling to stand any chance at all of getting any coal going.

 

Seeing the difference with my mate's morso squirrel I think I may invest in a new stove.

 

But for now the breathing seems to have improved never the less :-)

 

happy xmas all.

Good to hear the breathing is improved. When lighting your stove, try putting 2 or 3 sheets of newspaper on top of the kindling as when it starts to burn it will burn fast and give of a lot of heat to help warm the flue and to give a bit of a draft up the chimney in the early stages. Worth a try.

[Chalky]

Go and see your GP / asthma nurse. If it's got worse then it's not under control and needs looking at.

 

My asthma usually gets worse at this time of year. I was prescribed singulair about 3 years ago. If you can tolerate it it's superb at controlling asthma.

[cutsurfer]

Thanks again for replies, the asthma nurse did say come back once i'm on the boat as she suspected it would do a nose dive haha!

Interesting comments about the damp, i've pulled out the leaky window above the bed, resealed it and popped it back in when we had a dry windy day last week, that can;t have been helping so fingers crossed!!!

 

I see what you mean about the damp not drying though, the leaky waterpump that has now been replaced has left a very wet board underneath :-P

 

Been trying to newspaper trick, does seem to help thank you :-)

 

i've never been busier since moving onto the boat....really worth it when i'm not wheezing though! :-)

[Loafer]

I suggest running your stove much hotter, and keeping doors and windows ajar to keep you comfortable. That's widely regarded as the BEST way to keep the interior of your boat dry. Most of the dust will bugger off too.

[cutsurfer]

Thanks again, i've defnately followed the advice with this one, stopped being so stingey with the fuel, got the old stove roaring quickly and it does seem to have made a big difference.

 

Another revelation is that i'd been using a different coal (brazier from wickes) for the last few weeks and my chest improved massively, as it was local I then purchased a few of the winter flame from aldi that I had been burning previously and my asthma is miserable again, not saying this will be the same for everybody, it just seems this is a big trigger for my own asthma, so once i'll use these bags sharpish then its back to the wickes stuff .

[Chewbacka]

Good to hear you are getting on top of your asthma.

[rasputin]

I only got asthma when sleeping in my motor home, I tracked it down to old foam mattresses.

[Phil Ambrose]

Glad you got your chest problem sorted, I felt sure the answer was out there in some of the posts. ...NEXT.....

Phil