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CO Warning. Be careful out there


mrsmelly

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  • 2 months later...

I just bought an extra CO alarm in advance of  my BSS test which will be required in the not too distant future  (already have one  alarm  and thought two might be better, and save any debate )

20200130.jpg
 

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10 minutes ago, rusty69 said:

That is the one Tesco was selling for 4 quid a few weeks back.

Unfortunately no Tesco near me .

 

15 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

Lol. Oh no it won't!

I have yet to have  a BSS test since the CO alarm requirement was introduced.  

Do you have any experience of the interpretation of the rules in practice?

 

 

 

 

 

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13 minutes ago, MartynG said:

I have yet to have  a BSS test since the CO alarm requirement was introduced.  

Do you have any experience of the interpretation of the rules in practice?

One required in each 'living area'.

 

Before the examiner arrived we discussed the boat lay out and he said he wanted to see, one in the aft cabin, one in the saloon / galley / dining area, and one in the Fwd cabin.

 

The alarms in the 'sleeping' cabins to be installed at / around pillow height.

 

 

 

All boats having overnight accommodation and an installed solid fuel stove appliance must be provided with a carbon monoxide alarm within the same space as the solid fuel stove. Carbon monoxide alarms must be marked as being certified by an accredited third-party body to EN 50291 or equivalent. Carbon monoxide alarms in the same space as the solid fuel stove must be wall-mounted at high level, but must be at least 150mm below the ceiling height. Within each overnight accommodation space separated from the space containing the solid fuel stove by a door(s), and being greater than 10m distance from the carbon monoxide alarm, an additional carbon monoxide alarm must be provided, located in the “breathing zone”, i.e. near to a bed head. Carbon monoxide alarms must be provided with a test function button.

Guidance for owners – carbon monoxide alarms marked to the ‘EN 50291-2’ are the best choice for boats. They have been tested to meet the more onerous conditions found in recreational vehicles, including boats.

 

The examiner interpreted it such that it was not solely a 'solid fuel stove' but any potential generator / source of Co

 

Made sense so no argument from me.

I don't have any issue with the requirements that actually increase survivability. (We had alarms before they were mandatory).

Edited by Alan de Enfield
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CO really is the silent killer.

You can't see it smell it or taste it.

 

You take just a few breaths of it and it transfers from your lungs through the aereola and into the bloodstream where it prevents the hemoglobin absorbing Oxygen.

 

A few breaths and you are already dying from the inside.

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On 26/01/2020 at 16:42, MartynG said:

Unfortunately no Tesco near me .

 

I have yet to have  a BSS test since the CO alarm requirement was introduced.  

Do you have any experience of the interpretation of the rules in practice?

 

 

 

 

 

More important it might save your life

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  • 5 weeks later...

Is this the right amount to leave overnight so that it will still be on in the morning? And is it safe? 

I have a new CO alarm in bedroom (opposite side of boat) and one in main room.... and the stove door will be closed of course! ?

IMG_20200227_230815.jpg

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I don't think that is enough, most are half burnt. Try levelling with poker and add 12 eggs [not real eggs!]

My fire  [Notamorse] is tricky to control in fierce wind conditions. If I close all vents in calm conditions it will go out.

I have three smoke alarms and two CO monitors, they have all been "tested" with real smoke and by leaving stove door open for 35 mins while I was trying to tune DAB radio [I got a light headache soon after.

 

Edited by LadyG
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8 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

Nothing like. I would fill the thing up with as much as I can fit in. Heap it up.

 

Then with the air closed right down it will stay alight for a couple of days.

 

 

I think it has taken me about four months to get to grips with my Notamorse. It is not the best, but first night I loaded it up, it took off the paint on the ceiling as it was not installed correctly [ fire cement instead of fire rope and proper internal flue collar.

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2 minutes ago, LadyG said:

I think it has taken me about four months to get to grips with my Notamorse. It is not the best, but first night I loaded it up, it took off the paint on the ceiling as it was not installed correctly [ fire cement instead of fire rope and proper internal flue collar.

 

Dre has a Squirrel.

 

 

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I riddle it, and after, use the poker with angled end to clear the grate from the underside, just above the ash pan. Not finished - with the straight poker, I clear the grate, at the front, just inside the main door. Leave bottom open for a few minutes to get the remnants of burning coal to a red hot point. Shut the bottom draft door, pile in the smokeless to well cover the embers - a touch more than in the photo. Close both doors of fire. Open the draft vent in the lower door by about one quarter turn. Top door vent is shut completely. Does it for me. :) I have a Morso Squirrel.

 

 

Edited by Higgs
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  • 5 months later...

Re solid fuel being sold damp, my understanding is that it is done to reduce the possibility of spontaneous combustion by ensuring that it keeps cool in storage. Dad worked at the local gas works when gas was still being made from coal, and the coal stockpile was regularly sprayed with water for that reason: clearly it wasn't done to make it heavier as it was coal they had already bought and were going to use themselves.  The same practice was carried out at the local electricity power station in the days when they used to burn coal.

Edited by Ronaldo47
Further thoughts, typo.
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1 hour ago, Ronaldo47 said:

Re solid fuel being sold damp, my understanding is that it is done to reduce the possibility of spontaneous combustion by ensuring that it keeps cool in storage. Dad worked at the local gas works when gas was still being made from coal, and the coal stockpile was regularly sprayed with water for that reason: clearly it wasn't done to make it heavier as it was coal they had already bought and were going to use themselves.  The same practice was carried out at the local electricity power station in the days when they used to burn coal.

That's interesting.

 

The fuel we get from our merchant is often damp and I'd always just assumed it had got wet in the rain. But it seems there is another explanation.

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  • 3 months later...
On 11/12/2018 at 14:33, mrsmelly said:

Just a reminder to all you folks, myself included re the dangers of Co and possibly waking up Dead!! Alarm went off on boat next to mine late last evening, proves the worth of alarms. They had left their ash bucket full of hot ashes inside the boat!! Dont do it, they smoulder as we all know for a couple of days even if freezing cold outside. So ashes outside every time please. Thanks and sleep safely.

Having lived on a yacht prior to a canal boat, we buttoned down the hatches in winter and kept the log fire burning. Yachts are tightly sealed, they have to be because they have a tendency to roll over in a big storm. I have to say, that first winter we slept really well, in fact we had difficulty getting up in the morning. We put in a CO alarm and it took all of two minutes from closing the hatches for that alarm to go off. Yep, we were lucky and a bit naive/stupid. Our only blessing I suppose was, the lack of oxygen tended to put the fire out!

  • Horror 2
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  • 1 year later...

I had my first Co alarm go off the other day.  Due to the nature of my stove it's pretty easy to clog up the grate and get unwanted feedback into the cabin.  Hasn't happened before but it was a wakeup call (thankfully)... always over-install alarms, riddle it hard before you go to bed and make sure the air flow is unobstructed to finish burning the fuel.  Be safe, people.

  • Greenie 1
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  • 2 weeks later...

We had the CO alarms go off at the weekend. Just using the engine and had Eberspacher heating on, I have no stove, but had been reversing on canal in a cutting to a winding hole, about 300 metres back, with back doors open. Vented boat, reset alarms and got going in forwards direction and alarms showed zero. 

Has anyone else experienced that, and is it likely that it was just exhaust/Eberspacher fumes getting into cabin (of narrowboat) due to reversing for some distance?

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  • 1 year later...
On 11/12/2018 at 14:33, mrsmelly said:

Just a reminder to all you folks, myself included re the dangers of Co and possibly waking up Dead!! Alarm went off on boat next to mine late last evening, proves the worth of alarms....

A good reminder at any time, especially as seasonal users return to our boats this spring.

 

I believe having a CO alarm is now a recommendation of the BSS which should improve the situation and make the more widespread 

 

the BSS website lists alarms tested to BS EN 50291-2 and stated as suitable for boats:

https://www.boatsafetyscheme.org/media/294453/bss-co-alarm-guide-2019-comp.pdf

bss-co-alarm-guide-2019-comp.pdf

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