MacGregorSailors.com

TAW02 wrote:..........Also I would add so are Carbon Monoxide detectors. Cheap and reliable. I have always used two inside my and only paid 15 bucks for both. In case one fails, hopefully the other will work....

I thought I'd start a new thread so as to not mess up the AC one.

We recently bought a carbon monoxide detector and I'm trying to figure out where to install it. They say....



http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner ... de-13.html

....that it shouldn't be right next to a stove and not back in a corner, but since the gas mixes with the air and doesn't settle like some gases placement isn't as critical. We have a and most of you guys have either a or a , but I'm still interested in where you are putting yours.

The one we got also has a memory chip and stores highest levels permanently.

So what did you guys get and where did you mount it,

Sum

Our Trips to..

Our Mac Pages

Mac-Venture Links

I have no idea but I would probably mount it someplace high as the CO gases are probably hotter (from combustion in your stove) and would rise up. Maybe install it at the level where your head would breath it in.
Now I would also ask why am I installing it.
If I were worried about sleeping with a generator running, maybe installing it close to your sleeping berth would be wise. That's where the danger is.

CO poisoning can be detected if you are looking for the signs.
* Headaches
* Dizziness
* Nausea
* Light-headedness
* Sleepiness

If you suspect any of these things, get your head above decks and fresh air. Even if it's not CO poisoning, getting some fresh air will help.

The other time when CO poisoning will sneak up on you is while motoring with a following wind. It's probably not as big a problem with our open cockpit boats and small motors, but if you have an enclosure, it could be a problem.


--Russ

We mounted our CO alarm in the forward berth because that is where we sleep--and we can't predict where the CO might enter--through the companionway or the forward hatch. CO is about the same density as air and the mixing will be unpredictable so we didn't mount in on the ceiling or down low.
The generator is mounted on top of the motor and we never run it except when anchored from the bow only so the motor is downwind.

SILK

I think our primary concern is knowing what is happening as a result of using the stove on cold mornings and nights. We usually slide the hatch back about 1/2 way at least while running the stove. I know that CO can be accumulative in you over a certain period of time. So far we haven't had any symptoms, but I would like to see how high the levels do get.

Here are a couple suggestions according to an article in Boat U.S. Magazine (may/jun 2010).

1. They be kept at least a foot away from an opening port or hatch and not too close to a propane stove where their vicinity could affect the alarm's performance. (on our smaller S most locations are close to the hatch or the stove area. I'm thinking on the cabin wall back ......



... above the aft end of the cushion and frig in the picture above.)

2. They say they have a useful life of about 5 years and that UL standards require manufacturers to design and 'end of life' signal into the alarm as of Aug 2009.

We aren't real concerned with the sleeping area as we run nothing at night and have never been close to other boats on anchor, but who knows where we might be in the future. With the boat being so small inside maybe the cabin one is enough to cover that also.

Sum

Our Trips to..

Our Mac Pages

Mac-Venture Links

Very relevant considering what just happened in Central Florida this past weekend, God Bless theem and their family. See link below
http://www.wftv.com/news/24139527/detai ... COMMENTTOP

I have two that I stuck (doublesided tape) on the ceiling above the galley table and the other underside of the cockpit floor in the rear berth.

"Investigators say the Luptons locked up their 29-foot boat, turned on its generator to power the A/C and went to sleep." The article doesn't say where the generator was located but I don't think I would ever run the generator while sleeping,even with CO alarms, unless the genset was mounted on the stern and I could be assured my cabin was sealed off from any possibility of fumes entering the sleeping area. Sad story. Rob

A few years ago there was a report of a couple who died after the exhaust from a genset on a penis boat docked next to them drifted into their boat while they slept killing them.

Glenn

I knew a couple that beached their pocket cruiser on a sand bar for the night. Water levels dropped and the sand covered the motor exhaust. they had their AC running. The husband, Bill, died of CO poisoning and the wife, Jean, was hospitalized for several weeks but made a recovery. They were discovered in time to save her by other party goers early the next morning. Jean sued the manufacture of the boat, a Chris Craft if I remember correctly, and she won a huge settlement, claiming that the had failed to safely install the exhaust. But it didn't bring here husband back. This happened on the Ohio river, maybe 15 yrs ago. Don't know if they had CO monitors on the boat or not


Allan

More CO stats.

Only one case out of 818 of propane stove (heater) exhaust (in addition to portable generator) causing poisoning. Also the CO detector wasn't powered.



--Russ

Russ, those are some pretty scary stats Swimming near a boat with motor/generator can overcome you WOW I'll definitely be on my toes around anything that burns fuel of any kind, in any location. Rob

There is one story in that report of a guy who took TWO breaths in a CO environment, and almost ended up dead...absolutely terrifying stuff.....

SkiDeep2001 wrote:Russ, those are some pretty scary stats Swimming near a boat with motor/generator can overcome you WOW I'll definitely be on my toes around anything that burns fuel of any kind, in any location. Rob

Yea. From reading the stats, it seems that many of those powerboat transom swim platform make great CO compartments to trap the deadly gas.

Catigale wrote:There is one story in that report of a guy who took TWO breaths in a CO environment, and almost ended up dead...absolutely terrifying stuff.....

Indeed!


--Russ

I have not installed our CO detector yet, but I have been studying about CO. We have a Wallas kerosene heater and that makes us even more concerned about CO, so I wanted to learn as much as I could about the danger.

NOTE: Carbon Monoxide Is lighter than air- it rises! So be wary of installing your detector low in the vessel. Even if you sleep low in the boat, installing the detector near the ceiling will sound the alarm sooner than waiting for enough gas to accumulate down in your berth to set it off.

It is reasonably common knowledge that Carbon DIOXIDE sinks, so I worry that some folks may believe the same is true of Carbon Monixide, but it is precisely the opposite.

Stay safe,

-Steve

SteveB wrote: NOTE: Carbon Monoxide Is lighter than air- it rises! So be wary of installing your detector low in the vessel. Even if you sleep low in the boat, installing the detector near the ceiling will sound the alarm sooner than waiting for enough gas to accumulate down in your berth to set it off.

Interesting, we do repair work for the Winnebego factory here in Oz, they install the detectors about 6 inches off the foor.

Glenn