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From: Karl Denninger (no email)
Date: Wed Oct 03 2001 - 10:07:21 EDT
WRONG!
ALL combustion produces CO if the combustion is less than perfect.
Diesel combustion is good, but its not perfect.
Diesels are LESS dangerous than gas engines in this regard for two reasons:
1. They produce a lot less (about 1/10th) CO as a component of their
exhaust, assuming no catalytic converter on the gas engine. Gas
engines with operating ("hot") catalytic converters actually produce
LESS CO (most of the time anyway) than diesels.
2. Their exhaust tends to stink. Therefore, you're more likely to
smell the fumes before you get nailed by the CO.
The second obviously doesn't mean anything if you're sleeping!
It does NOT take much to cause trouble, and it also doesn't take much to
KILL you.
9 ppm is the "red tag" level for many fire departments (where they will shut
off and lock out furnaces, etc!) It is also the 8 hour recommended
exposure limit.
30ppm is the "lower display setpoint" on most CO detectors with displays.
70ppm is the "lower alarm limit" for home CO detectors, with a minimum
exposure time of 1 hour.
100ppm is the "evacuation limit" for many fire departments (if they find
this, they force everyone out of your building)
500ppm lethal level to humans over a period of several hours
1000ppm lethal level to humans over a SHORT period of time (few minutes
to an hour)
1000 - 5000 ppm - CO range produced by a DIESEL engine in "good tune"; that
is, one with clean fuel, properly fueled (not overfueled, etc) and
not producing visible smoke. Even at the lower level it is lethal
within hours in healthy persons; within minutes to someone with
compromised respiration or circulatory systems)
10,000 - 100,000 ppm - CO range produced by a GAS engine without a
catalytic converter (boat engines.) The lower level is lethal
within a few minutes; the upper within a few breaths (suck
directly on an open exhaust and you're done.)
DO NOT sleep in any space where combustion products COULD enter unless you
have a functioning CO detector in that space or in all the potential paths
for air to enter that space.
I have three CO detectors on my boat, one of each type. One is AC powered
in the salon, one is DC powered in the master cabin, and the third is
BATTERY powered in the guest cabin.
The master cabin unit is a marine-rated unit, the other two are
"residential" CO detectors.
I've never had any of the three alarm, but I prefer to be safe from this
hazard and a little poorer than to save a couple hundred bucks and be dead.
-- -- Karl Denninger () Internet Consultant & Kids Rights Activist http://www.denninger.net Cost-effective Consulting http://childrens-justice.org SIGN THE UPREPA PETITION TODAY On Wed, Oct 03, 2001 at 09:16:52AM -0400, R C Smith Jr wrote: > Then do I have this right? Only gas-powered boats/generators can produce > deadly carbon monoxide. Those of us who are diesel-powered have nothing to > worry about. > > Thanks, > > Bob > ________________ > R C Smith Jr > M/V Susan Marie > Hatteras 58 LRC > Chesapeake Bay > > > From: "Rosalie B." <> > > Organization: mindspring. > > Reply-To: > > Date: Tue, 02 Oct 2001 08:15:56 -0400 > > To: Richard Goodwin <> > > Cc: <> > > Subject: Re: lv-ab: Deadly gas > > > > Having said that, when I sampled exhausts from vehicles (at the transfer > > station), the big diesel trash trucks made hardly any impression on the > > meter while little pickup trucks and cars would peg it right over. ___________________________________________________________________________ || The Live-Aboard List : send a "subscribe" or "unsubscribe" request || || in body of message to: ||
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