Generators and CO

[3930dave]

No offense to anyone, but people do not need General Science knowledge, all they need to do is read, or even look at, the first few pages of their generator Owner's Manual. In this situation, they probably thought since the generator was 'outside' in the garage, they were safe.

My generator is sitting on our open, front porch. To secure it, I have a steel cable, routed through the frame, then through a loop on a security spike, that's driven 3 feet into the ground all secured by a hardened lock.

Nice (and safe) setup Mike. Was that spike an off-the-shelf item, or did you make it yourself ?

Agreed, all people have to do is (RTFM !) follow the OEM instructions. My initial comment relates to the Reading-without-Comprehending that can/does occur when people are clueless about basic science.

Saw somebody interviewed on the news last night. His family ended up going to the hospital because the father was using a charcoal bbq indoors for heat. Chances are there was a warning printed on the bag of charcoal. Data isn't much use, w/o the intelligence needed to process it accordingly.

Rgds, D.

 

[nybirdman]

We just had a local;non fatal case.With no power,the gentleman ran a gas powered generator in the back bedroom of a single wide trailer.Just lucky his wife woke up and went for help,nine month old and father survived.Hard to believe some-one could be that ignorant of Co poisoning.

 

[MikePA]

Was that spike an off-the-shelf item, or did you make it yourself ?

It was an off-the-shelf item, ordered online, Click Here.

 

[brain55]

Thanks for sharing that Brian. Clearly, you used up a couple of your 9 lives that day.

Am I remembering correctly ? You had an exhaust leak that you weren't aware of ?

Given your level of mechanical knowledge, that is a significant example of how easy these faults are to overlook.

Rgds, D.

Yep, the muffler had cracked.

The gooseneck trailer I have now the compressor is up on the step deck isolated from the main body, and never gets run without plenty of ventilation.

Brian

 

[3930dave]

It was an off-the-shelf item, ordered online, Click Here.

Thanks Mike - that is a great looking design, at a good price !

Rgds, D.

 

[3930dave]

Yep, the muffler had cracked.

The gooseneck trailer I have now the compressor is up on the step deck isolated from the main body, and never gets run without plenty of ventilation.

Brian

Good to hear, getting one Mulligan like that is a big deal, I wouldn't count on two !

Rgds, D.

 

[ericher69]

3) Do I understand your comment correctly ericher ? Are you saying that home type CO monitors are designed to trip at the high end of exposure level ? I'm thinking that the goal here is to not trip an alarm company alarm, for just a piece of burnt toast. Rgds, D.

Yes,

Burnt toast should not set them off; will make your smoke alarm sing though...

CO alarms are "nuisance" calls 90% of the time.

Some of them work by a permeable disc that absorbs the CO triggering an alarm. These discs can and will saturate over time. So we air the out outside for an hour and plug them back in and usually ok.

Fabric softener sheets will also make them alarm

Here is some good simple reading if anyone is interested

http://home.howstuffworks.com/home-improvement/household-safety/tips/carbon-monoxide-detector1.htm

 

[Oliver1655]

Mike, unfortunately even the efforts you made wouldn't slow a thief down more than 30 seconds. In this day & age, there are lots of handy tools which most of us have that make traditional methods of securing items literally worthless. I hear reports all the time of very bold thefts with mid-morning being popular d/t the large number of households where both spouses are working. They have specific items they target. Frequently it is metals which can be scrapped out. How many time have you heard of folks waking up to no air-conditioning because the copper lines have been taken during the night?

I, like Roy can understand the idea of having the generator in the garage where it was not in the elements & potentially more secure making sure the doors were open. Even on your front porch if the wind is blowing right, carbon monoxide can be send into your home via soffits, drafty windows, & doors. For some folks in certain areas there is no good place to have the generator. What if you live in an upstairs apartment without an balcony?

We are blessed to live out in the country. Our generator is located in a lean-to on my shop. I can back-feed the house from there.

 

[oldballs]

My son's generator was stolen from beside his home in a rural area. Thieves are everywhere. While attending a funeral my cousin's place (also in a rural area) was cleaned out with a moving van. But running a generator in an attached garage might fool some people as to the inherent danger of CO.

 

[3930dave]

Yes,

Burnt toast should not set them off; will make your smoke alarm sing though...

CO alarms are "nuisance" calls 90% of the time.

Some of them work by a permeable disc that absorbs the CO triggering an alarm. These discs can and will saturate over time. So we air the out outside for an hour and plug them back in and usually ok.

Fabric softener sheets will also make them alarm

Here is some good simple reading if anyone is interested

HowStuffWorks "Inside a Carbon Monoxide Detector "

Good link, thanks. Makes sense that the sensors will accumulate, given how our bodies react to CO.

Hadn't heard that one about fabric softener, interesting. I suspect that sensitivity may vary, depending on the actual sensor in use.

Rgds, D.