Thank God for CO2 Detectors

[DeaconPiper]

Cooking a big Italian meal this evening for the family and for friends. The wood stove was cranking as usual this winter when first the C02 alarm went off, down the hall.

Thought it was the smoke detector. Changed the batteries and it sounded again followed by another.

Opened windows and doors, and another detector rang. So I grabbed the kids and wife with the dog and went outside, it was cold and windy.

My in-laws followed us outdoors, as they live with us. I telephoned the fire department and they came. We live in the country.

My wife called our friends and canceled, and went back inside for the cat. I immediately went in and grabbed her - leave the cat. Poor wife already was complaining of a headache and drowsiness.

Needless to say, fire department confirmed CO2 levels were very high and toxic. They cleared the house, one even complimented my pipe rack in the entryway.

The night could have been a lot worse, but thank God - we made it another day and I'm finally relaxing with Ten Russians.

On top of that, we learned today my 11-yr-old son has a concerning heart murmur.

Thank you all for this community - a welcomed respite after a long day. Please be safe out there.

 

[The Amish Tyrant]

Glad you and the family are safe. Some tough decisions were made.

Any decision made was the correct one. You are posting, the family is safe, and you are relaxing.

 

[ashdigger]

Glad you are all safe and best wishes for your son.

 

[Bassman65]

Count your blessings! Glad you’re all safe.

 

[shanez]

Glad to hear you and your family are safe. Sounds like a very close call. Hoping for the best for your son as well.

Great post insomuch as it serves us all as a reminder to pay attention and act prudently.

 

[BingBong]

Source of CO² overload?

 

[Sigmund]

Im glad you had those alarms.

I know that my pellet stove when installed in France has to draw air from a place that is not the living area.
Ours draws from the basement/garage. There is an intake pipe that leads through the floor. Otherwise, they actually wanted to cut a hole in my wall to let fresh air in the living room....kind of defeating the purpose of heating the room.

Stoves can burn off existing oxygen and raise co2 levels. Incomplete combustion also creates co2 so its a double whammy.

Alarms are super important if you live in a modern sealed home with good windows and loads of insulation and weather stripping.

 

[Sobrbiker]

Good thing you had the detectors, CO (I’m pretty sure we’re talking about carbon monoxide here) is nothing to scoff at.
Best wishes for your boy.

 

[MidnightPuff]

Best wishes for your son.

 

[khiddy]

Good thing you had the detectors, CO (I’m pretty sure we’re talking about carbon monoxide here) is nothing to scoff at.
Best wishes for your boy.

Came here to say this same thing: sounds like Carbon Monoxide, CO, not CO2 (good ol’ Carbon Dioxide, which is also dangerous at high levels but not “the silent killer” that CO is).

My wife and I had a CO detector go off at 4 in the morning one day about a year ago, when it was about 4 degrees outside. After bundling ourselves into the car, we called 911 and they came with high-powered CO sensors to sweep the house. Nothing.

Turns out the detector had a faulty battery. We got a new sensor to supplement (placed right near the gas water heater and furnace, the two largest sources of CO in the average home). We replaced the batteries in the original detector as well, and it appears to work fine.

Take this as a reminder to check your batteries, folks!

 

[wyfbane]

Thank heavens you are all ok! Hope your son's heart turns out to be just a minor thing that is easily remedied.

 

[ashdigger]

CO and CO2 are killers in the right environment. Both are byproducts of combustion.

While CO is the silent killer CO2 can also accumulate.

If your lips are cherry red is CO is they’re blue CO2. Just quick reference.

The wood burning makes me think CO2 as well.

A Nat gas or propane furnace would be more CO.

Every scene is different but paying attention is key and headaches are the canary in the coal mine

 

[LotusEater]

Glad to hear everyone is ok
Hoping for the best for your son.

 

[Sobrbiker]

CO and CO2 are killers in the right environment. Both are byproducts of combustion.

While CO is the silent killer CO2 can also accumulate.

If your lips are cherry red is CO is they’re blue CO2. Just quick reference.

The wood burning makes me think CO2 as well.

A Nat gas or propane furnace would be more CO.

Every scene is different but paying attention is key and headaches are the canary in the coal mine

I will definitely defer to your expertise and experience, and appreciate the input. CO2 hasn’t been on my combustible threat radar until now.

 

[anotherbob]

CO and CO2 are killers in the right environment. Both are byproducts of combustion.

While CO is the silent killer CO2 can also accumulate.

If your lips are cherry red is CO is they’re blue CO2. Just quick reference.

The wood burning makes me think CO2 as well.

A Nat gas or propane furnace would be more CO.

Every scene is different but paying attention is key and headaches are the canary in the coal mine

Carbon Dioxide displaces the air and CO binds really well to the blood cells right?
I do know that CO poisoning makes for an easier embalming. Leaves a rosey checked corpse.

 

[ashdigger]

Carbon Dioxide displaces the air and CO binds really well to the blood cells right?

Correct.

 

[RPK]

Thank God all are safe and will be able to enjoy the coming Christmas and New Year celebrations.
My best wishes.

 

[DeaconPiper]

I realize, in my haste, I wrote CO2. The primary issue was carbon monoxide.

The culprit is likely ventilation from the wood stove, I really don't know specifics, yet. Having a feller look at it this morning.

Thank you for the kind words!

 

[NookersTheCat]

Carbon Dioxide displaces the air and CO binds really well to the blood cells right?
I do know that CO poisoning makes for an easier embalming. Leaves a rosey checked corpse.

Exactly.. CO is toxic.. it literally binds to cells in an "incorrect way" biologically causing poisoning.

CO2 is not toxic... it's an inert gas that surrounds us everywhere, everyday... however, in too great of a concentration it displaces the amount of oxygen we need in the air causing the subject to literally suffocate. But it's not actually the CO2 "poisoning" someone, rather the lack of the oxygen they need to survive.

 

[Snook]

Very scary... glad to hear the alarm did its job and you all made it out safely. This post has inspired me to put the batteries back in our smoke/CO detectors! (I got fed up with the kitchen one always going off whenever I make toast...)