Can a furnace put out CO?

[VicR]

Can a propane fueled furnace (in my case Suburban brand) put out Carbon Monoxide? From the Safe-T-Alert web site, these are the potential sources for CO:



Engine Exhaust

Portable Space Heaters

Gas Stoves and Ovens

Defective Engine

Exhaust System

Portable Grills

Camp Fires

Other RVs

Portable Generator

Generator Exhaust



and here is the ANSI reg that covers it:



ANSI A119. 2 - Fire & Life Safety



3-4. 6 Carbon Monoxide (CO) Detectors

"All RVs equipped with an internal combustion engine or designed with features to accommodate future installation of an internal combustion engine and truck campers shall be equipped with a listed CO detector installed in accordance with its listing.

-RVIA Effective Date 10/93, Revised 9/99





So my question is: Why didn't they include furnaces as a potential source? My 2000 Sunlite Slide-in has a CO detector - do 5'ers and Travel Trailers come with them to? I don't understand why ANSI singled out slide-ins? The appliances are all the same.



Mainly just a curiousity - I was having trouble with intermittent alarms with my Safe-T-Alert but blew it out with cleaning air and it seems fine now.



-Vic

 

[Josparkz]

They most certainly can .

 

[RMcCulloch]

If it utilizes a hydrocarbon as a fuel, it can put out Carbon Monoxide.



My trailer has a CO detecter as standard equipment.



So does my house - I have a Natural Gas "furnace" as part of the Central Heat/AC system. My previous unit had produced some CO when it developed pin-holes due to internal rusting. The resulting fumes caused several problems that I have absolutely no intention of having repeated - thus the CO detectors.

 

[D6Diesel]

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Safety Hazards

Forklift Trucks

Propane-powered Vehicles (including forklift trucks)





What are the occupational hazards of propane fuel?



Exposure to high levels of propane fuel occurs generally only while filling tanks or from a leak from the tank or fuel delivery system. Propane gas is heavier than air; therefore leakage from a vehicle parked or stored near an unventilated pit or a lower level room is a hazard.



Brief exposures to concentrations of propane up to 10,000 parts propane per million parts of air (ppm) do not cause any symptoms in humans. Exposures to very high concentrations of propane (100,000 ppm) can produce slight dizziness after a few minutes of exposure. At extremely high concentrations (several hundred thousand parts per million), propane acts as an asphyxiant by displacing oxygen. This means one could suffocate if exposed to high enough concentrations of propane because it dilutes the oxygen in the air.



There have only been a very few studies of accidental overexposure to propane; victims reported symptoms of disorientation, excitation, headache and vomiting.



In most Canadian jurisdictions the occupational exposure limit for propane is 1,000 parts per million, averaged over an 8-hour work day or a 40-hour work week. The occupational health and safety authority in each province or territory should be consulted for the latest information on exposure limits for propane.



Propane gas is very flammable and should be considered as a fire hazard.



The OSH Answers Chemical Profile on propane has additional information on this gas.







What are hazards of propane combustion products?



Complete combustion of propane results in the formation of carbon dioxide and water vapour. Carbon monoxide is a by-product of combustion when there is not enough oxygen to burn the propane completely.



Carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide are hazards when propane-powered equipment is used in enclosed, poorly ventilated areas. Symptoms of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide overexposure include headache, fatigue, dizziness and nausea. Carbon monoxide is a toxic gas that interferes with the ability of the red blood cells to carry oxygen. Exposure to very high concentrations of carbon monoxide (more than 4,000 ppm) can result in coma or death.



Because carbon dioxide is an asphyxiant gas, exposure to extremely high concentrations (above 100,000 ppm) can result in death. Such life-threatening concentrations are very unlikely to occur in most workplace situations. However, symptoms of headache, fatigue and dizziness may show that there is inadequate ventilation in the workplace. The frequency of complaints of these symptoms increases as the carbon dioxide levels increase above 800-1,000 ppm.





From : www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/safety_haz/forklift/propane.html

 

[VicR]

Seems reasonable to me - but I still don't understand why ANSI only requires CO monitors on units with internal combustian engines or slide-in campers. Why not trailers? Seems to me anything with a furnace is at risk.



-Vic

 

[Crowhurst]

Vic, I would guess this is because a trailer furnace has a ducted air intake from outside and a ducted exhaust to the outside world. A properly installed and maintained furnace will not deplete oxygen in the trailer, nor will it release carbon dioxide or monoxide to the interior. This is not so with an oven, catalytic heater or portable propane heater, or the car engine. I guess slide-outs are not gas tight, so fumes could leak back in. Just guessing here. However, there is still the possibility of a leak in the travel trailer furnace ducts, however unlikely, so I have detectors for carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, propane, smoke, and fire. I confess to being a little paranoid. I once walked into a room and found a mother and daughter in front of the TV on Christmas Eve. They were both dead from carbon monoxide leaking through a porous brick chimney stack in their house. A $30 dollar investment from Wal-Mart for a carbon monoxide detector keeps me from worrying so much. Nick

 

[D6Diesel]

I would agree with dectectors as above. Will have to review our CO dectector, not sure if it also dectects CO2. What is a fire dectector? heat sensor?

 

[Crowhurst]

There are two types of home fire detectors. One, the smoke detector, uses a tiny beam of light to detect smoke particles. The other, the ionizing type, uses an ionizer (sometimes radioactive) to detect the gases given off by a fire. By examining the packaging at the store you should be able to see which type you are holding. If your carbon monoxide detector also detects carbon dioxide, I would fit just the smoke particle type in the trailer, plus the propane detector. Safe camping! Nick.

 

[PUMPERDUDE]

I would think they are picky about slide -ins because usually they are used in the truck which has a huge supply of CO comming from the tail pipe right next to the back door. Some people travel back there. Just a thought.

 

[Eric_77]

I agree with Pumperdude plus the fact the trailer or such may not have a furnace but the slide in will always be hauled by an internal combustion engine (no electric car could handle one) so it has a CO source in close proximity even if a CO source is not present in slide in.