Carbon monoxide

RickG said:
Skip - I use the stick-on detectors and they work. During a routine panel scan shortly after takeoff I noticed the color had changed to sky blue. It was the first cool morning of the season and the first time I had flown with all the fresh air vents closed. I immediately opened both wing vents in the C172 and was prepared to open my side window if needed. Took just a moment but as the cabin was flushed with air the color returned to normal. It took lots of tests with a digital CO reader before we figured out where the leak was coming from as the internal exhaust components / mufflers showed no signs of leaking. Turned out to be worn door seals.

Attached pic was taken by friend in the right seat during the flight. Here's a link to the one I have in the plane:
http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/pspages/llifecodetectors.php
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The stick on CO detectors do indeed detect CO but they don't indicate until the level gets pretty high. A small exhaust leak in the cabin heater can generate levels that cause serious impairment without the detector showing any signs of a problem. So it's true they're better than nothing because if you have a big CO leak and you happen to notice the spot changing color it could save your life. Just don't count on it.
 
Oilfield use of the GasAlertClip monitors for H2S is extensive; all the major companies fine them to be best.
Mine is very sensitive to H2S, at least by my experience. It's easy to smell H2S, and mine will holler before I sense it quite often.

Could not be much different for CO, I'm sure.
 
Henning said:
What I'm wondering is the O2 reading even useable for O2 when you have CO poisoning, I don't think it would be, I think it would reporting 100% even if there was no free oxygen left in the blood.
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Henning is right yet again!
Pulse oximetry (fingertip) OVERestimates arterial oxygen content in setting of CO poisoning.
Reference:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/9792574/

CO poisoned patients classically have cherry red lips and mucus membranes - carboxyhemoglobin is red like oxyhemoglobin. More so.
 
I'm rather tuned to H2S detection (I spent three years becoming a certified wine judge and H2S is a common issue in wine production). As pointed out it smells.

CO is odorless. Frankly, the dead stops (even having to replace them periodically) work fine for me. Under $5 a shot.
 
Henning said:
:rofl::rofl::rofl: That's not a CO chamber, that's a pressure (or rather vacuum) chamber.
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there is a CO chamber. They have an old Buick with a garden hose conecting the tailpipe to the rear window. its behind the hypoxia chamber so you may have missed it
 
I once had a CO monitor go off during a flight but then it stopped. On the ground, I took a peek and noticed some discoloration where the exhaust manifold connected to one of the cylinders. We later confirmed that's where the leak was.
 
wrbix said:
Henning is right yet again!
Pulse oximetry (fingertip) OVERestimates arterial oxygen content in setting of CO poisoning.
Reference:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/9792574/

CO poisoned patients classically have cherry red lips and mucus membranes - carboxyhemoglobin is red like oxyhemoglobin. More so.
Click to expand...

I hadn't really thought about it before this thread even though I frequently use a finger tip unit. If you think about it though, it can be used as a CO detector. Typically my sat, even on O2, doesn't go above 97%-98% (I never look down low). If I look down and see 100%, I may have a CO problem, or even an upward trend in level cruise.
 
Just to put some numbers to it (Yes, I know it's not an aircraft engine, but the thermo-chemistry is similar...). Peak happens around the green line...

airfuel.jpg
 
Oh, ok, yeah, got it. It fits in a couple of threads is why I asked. :rofl:;) it's happened to me before here, post in one thread and appear in another.
 
If I look down and see 100%, I may have a CO problem, or even an upward trend in level cruise.
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Henning, maybe you are kidding, but I would not bet my life on that technique to detect CO.
 
Henning said:
I don't mean using it as a primary detector, just that noticing an upward trend could be a warning regardless.
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It'd at least be a good reason to spend an extra second taking an extra glance at the real CO meter.
 
I once spent a couple hours at 15,500 with no O2. Thankfully, not pilot flying. Got out of the plane and staggered like a drunk.
 
Norman said:
I once spent a couple hours at 15,500 with no O2. Thankfully, not pilot flying. Got out of the plane and staggered like a drunk.
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Unless O2 was offered to you, it's still not legal, even as a passenger.
 
Henning said:
Spooky thing is, when you consider people failing to consider DA into their O2 planning calculation/consideration, it happens frequently.
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DA is not relevant for people. Oxygen is always absorbed at 37 C and 100% humidity. Hypoxia is a function of pressure altitude.
 
Henning said:
Spooky thing is, when you consider people failing to consider DA into their O2 planning calculation/consideration, it happens frequently.
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DA is entirely superfluous to BREATHING issues. The only thing that matters is the partial pressure of O2 which is only affected by the pressure altitude for practical matters. Density doesn't control perfusion, just pressure.
 
flyingron said:
Unless O2 was offered to you, it's still not legal, even as a passenger.
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And how is this illegal? There was O2 available if I needed it but I was testing myself and was being watched. If I'm on a mountain at 15,500 am I required to have O2?
 
Norman said:
And how is this illegal? There was O2 available if I needed it but I was testing myself and was being watched. If I'm on a mountain at 15,500 am I required to have O2?
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As I said "Unless O2 was offered to you..."
 
MAKG1 said:
DA is not relevant for people. Oxygen is always absorbed at 37 C and 100% humidity. Hypoxia is a function of pressure altitude.
Click to expand...

flyingron said:
DA is entirely superfluous to BREATHING issues. The only thing that matters is the partial pressure of O2 which is only affected by the pressure altitude for practical matters. Density doesn't control perfusion, just pressure.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that. I had it wrong, too.
 
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