How long before I die of CO poisoning?

PaulS said:
I would guess not more than an hour at full load.
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Oh...Hell!!! Well, then, if we're just taking guesses. Then I would guess never.

If the hangar is standard metal building construction then it is likely leaky enough that there'd be plenty of outside air infiltration. This is especially true in Salty's aforementioned 140mph wind because the roof would be gone.
 
Bell206 said:
It provides a higher quality of life for a house full of people, especially the kids. Having lights, fans, and a DVD going makes that day/night go by easier. Since you seem to have not experienced that adventure then it is hard to explain.
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Of course I have been through that, NC gets hurricanes too. Plus power outages in the winter during ice storms.

Until you said this, I didn’t get why you want to power your hangar. Now I am assuming your hangar is next to your house.

Of course you would never put it in your hangar. If you are worried about local flooding, build an elevated platform in the back. After the storm, put it out there, chain it down and use something like a kid’s tent if you need to shelter it. Leave the door open.
 
The hangar is built from concrete block and the roof is tied to the block. It’s rated for 140, though we all know it wouldn’t last long.

And yes, it’s next to the house, which is why I would be running it during the storm.
 
So if you want it running during the storm, build a generator house in the back yard. Tie down the roof and rate it to a cat 5. Then we can stop the nonsensical discussion about running a generator inside. Does it matter if it’s an hour or a minute?
 
timwinters said:
Oh...Hell!!! Well, then, if we're just taking guesses. Then I would guess never.

If the hangar is standard metal building construction then it is likely leaky enough that there'd be plenty of outside air infiltration. This is especially true in Salty's aforementioned 140mph wind because the roof would be gone.
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I'd wager you on that bet, but you would have to ante up before you tried.
 
Running my car in the garage, with the garage door open, set off the CO alarm in my lower level almost as soon as the door was opened.
 
bflynn said:
So if you want it running during the storm, build a generator house in the back yard. Tie down the roof and rate it to a cat 5. Then we can stop the nonsensical discussion about running a generator inside. Does it matter if it’s an hour or a minute?
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I knew many would respond this way because I came to the same conclusion myself. I left the OP unsubmitted for a couple hours because of that. But inevitably I submitted it just to see if anything interesting resulted. I’m still curious how long it would actually be safe, but I’m not about to even do the tests suggested. It’s just not worth it.
 
Salty said:
I knew many would respond this way because I came to the same conclusion myself. I left the OP unsubmitted for a couple hours because of that. But inevitably I submitted it just to see if anything interesting resulted. I’m still curious how long it would actually be safe, but I’m not about to even do the tests suggested. It’s just not worth it.
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The answer to your question is it depends. Here are a few of the questions you need to answer. How tightly is the building sealed? How many horsepower is the motor? Is 7kw the running power or peak load? Will the generator be running fully loaded? Should we wait for CO level to reach lethal concentrations or should be account for increasing exposure and try to figure out when subject becomes incapacitated, which would probably occur as levels built? Personally I hate being exposed to CO, doesn't take long for me to get a headache or feel nauseous, and that's just being stuck behind a "classic" car or truck in the city.
 
Not sure how long CO takes to hit you but it’s cousin CO2 hits ya FAST! Back years ago I was a beer rep, I was at a restaurant and went to check the kegs, opened up the cooler door and it smelled funny, natural reaction was to do a couple quick sniffs.... their was a keg line leaking (smell was the beer or other kitchen mistery smell I’d bet as I assume pure co2 doesn’t have an odor though idk that for sure). By that second sniff, I was lightheaded as cud be instantly and stumbled backwards to push door open... had to hold the wall a minute or two and then was fine but I’d venture to say one more sniff and I wudda been a pile on the ground.. don’t screw with it O2 is a handy thing to have in your bloodstream... any real experiment could be deadly- you walk in and pass out 10 steps in and you are toast...
 
Or build a generator box in the garage.
Huckster79 said:
Not sure how long CO takes to hit you but it’s cousin CO2 hits ya FAST! Back years ago I was a beer rep, I was at a restaurant and went to check the kegs, opened up the cooler door and it smelled funny, natural reaction was to do a couple quick sniffs.... their was a keg line leaking (smell was the beer or other kitchen mistery smell I’d bet as I assume pure co2 doesn’t have an odor though idk that for sure). By that second sniff, I was lightheaded as cud be instantly and stumbled backwards to push door open... had to hold the wall a minute or two and then was fine but I’d venture to say one more sniff and I wudda been a pile on the ground.. don’t screw with it O2 is a handy thing to have in your bloodstream... any real experiment could be deadly- you walk in and pass out 10 steps in and you are toast...
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We used to get shipments of material in which came in a 4' x 3' x 3' cooler and were packed with (a lot of) dry ice. One really hot day in the warehouse I just about passed out when I leaned into the cooler to get the bottom layer boxes of material out of the cooler. The boxes were packed tight, and it took a while for me to 'break' the layer so I could start taking them out. Was able to barely stand up in time. I was the only one in the warehouse so who knows how long I would have been there before I was found.
 
EdFred said:
Or build a generator box in the garage.


We used to get shipments of material in which came in a 4' x 3' x 3' cooler and were packed with (a lot of) dry ice. One really hot day in the warehouse I just about passed out when I leaned into the cooler to get the bottom layer boxes of material out of the cooler. The boxes were packed tight, and it took a while for me to 'break' the layer so I could start taking them out. Was able to barely stand up in time. I was the only one in the warehouse so who knows how long I would have been there before I was found.
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That was CO2 much different than CO. CO2 will displace the O2 you need, CO will be absorbed by the blood 8 times more readily than O2 and is not released as readily as CO2. That is why low dose amounts over time can be lethal, the CO builds in your system preventing any oxygen being absorbed.

Had a 20 minute flight in a C172 with a small leak in an exhaust pipe. Enough CO came through the firewall to cause CO poisoning, although we felt no effects until shutting down and I got out of the aircraft. I could hardily stand. Pulled out the oxymeter and it read 93%. It does not take much!
 
A1Topgun said:
That was CO2 much different than CO. CO2 will displace the O2 you need, CO will be absorbed by the blood 8 times more readily than O2 and is not released as readily as CO2. That is why low dose amounts over time can be lethal, the CO builds in your system preventing any oxygen being absorbed.

Had a 20 minute flight in a C172 with a small leak in an exhaust pipe. Enough CO came through the firewall to cause CO poisoning, although we felt no effects until shutting down and I got out of the aircraft. I could hardily stand. Pulled out the oxymeter and it read 93%. It does not take much!
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Yeah, I know that, and that's why I quoted huckster, because he mentioned his CO2 story.
 
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