Another Carbon Monoxide Disaster

[NormChris]

Carbon monoxide and stupidity sends 13 to the hospital. CO is dispersed thru the building via AC system.

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/st...080704566.html

[superheater]

Whats your point.

[NormChris]

Originally posted by superheater
Whats your point.

The point should be obvious to those of us in the HVAC business. Carbon monoxide is a real and serious danger and we need to educate our customers about that danger as part of our job.

We work with combusion systems all the time and co is a byproduct of incomplete combustion. For more information on carbon monoxide you can go to http://www.bacharach-training.com

In my opinion, every technician who works with combustion heating systems should become educated on CO, how to measure it and have a quality CO detector.

[superheater]

Well thats the buss. we are all in.

[ozone drone]

[i]Originally posted by NormChris

In my opinion, every technician who works with combustion heating systems should become educated on CO, how to measure it and have a quality CO detector.[/B]

Back in 1974 before there were ducted combustion air requirements in the building codes, I found out why they were needed. I had just got out of the Air Force and was working for a Lennox dealer in Brighton, Colorado.

We installed an upright nat gas furnace and a/c system in the home of one of the Home Builder/General Contractors that we did lots of jobs for. The family was moving into the home as I was doing the initial start-up/checkout. The GC had a sexy 18 yr old daughter who ran around in Daisy Duke short shorts and a halter top....amazing the details you can remember from 31 years ago

About 6 weeks later the boss calls me at about 5:00 am and tells me the GC and his family were rushed by ambulance
to the hospital with carbon monoxide poisoning and wanted me to meet him at the house. It was like a punch in the stomach to me.... On the drive to the GC's house a hundred questions flashed through my head. The equipment was brand new??? Did I overlook something ??? Is it my fault people are dying? I was really rattled by the time I pulled up at their house.

A fire truck was still there, police cars, building inspectors, the place was crawling with people trying to figure out what happened. The furnace was installed in a half basement and it was determined that the contractor had built his own home very tight and well insulated. With the basement door closed, the furnace consumed all the oxygen and then started down draughting. There was no ducted combustion air run because there was no code for it. Back in those days most houses were pretty drafty.

It was a close call, but no one died. We ducted in some combustion air and that fixed the problem. You don't want to think that something you did or overlooked can kill people .... but it can.

[davidr]

Ozone's post is a chilling reminder why this is so important.

Carbon monoxide is a year round problem not just a winter time problem.

I don't think anyone posting on this site could live with themselves if people were poisoned due to something we had done unintentionally.

If we don't test & document what we install for safe operation we have no proof to back ourselves up in the event of an unfortunate accident.

Anyone interested in training should contact the http://www.nationalcomfortinstitute.com.

Jim Davis is an excellent trainer & will open your eyes to things you walk past on a daily basis.

They are also one of the few companies where low level carbon monoxide detectors are available for the protection of your customers.

If you don't think it is that big of a deal sign up for a daily alert from google & type in the keyword carbon monoxide.

[mike3]

No one seems to mention water heaters as a possible co problem. I suppose I've seen hundreds of them sooted over the years. Not in recent years though given the difference in burner design. Seems like when doing service on heat/ac would be a good time to check water heater combustion or at least look for soot streaks up the front as you walk by. May make you a hero & a couple of bucks. I know our policy for years was to check every gas burning appliance in the house. Now its mandatory to check wall furnaces in conjunction with any call. It is amazing the number discovered to have partially sooted heat exchangers.

[Shophound]

This morning when my clock radio alarm popped on, the Oak Cliff story was on the news station the radio is set to for the alarm. Being half asleep, when I heard the particulars of the story of how a man ran a generator inside his apartment, I rolled away from the radio and mumbled, "Dumbass".

When I was more awake I came across this post and the following comments. I still wondered why anyone would run a generator INSIDE a building rather than outdoors, if nothing else for the noise. But then I remembered this guy lived in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas, an area of town not on many people's "A" list of places to live. He likely had the generator inside to keep it from getting ripped off by some crackhead.

Regardless, this is serious stuff. Just another reminder how people not thinking can endanger many more than themselves.