Hi guys...

I had my home inspected today, and was told that I most probably have a Carbon monoxide leak!

I asked the inspector if he had a detector that he used, and he said no, but could just tell by the way my hot water heater was not properly vented...(or some such thing).

Anyway...now I am wondering if I should go out and purchase a detector, or just take his word for it and get the vent fixed. Sooo, my question is...

Have any of you tried different detectors, and if so, which ones have you found to be the most accurate for the best value?

Incidentally, I also had my gas fireplace inspected a few weeks ago, and had a gas leak too!

No wonder I had such a tuff winter!

Thanks in advance for any information!
Melanie

Moonbeam, if you are out there...do you still have that info you wrote up awhile back about this?

If a piece of equipment is producing CO, the venting of the equipment will move it to the outside until the sections of the appliance become carbonized and blocked then the fumes will enter the property.

This can all be avoided by having a qualified person check and adjust the equipment and flame patterns at least every other year.

All of your gas fired equipment should be properly vented to the outside unless it is approved as a non vented peice of equipment. Some space heaters and fireplaces are approved and some are not.

Finding natural gas appliances vented incorrectly is very common and most people remain lucky but there are always one or two families every year that are not.

Check the venting to make sure it isn't rusted and falling apart and don't forget the chimney because blocked or collapsed chimneys in the winter is usually the cause of the problem.

CO detectors should be just as important as fire detectors. Put one on each level of your home in accordance with the manufacturer's specs. They're pretty cheap these days, unlike when they first came out.

Also just because your water heater isn't vented properly doesn't mean you have a CO leak but it should be corrected now, before that appliance starts to make CO.

Man, it sure is nice to talk business again, I can't wait to get back to work!

You sure seem to know your stuff- Google concurs!

Guess I will run over to Home Depot in the morning to find a detector.

Better leave the windows cracked tonight to be safe .

M

I feel better you're leaving the windows open.

There are a lot of gas appliances vented improperly and it's dangerous. I used to do energy audits for the utilities. We only were supposed to test heating systems for CO but the tubes worked on water heaters as well.

It's really nice to have some experts around lymenet to share their knowledge!!!!

We are blessed!

we are blessed indeed!

Thanks so much you guys!

Melanie

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C O L O R A D O * S U P P O R T * S Y S T E M
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One day I called the gas co. and they thought it sounded like an emergency to them and sent out the fire dept. as they didn't have a tech. from the gas co. avail.

Well, you should have seen my neighbors lining the street and me standing with a red face , receiving the fire dept. at my house! (I had a lot of explaining to do to my neighbors, they knew how sick my daughter had been and were frightened.)

Anyway, the firefighters didn't find anything inside the house (using detectors), but a couple of hours later, here comes the gas co..

Their man went under the house and found an exhaust pipe that was not venting properly from the furnace! He tagged it, shut it off and made us get it repaired right away.

The next day the repair man said it could be responsible for making my kids nauseated. My other kids eventually got better, but the oldest didn't. She is the one we are awaiting a lyme dx on.

We had a CO detector upstairs, but not downstairs. The detector upstairs didn't detect anything.

My point is, you should place detectors throughout the house and also have someone with a reader go directly to the sources of a possible leak, if you can.

Now you know that your friendly firefighter has a detector, your gas co. (they did this for free, of course) and your repair co. has one, too.

1st Alert is the name brand of the one we use. I really think that it just didn't pick up anything because it was under the house and was a small leak.

None of the handheld detectors detected anything in the house either! I think that 1st Alert would be fine. I just need to get others to put downstairs.

I am glad you reminded me to get more detectors for my house! I hope that something here helped you as well.

CO poisoning is called the "silent killer". I am glad that you found your problem and you are getting it taken care of!

You're welcome and don't forget that you should have at least one on every level.

Best Of Luck To All,

Best Type: Look for a CO detector with an 85-decibel alarm, a digital display (it shows you whether the monitor is working), and a Test/Reset button.

One top-rated model is the Kidde Nighthawk 900-0076 (about $50, at most hardward stores).

To minimize nuisance alarms, look for models conforming to the latest revision (June 1995) of UL standard 2034 (it'll say so on the package).

Best Location: Outside sleeping areas.

Best Plan: Test monthly, along with your smoke detectors. Some models combine CO and smoke detectors into one unit.

Feel free to choose one of those if it begins to seem like your ceilings are lost beneath all the detectors. Because many people forget about CO monitors, give them as housewarming gifts.

All of this info was in this months Better Homes and Gardens mag (June 2005) issue, page 290.

BTW...birds and other critters have a fondness for building nests on top of chimneys blocking them and causing this problem too. Gotta make sure your chimney has a cap of sorts.

Gas hot water heaters are often vented thru the chimney stacks.

For this reason, they don't want people to cut vents into the basement return air ductwork (to help with air conditioning since basements are cooler - supply extra cheap cold air i.e., "recycled"). The idea is (if I remember correctly)...if the chimney is blocked at the top, the gases will accumulate first in the basement and if the air return is vented to send cooler basement air up to the 1st and 2nd floors, one may send the dangerous gas up into the living areas of the house faster.

Natural gas "sinks". We had a broken line (small break) after 20 years in our house due to the ground settling (when we had a northern home). I notice the distinctive gas smell first in an escape window well outside when I was gardening. The smell was mostly confined to that area.

Boy, when the gas company comes...they come! Immediately... with lots of trucks. And fixing a leak is an amazing thing. The pressure is unbelievable. The entire neighborhood reeked of gas for several minutes. They disconnected and reconnected the pipes very, very quickly.

Not a job I would want!

The burner on a water heater looks
simple --but its not--to get clean
burn--things have to be just right--
Rust-dirt ect- will cause poor burn-
Clean burner--

Even having wind blow in wrong
direction can cause poor burn--
Conditions change so will co.

You guys and gals are just great! Thank you so much for your replies!

I picked up a First Alert detector this morning, and have had it sitting on the crawl space ledge since. It is reading some gibberish that looks like a 6-9 and an upside down F.

Of course there are not any instructions on how to interpret this...so, I just plugged it into an outlet close by. We shall see.

I did a bit of investigating, and see what the inspector was talking about now.
The furnace is vented outside, but the hot water heater that was vented to the furnace vent apparently was replaced, and now that vent is left just hanging there, uncapped.

There is a new vent for the current hot water heater, but the old vent is still there.
Hope this is making sense.

Anyway, it looks as though the fix won't be that much of a deal.

Trueblue-
Those fellow workers were sure lucky to have you! My sniffer is not all that great due to Bart congestion, so I tend not to rely on it much.

Ivebinlymed2-
Goodness, what a spectacle! I am so pleased that your kids got better after the exhaust pipe was repaired. Best of luck with your oldest.

Unfortunately, I have a 4 level home, and $200 is out of the question right now. Plus, I am selling and moving, so don't really want to invest that much into it. So, the one will have to do for now. I might call the gas company to see if they can come out to test- good idea.

The one I bought has all of the features that your article mentions- Thanks for all the info!

Hi Marnie-
My chimney does have a screen around it to block birds, so I am safe there. But all of the basement things are vented through the basement side walls at ground level, so I was thiking how unsafe that was when we have snow blocking those vents!

I'm so glad your gas leak was noticed by you and taken care of before harm was done!

Hi Groovy2-
Actually, after the inspection, I could almost hear the guy going over his report with the buyer, and he did mention that the light on my water heater was an orange color- not good I guess. I am dreading the report, and what else was found out!

Thanks so much again!
Melanie

Looks like I am late again. SO SORRY! I shut down the computer yesterday and am just now checking in.

But it looks like you have figured out the problem and are fixing it with the help from these guys here. GREAT! I didn't know there were so many who were well versed on the topic. It's good news though!!

The only thing I would add.. after the fact.. is that a seperate smoke detector and carbon monioxide detector would be my choice if purchasing a unit. If one function quits.. then you may not be covered for either. And.. you can't have too many units.. but I would not invest in a bunch now at this point due to the move.

But in your new place.. please note-

I've never heard of serious problems occuring because a person has "too many" safety devises.. only from a lack of them.

While we are on the topic... yes.. I AM a pain... every home should have a fire extinguisher. At LEAST one. I prefer the ABC type.. which is rated ABC .. and is good for any fire that may happen suddenly. In an emergency situation.. trying to read the small print on an extinguisher to determine if the fire you have is the RIGHT one, for the extinguisher you bought, wastes precious time.

You said.. "Anyway...now I am wondering if I should go out and purchase a detector, or just take his word for it and get the vent fixed."

Most inspectors.. not all of course.. but most HAVE to check these things because it is .. or could be .. a life threating situation. They would be buried if they failed to catch it and something happened to harm someone. Now.. if HE was selling products.. or pushing a certain repair person.. I might get a second opinion. But I would NORMALLY check out a report like this.

And.. I know you. Getting the vent fixed will be your thing to do... because I know you wouldn't want to leave anyone in a possibly dangerous situation.

My bet is you could ask a neighbor to fix it for you. I seem to usually have folks around who just "know" this stuff and are happy to show off their talents and impress the girls. It might cost you a dinner or you could bake a cake for payment? But that would be better than a bill in the mail.

But then again.. I haven't tried your cakes?

HA!

Hope all is well and the situation is fixed by now... and hope YOU are feeling good!

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If you get the choice to sit it out or dance...

Well, I was just thinking that you were ignoring me for some reason...and here you are :

Yes, I am sure that the vent problem will be easy to take care of, and I plan on doing it myself. (all of my pots and pans are already packed, so no cake baking)

I'm not too sure this detector is working though...the digital readout is blank except for a little line. Lordy, I wish these things came with instructions!

Anyway, I meet with my realtor in the morning to find out what the rest of the damage is...wish me luck!

I am doing OK...thanks for asking.
Overdoing as usual, and paying for it a bit today. But other than that, pretty good.

I'm on a med holiday, so I've been clean for a week and a half. Doc said to take up to three weeks depending on how I feel, then he wants to resume with Amoxy and Mino.

I can feel the neuropathy creeping back in already, and the headaches...but it is manageable.

How are YOU?
I think you owe me a couple of emails kiddo!

Oh, BTW...I have at least three fire extinguishers...

Much love,
M

Melanie, be sure to fix any defect you know about before you close or it could come back to haunt you later. Personally I would have a professional fix it so I could prove I had it taken care of. If you fix it yourself you should be 100% certain you know what you are doing!

The lymie super nose while aggravating does have many uses. I can tell if a building has rodent problems the minute I walk in the door. I can also smell if an exterminator has been around, just by walking past a building.