Rabu, 28 Mei 2014

can carbon monoxide detectors detect small amounts?




mEl


i have an older furnace and i have a detector but i was wondering if the detectors detect small trace amounts of cm or only the major leaks.


Answer
Basically there are 3 levels that should activate the alarm 70 ppm, 150 ppm and 400 ppm depending upon how long the levels are detected.

I am a home inspector. I check CO as part of my inspection. Most furnaces and water heaters operating in normal conditions will have less than 20 parts per million in the flue stack (after the vent diverter). So 70 ppm CO is a pretty high level.

Kitchen ranges often exceed 400 parts per million on startup.

Ceramic log sets usually peg the meter at 2000 ppm.

From 1st Alert one of the leading manufacturers of home alarms:

<< WHAT LEVELS OF CO CAUSE AN ALARM?
Underwriters Laboratories Inc. Standard UL2034 requires residential CO
Alarms to sound when exposed to levels of CO and exposure times as
described below. They are measured in parts per million (ppm) of CO over
time (in minutes).
UL2034 Required Alarm Points*:
⢠If the alarm is exposed to 400 ppm of CO, IT MUST ALARM BETWEEN
4 and 15 MINUTES.
⢠If the alarm is exposed to 150 ppm of CO, IT MUST ALARM BETWEEN
10 and 50 MINUTES.
⢠If the alarm is exposed to 70 ppm of CO, IT MUST ALARM BETWEEN
60 and 240 MINUTES.
* Approximately 10% COHb exposure of 10% to 95% Relative
Humidity (RH).

The unit is designed not to alarm when exposed to a constant level
of 30 ppm for 30 days.

CO Alarms are designed to alarm before there is an immediate life threat.
Since you cannot see or smell CO, never assume itâs not present.
⢠An exposure to 100 ppm of CO for 20 minutes may not affect average,
healthy adults, but after 4 hours the same level may cause headaches.
⢠An exposure to 400 ppm of CO may cause headaches in average, healthy
adults after 35 minutes, but can cause death after 2 hours. >>

At what level does carbon monoxide become dangerous?




The Mrs.


After cooking on our new gas stove last night for approximately 30-45 minutes, my husband said that the carbon monoxide detector in our bedroom read a level of 15ppm. This is the highest we have seen it, generally speaking it doesn't go over 10ppm. At what point (in ppm) should we be concerned?


Answer
Any level of carbon monoxide is dangerous, it inhibits hemoglobin, myoglobin, and mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase (which are all VERY important!).

But typically, a concentration of as little as 0.04% (400 parts per million) carbon monoxide in the air can be fatal.

Below is a chart to help elaborate on the toxicity levels of CO and its symptoms:
* 35 ppm (0.0035%) Headache and dizziness within six to eight hours of constant exposure
* 100 ppm (0.01%) Slight headache in two to three hours
* 200 ppm (0.02%) Slight headache within two to three hours
* 400 ppm (0.04%) Frontal headache within one to two hours
* 800 ppm (0.08%) Dizziness, nausea, and convulsions within 45 minutes. Insensible within two hours.
* 1,600 ppm (0.16%) Headache, dizziness, and nausea within 20 minutes. Death in less than two hours.
* 3,200 ppm (0.32%) Headache, dizziness and nausea in five to ten minutes. Death within 30 minutes.
* 6,400 ppm (0.64%) Headache and dizziness in one to two minutes. Death in less than 20 minutes.
* 12,800 ppm (1.28%) Unconsciousness after 2-3 breaths. Death in less than three minutes.

In addition, a recent report concludes that carbon monoxide exposure can lead to significant loss of lifespan after exposure due to damage to the heart muscle.




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