A breath of fresh air
30 October 2008The annual Research Forum presented by ACEP is always a treasure trove of tantalizing hints of information; it’s tough to really decide how relevant studies are based only on their abstracts. However, it’s hard to find fault with a really simple study that should have been done years ago, and is pretty relevant to one of my hobbies: the carbon monoxide levels produced by in-tent use of backpacking stoves.
It turns out that you can develop a bit of an exposure, even in a 3-season tent after a 20-minute burn: the CO level passed 50ppm using white gas, and was twice as high with unleaded gasoline as the fuel. Needless to say, a 4-season tent was worse, with levels about twice as high as the 3-season tent. I can’t imagine that these levels last very long, especially in the more ventilated 3-season tents, but it’s enough to make me wonder whether I need to air out my tent after using the stove (a task made easier by the fact that I don’t camp in freezing temperatures).
All I have to do now is find an investor for my new idea: a portable CO alarm weighing 3oz and running on 2 AAA batteries. Or not….
Nah, all that does is lessen your chances of going out like Weird Al’s parents.
I personally would have thought that if the fireplace flue wasn’t open, you might notice a bit of smoke in the house. Still a tough way to go.