Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with monoxide

Should I give up on gas?

Enroute — Tue, 06 May 2008 14:28:04 -0800

My new gas range is breaking my heart. WTF is wrong with it? And if it is a goner, should I bother trying to replace it with another gas range, or give up and switch to electric? After 15 years of longing for a gas range, I finally got this GE Profile dual fuel slide-in range 3 years ago. It has been a disaster. It fills the kitchen with mercaptan smell, puts out a tremendous amount of carbon monoxide (I forget the exact reading, but it was WAY over the safe limit), and the burners "roar" to a ridiculous degree. It makes me sick to cook with it.

We have had appliance repair guys and gas company guys out repeatedly to look at it, and they can't figure it out. We replaced two parts (and I'm sorry, I can't remember the exact names and my husband's out of cell range right now)--the little round dial thing on the underside of the range that regulates the amount of gas flow, and the thing on the individual burners that regulates the amount of gas they get. No difference. The pressure of the gas coming to the house is normal. The repair guys agree there is a problem but don't know how to fix it.

So here are my questions:

1) Any idea what the problem could be?
2) Do you think it would be crazy to buy another gas range? I'm worried that the problem is with the gas feed to our house and the problem would just repeat with a new range. They say the feed is fine, but of course they obviously don't know everything or they would have fixed it by now.
3) If I do get another gas range, what is a RELIABLE brand?
4) One of the main things I wanted from a gas range was super high heat for stir-frying and such. Is it possible to get this from an electric range? What should I look for?

Worst winter ever. Deadliest winter ever?

Shepherd — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 15:47:56 -0800

Ice has destroyed my oil furnace chimney. Will it kill me? Well, this record-breaking Bad Canadian Winter has killed my chimney. I was up there on a ladder yesterday, trying to get a look at the damage, but ice sliding off the roof clipped my right leg really badly -- a bruise running from the back of my right ankle to the back of my right knee -- and the ice, piled up behind the chimney, is pushing it with enough force that I can't push it back at all. I can't get on the roof, first because it's physically nigh-impossible, secondly because if the ice slips out from under me I'm dead. It's a long way down.

So the question I have right now is: the oil furnace is my sole source of heat for the upper floor of the house. The chimney runs up the outside of the house, so leakage isn't a huge concern (it'll run through the overhang, or at least I hope)... but is running oil heat going to kill me? I don't want to die of carbon monoxide poisoning, but I don't want to freeze to death, either.

Fortunately, the lower floor -- where the water intake is -- is on electric heat, so there's no danger of the place overheating. I have a carbon monoxide monitor and the house set on 10 degrees Celsius, so I'm wearing a lot of sweaters and a toque and praying for warmer weather.

It's gonna be freezing again tonight, Monday, and Tuesday. Warm up a bit Wednesday and Thursday, and then right back down into hell for another week or more.

I'm stymied. I'm going to call the roofing people to see if they can give me some advice tomorrow, but more opinions are always welcome. It's really bloody hard to get back there, so I can't scaffold my way up... I'm a bit freaked out by all this.

Picture here.

Getting very sleepy...

peachfuzz — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 18:57:45 -0800

This morning, my boyfriend overslept for hours and hours - and woke up to the carbon monoxide detector going off. Now what? The detector's supposed to be sensitive to carbon monoxide and explosive gases. He lives in an old house, with tons of gas combustion-powered appliances - gas stove/range, water heater, furnace, (I think) dryer - and crappy ventilation. How does he pinpoint the source of the trouble? And what does he do in the meantime? Obviously, he's tried to get in touch with his landlord. I think he needs to clear out of there, starting tonight, and then start looking for a new place to live (this is the latest in a long line of issues with the property). Right? Or will he be, quote, "Fine with the windows open"?

(I think there's always been something fishy about that house. We both constantly feel groggy and weird in it - I notice it most, since I don't live there. When I stay there, I notice headaches a lot more frequently than I do at home. And we both get mysterious mild flus - general lethargy, malaise, fogginess - that just linger and linger. Invariably, he feels different - more energetic, clearer, less run-down - when he goes on vacation or travels or is even out of the house for a day (he works at home, and a lot of days he's in the house for 20 hours out of 24). Is this possibly long-term exposure to low levels of carbon monoxide? It's never occurred to either of us that this is a possibility until now, but it sure would make sense.)

Anyway - he needs to Not. Sleep. There. For. Now. Yes?

I inhaled what??

matty — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 05:33:50 -0800

With all the news lately about carbon monoxide poisioning on the West Coast, I've laid in bed wondering about the carbon monoxide testers we have in our house. How do I know they REALLY work?? Is there a simple, safe way to test the detectors - other than hitting the 'test' button - to prove to myself that the things actually work? We have the type that plug into an outlet and have a battery backup.

Mining accidents 101

goethean — Fri, 06 Jan 2006 13:26:28 -0800

My brother claims that the miners who died "could have walked right out". Is he full of it?