Now that it’s gone a bit nippy…

EarthDemon

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and I’m still waiting for my Truma control unit to arrive, I have taken to putting on a single burner and blowing the hot air away from the cupboards above with a small fan - very effective and I’m still alive. Only taken me 5 years to work this one out. Is it a suicidally stupid thing to do? I only do it when in seated part of van, wouldn’t leave it on while lying down - that’s the theory anyway. I do have a CO detector.
 
I have used a hob top as a heater and also one of the little "awning only" canister heaters as well inside on occasion, but always cracked open a window to provide ventilation.
 
When we had a racing weekend on the sunday a friend wasn't out his van for first race, when we checked he was slumped in dining seat, had died overnight due to CO. as it had been a bit chilly overnight the best guess is he had turned on a burner to warm up the van then drifted off.
 
the first trip out in my Stripey Campervan after I installed the cheap Chinese Diesel Heater it failed to work (it was yet another crappy quality unit that I ended up getting a full refund on) and to deal with the chill, instead of using the Induction Hob, I boiled the kettle on one of those portable gas stoves to make a couple of mugs of Hot Chocolate. So much wasted energy of those (in relation to cooking performance), heated the van nicely :)
 
The best heating we've had is the ones that look like a fire, not the ones hidden unders seats, they have a massive heat sink and can stay hot for hours.
 
Ventilation is the key. When cooking folks normally open a window or door to let steam/smells out. If you are cold and use cooker as heat source it’s tempting to shut everything up. How safe I guess comes down to the van and device, my van has too much ventilation so it wouldn’t worry me if I had to use the cooker.
That said we had to rush a friend to hospital two spring equinoxes back after he collapsed, he was sleeping in his Jeep and woke up cold so put a gas burner on to warm up. No idea what the time frame was but the car was all shut up. Hospital kept him in rest of the day and said it was very close to being a fatality.
 
I've fallen asleep with the oven on a couple of times, not for heating but for eating and both times after quite a bit to drink. On each occasion I woke up with my dinner on fire in the oven and a van full of smoke - I guess I was very lucky!

I'm not allowed to use the oven when I'm on my own in the van anymore, Julie usually prepares me something that I can just heat up in a saucepan whilst I stand and watch it warm through. :(
 
Robmac said:
I've fallen asleep with the oven on a couple of times, not for heating but for eating and both times after quite a bit to drink. On each occasion I woke up with my dinner on fire in the oven and a van full of smoke - I guess I was very lucky!

I'm not allowed to use the oven when I'm on my own in the van anymore, Julie usually prepares me something that I can just heat up in a saucepan whilst I stand and watch it warm through. :(
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hope you don't own a deep fat fryer!
 
If you wake up in the morning in your motorhome then it was OK. If you wake up in Heaven, that's even better. But not necessarily so for your loved ones. If you wake up in hospital then you can thank someone for rescuing you.

Seriously, burning gas of any sort gives off a lot of carbon monoxide. It must be one of the least painful ways of committing suicide. First you feel a bit sick and dizzy so you lay down. This lessens the impact of you hitting your head on something on the way down to the floor. Secondly you get a very nasty headache and you turn properly pink. This is because you are losing oxygen in your bloodstream. Then if you haven't realised what's causing it and get some fresh air, you pass out. Then you don't wake up.
If you have a Carbon Monoxide (CO) detector in your van it will scream at the smallest amount of CO so pay it attention. I was recently made aware of the importance of the CO and smoke detectors in motorhomes when I looked inside the wardrobe door of my recently purchased motorhome. I expect it set off the smoke alarm.
This is what I saw:
F4428E6D-C0D2-4689-B610-ECC2413D8438_1_201_a.jpeg


As I say I have recently bought this AutoSleeper Bourton. They fit a nasty cheap wardrobe light which comes on when you open the wardrobe door, and in theory turns off when you close it. I guess it stayed on, either because the door wasn't closed or the switch was faulty. Either way, any motorhome manufacturer should not be fitting light units which can set the furniture on fire even if the light is left on permanently. OR possibly the previous owner fitted a more powerful light bulb in the plastic light housing. I don't know so I am not directly blaming A/S.
The wiring connections leave a great deal to be desired which I don't think AutoSleeper would have done so I suspect in reality it has been done by Mr. Bodgit or Mrs. Runn. This makes me think that someone has fitted a totally inappropriate light fitting - although A/S original wiring to the original light has that type of white wire. I can't even work out what two items of crimp connector have been used - there seem to be two crimp connectors somehow joined, when in reality of course only one would be needed to join two wires. I haven't undone the joints to find out.
I have left it as it is without repairing or investigating the wiring because the dealer I bought the motorhome from is being absolutely co-operative and accepting liability and is in the process of supplying and fitting a new wardrobe door panel and light unit. But if you have an AutoSleeper it would be a good idea to check the wardrobe light fitting. The original has 12v 5W moulded into the light fitting base plate - but it comes with a halogen bulb so it may even so have overheated if it was left on for hours, in which case A/S need to rectify their bad design and recall all such fitted motorhomes.
 
gasgas said:
If you wake up in the morning in your motorhome then it was OK. If you wake up in Heaven, that's even better. But not necessarily so for your loved ones. If you wake up in hospital then you can thank someone for rescuing you.

Seriously, burning gas of any sort gives off a lot of carbon monoxide. It must be one of the least painful ways of committing suicide. First you feel a bit sick and dizzy so you lay down. This lessens the impact of you hitting your head on something on the way down to the floor. Secondly you get a very nasty headache and you turn properly pink. This is because you are losing oxygen in your bloodstream. Then if you haven't realised what's causing it and get some fresh air, you pass out. Then you don't wake up.
If you have a Carbon Monoxide (CO) detector in your van it will scream at the smallest amount of CO so pay it attention. I was recently made aware of the importance of the CO and smoke detectors in motorhomes when I looked inside the wardrobe door of my recently purchased motorhome. I expect it set off the smoke alarm.
This is what I saw:
View attachment 123503

As I say I have recently bought this AutoSleeper Bourton. They fit a nasty cheap wardrobe light which comes on when you open the wardrobe door, and in theory turns off when you close it. I guess it stayed on, either because the door wasn't closed or the switch was faulty. Either way, any motorhome manufacturer should not be fitting light units which can set the furniture on fire even if the light is left on permanently. OR possibly the previous owner fitted a more powerful light bulb in the plastic light housing. I don't know so I am not directly blaming A/S.
The wiring connections leave a great deal to be desired which I don't think AutoSleeper would have done so I suspect in reality it has been done by Mr. Bodgit or Mrs. Runn. This makes me think that someone has fitted a totally inappropriate light fitting - although A/S original wiring to the original light has that type of white wire. I can't even work out what two items of crimp connector have been used - there seem to be two crimp connectors somehow joined, when in reality of course only one would be needed to join two wires. I haven't undone the joints to find out.
I have left it as it is without repairing or investigating the wiring because the dealer I bought the motorhome from is being absolutely co-operative and accepting liability and is in the process of supplying and fitting a new wardrobe door panel and light unit. But if you have an AutoSleeper it would be a good idea to check the wardrobe light fitting. The original has 12v 5W moulded into the light fitting base plate - but it comes with a halogen bulb so it may even so have overheated if it was left on for hours, in which case A/S need to rectify their bad design and recall all such fitted motorhomes.
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Not being picky BUT by and large it's incomplete/incorrect combustion that releases "A lot of Carbon monoxide"

Yellow flame is a big give away

Correct combustion (Blue flame) produces mainly Carbon dioxide and water vapour .

Deff reccomend a Co monitor and care though .
 
mistericeman said:
Not being picky BUT by and large it's incomplete/incorrect combustion that releases "A lot of Carbon monoxide"

Yellow flame is a big give away

Correct combustion (Blue flame) produces mainly Carbon dioxide and water vapour .

Deff reccomend a Co monitor and care though .
Click to expand...
The thing is if a flame burns in a not very well ventilated space it will eventually produce co, what was thought to have happened to my friend, is that he lit stove fell asleep and the oxygen was used up so co was produced, as he was probably already asleep he wouldn't have known. Unlikely to happen when cooking or if you give it a quick blast to take chill off, but sit down for a rest and it's all too easy to nod off.
 
When I worked for British Gas we used to have training lectures. One was about a suspected suicide. The Forensics dusted the gas boiler for fingerprints and found the deceased's prints all over the cover and on some components inside. The flue had been modified to send the 'Products of Combustion' as it is called (exhaust) back into the room. The burner was burning with a blue flame showing correct combustion. The verdict was suicide.
 
gasgas said:
When I worked for British Gas we used to have training lectures. One was about a suspected suicide. The Forensics dusted the gas boiler for fingerprints and found the deceased's prints all over the cover and on some components inside. The flue had been modified to send the 'Products of Combustion' as it is called (exhaust) back into the room. The burner was burning with a blue flame showing correct combustion. The verdict was suicide.
Click to expand...
Chilling
 
gasgas said:
When I worked for British Gas we used to have training lectures. One was about a suspected suicide. The Forensics dusted the gas boiler for fingerprints and found the deceased's prints all over the cover and on some components inside. The flue had been modified to send the 'Products of Combustion' as it is called (exhaust) back into the room. The burner was burning with a blue flame showing correct combustion. The verdict was suicide.
Click to expand...
Last time we had a boiler serviced by British Gas the engineer didn’t fix back a deflection plate properly. We came home from the shops later in the day to find flames pouring out of the top of the boiler just on the brink of setting fire to the pine boarded ceiling.
 
years ago i worked on villas on the algarve after the gas regs were updated after a number of tourists had died from CO . a common villa design was to place the bathroom in the centre and build all the other rooms around , that way all the rooms got a window except the bathroom . these bathrooms not only had nicely fitting doors , but the instantaneous gas water heater was mounted in the room . i heard of a woman going to check on her husband in the bath .and finding him lifeless tried to get him out , but ended up collapsed in the bath herself ,both died .
odourless and invisible ,i'm not scared of it ,but i have a LOT of respect !
 
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