solution:  go camping with your sweetie, and a bunch of blankets.

On Wednesday, October 8, 2003, at 05:03 PM, David Brodbeck wrote:

> On Wed, 8 Oct 2003, Jeffrey Earl wrote:
>
>> I'd be interested to know the difference between an
>> ODS and a common household CO-detector. Are these
>> simply two methods of expressing the same thing: not
>> enough oxygen because it's been displaced by
>> carbon-monoxide?
>
> Nope, two different issues.
>
> Carbon monoxide, which is a product of incomplete combustion, can kill
> you
> even if there's sufficient oxygen in the air.  This is because the
> hemoglobin in your blood, the chemical which transports oxygen, binds
> more
> easily with CO than with oxygen.  If enough of your hemoglobin is
> rendered
> useless by binding with CO, there's not enough to carry oxygen to your
> brain and you die.
>
> Lack of oxygen in the air, by itself, can also kill you.  Lack of
> oxygen
> doesn't necessarily mean a surplus of CO, though, because a catalytic
> heater produces mainly carbon dioxide (CO2) and water vapor.
>
> There's actually a double whammy if the oxygen level gets low, because
> if
> there's too little oxygen in the air for clean combustion the catalytic
> heater will start producing carbon monoxide.  This can kill you quickly
> because your body is absorbing oxygen less efficiently, *and* there's a
> shortage of oxygen in the air.
>
>
> David Brodbeck, N8SRE
> '82 Diesel Westfalia
> '94 Honda Civic Si
>