Carbon Monoxide

08 Innovative Ideas to Hide a Boiler in Your Kitchen

Fri, 08 Mar 2024 17:28:57 +0000

Are you looking to hide your boiler in your kitchen? The reason is that you don’t have a utility room, an airing cupboard, or enough space in your bathroom. Or you might have bought a home in which the boiler was placed in your kitchen, and now it’s bothering you as it’s affecting the look of your home.

Then, in this blog, I will be telling you creative ways to hide your boiler in the kitchen, so that it does not affect the beauty of your home but complement it.

Why should you hide your boiler in the first place?

The reason behind hiding your boiler is that it decreases the aesthetic appeal of your home. It also makes your house appear cluttered. And in the future, if you decide to sell your house, get ready to face a drop in the price, according to npower recent survey an exposed boiler would devalue your property by £5,000.

Eight innovative ways to hide your boiler in the kitchen.

Build a cupboard.
Create a simple wooden box.
Build a cabinet with a spice rack door.
Box your boiler and create a chalkboard around it.
Cover your boiler with a mirror.
Cover your boiler with simple curtains.
Build a utility cupboard.
Place your boiler to create a boundary between the kitchen and dining room.

Let’s discuss these ways in detail:

1- Build a cupboard

The first and foremost easiest way to hide your boiler in the kitchen is to build a cupboard in it. All you need to do is look for space, take measurements of your boiler’s height and width, and get a cupboard of that size.

Also, if you find building a new cupboard challenging, look for existing kitchen cabinets that fits your boiler perfectly and place your boiler there.

2- Create a simple wooden box

Now if you need an empty kitchen cabinet or you are finding it challenging to build a cupboard within the existing design of your kitchen, then look for space near your kitchen walls and get a wooden box made to fit your boiler.

3- Build a cupboard with a spice rack door

One creative solution for accommodating your boiler in the kitchen is building or placing it within an existing closet with a spice rack door. By doing so, not only will your boiler be hidden, but you will also keep all your spices assembled within one location – great way to free up space while staying organised!

4- Box your boiler and create a chalkboard around it

Another way to conceal your boiler is to place it in a box covered with chalkboard paint – yes, chalkboard! While placing it in an ordinary box will hide it perfectly fine, for an added bit of creativity consider installing your boiler in a plywood box painted with blackboard paint instead.

Not only will this give your kitchen an earthy charm while simultaneously being an easy way to make lists or note reminders throughout the day!

5- Cover your boiler with a mirror

Subtlety add beauty to your kitchen while simultaneously concealing the boiler by covering its box with a mirror. Not only will you be able to reflect more light into it, but those visiting will admire its beauty without realizing there’s a boiler behind it!

6- Cover your boiler with simple curtains

An ideal way to hide your boiler without spending much money or time is by covering it with stylish curtains that match the theme of your kitchen and covering your boiler with them. Not only will these add decorative flair and hide it without extra effort, but they can even increase your home’s value!

7- Build a utility cupboard

If there’s room in your kitchen, consider building a utility cupboard from floor to ceiling and placing your boiler there. Not only will you be able to hide it from view, but you’ll also gain plenty of storage space where you can put washing machines, clothes, and other essential utensils.

8- Place your boiler to create a boundary between the kitchen and dining room

One alternative method for strategically positioning your boiler without compromising the aesthetic appeal of your home is to create a boundary between your dining room and kitchen. The idea is to conceal the boiler within a cupboard door that seamlessly blends with your kitchen’s base units.

A plywood door with a magnetic latch can also be installed at the back, requiring a gentle push to access it. To further personalise this setup, you can have the door painted in a colour that complements your kitchen’s theme, ensuring that nobody will even notice the presence of the hidden boiler or appliance.

Note: Before proceeding with any of the methods mentioned above for concealing your boiler, it is crucial to ensure that you adhere to the manufacturer’s service instructions. If you have any doubts or concerns regarding safety standards, it is highly recommended to consult either your boiler manufacturer or a reputable boiler installation company.

Additional Factors to Consider

Above, we discussed eight effective ways to hide a boiler in your kitchen! But before concluding this discussion, a few additional factors need to be considered before applying any of these tips:

To create an aesthetically pleasing kitchen, it is crucial to conceal both your boiler and its accompanying pipes. Unsightly pipes can detract from the overall aesthetic of your space; to minimize their visibility it is advised that pipes be covered with appropriate materials or painted to match their colour; making sure not too tightly packed would prevent overheating of pipes from taking place.

When hiding a boiler in the kitchen, it’s vital that it remains easily accessible for both you and the Gas Safe engineers. A minimum gap of 700mm must be left between its front face and any surrounding objects to allow ventilation and maintenance this ensures proper ventilation and maintenance access while hiding your boiler safely and prioritising safety and functionality. By adhering to these guidelines, you can effectively hide your boiler while prioritising safety and functionality.

Additionally, it is important to maintain accessibility to your boiler by leaving a minimum of 50mm of space between the boiler and the surrounding cupboard walls.

Lastly, when considering the placement of your concealed boiler, it is essential to consider the flue’s location. To ensure proper flue pipe installation, it is advisable to seek guidance from a qualified gas-safe engineer.

However, should you require any advice with your boiler, please contact us on our helpline number 0345 3192 247.

The information provided in this article has been collected from various sources. However, we suggest you consult a certified Gas-Safe Engineer in your area before making any decisions, as every individual’s home situation is unique.

Heating Engineer or Plumber? Who is More Suitable for Me?

Fri, 01 Mar 2024 13:46:57 +0000

When faced with a faulty boiler or a breakdown, many homeowners often wonder whether to consult a plumber or a heating engineer. This confusion arises from the similarities in some of their duties. However, it is important to note that plumbers and heating engineers have distinct differences in experience and qualifications.

In this blog, I will outline the key disparities between a heating engineer and a plumber, including their areas of specialisation, how to verify their expertise, and when to contact either of the tradesperson. By understanding these differences, homeowners can make informed decisions when dealing with issues.

The key difference between a Plumber and a Heating engineer

The primary distinction between heating engineers and plumbers lies in their areas of expertise. Heating engineers specialize in the installation and repair of central heating systems, while plumbers focus on resolving water-related issues such as leaking pipes, bathroom fixtures, and drainage systems.

Despite these differences, there are some overlapping responsibilities between the two professions, which we will explore in more detail in this blog post.

Who are Heating Engineers?

Heating engineers are skilled professionals who are responsible for installing, maintaining, and repairing heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems (HVAC). Their role involves utilising technical expertise to assess the complexity of a building and understand the existing structure of pipes to install the system properly.

To perform these tasks, heating engineers must be Gas Safe Registered and should have an ID card for verification before working on or operating your heating system.

What is a Gas Safe Engineer?

Gas Safe Engineers are professionals who are affiliated with registered businesses through the official body, Gas Safe Register. They are issued an official license that qualifies them to work on gas appliances on behalf of the registered business. This license also legally obligates them to carry out this work.

Qualifications

To become a heating engineer, individuals must complete the NVQ Level 3 qualification, along with obtaining relevant diplomas to demonstrate proficiency in working on gas-safe appliances and heating systems. Additionally, heating engineers must also become Gas Safe Registered to meet legal requirements and be able to work on central heating systems making them central heating engineers.

It is important to note that not all heating engineers are Gas Safety registered. Upon completing the NVQ Level 3 qualification, engineers have the option to choose gas-related units to fulfil the ACS safety assessment requirement. Engineers must then apply for a Gas Safe License to become a Gas Safety registered engineer, which is a mandatory legal obligation before working on Gas Appliances as mentioned above.

There are situations where heating engineers may not hold a gas-safe license. In such cases, these engineers are still qualified to work alongside registered central heating engineers and assist with tasks that do not involve the operation or repair of gas appliances.

Duties of a heating engineer

The role and responsibilities of the heating engineer involve the following:

Installation of central heating system including boilers and radiators.

Maintenance and servicing of heating system.

Fixing and replacing the components of your central heating system.

Designing HVAC systems in new buildings and installing the system according to safety and legal regulations.

Ensuring proper ventilation and making sure the indoor air quality inside a building is safe as well as comfortable for its residents.

Cost of hiring a heating engineer?

To give you an estimate on average heating engineers will charge you somewhere between £240 to £600 per day. This average is based on multiple jobs that require the attention of a certified heating engineer and can be solved only by them.

The estimate includes the cost of basic repair to complex problems. For your further ease, I will be breaking down the cost of common jobs of heating engineers.

Job	Estimated Cost (£)
Installing a new boiler (System, Regular and Combi)	£500
Replacing a hot water immersion heater	£270
Replacing a vented hot water cylinder	£300
Replacing a central heating pump	£95
Replacing a heating programmer	£100
Replacing or moving a boiler	£830
Installing an LPG boiler	£1190
Power flushing a central heating system	£500
Diagnosing boiler faults	£100
Installing an air source heat pump	£550
Repairing a boiler	£213
Issuing annual gas safety certificate	£70
Replacing a section of pipework related to a central heating system	£30

Note:
The above jobs and their cost are mentioned to give you an idea. There are various other roles that heating engineers fulfil. Also, the prices mentioned above may vary depending upon the complexity of the problem and your location which may influence the total price you pay.

What is a Plumber?

Plumbers are highly skilled professionals who specialize in the repair and maintenance of plumbing systems, which consist of water-based pipes and appliances. Their primary responsibility is to ensure the efficient operation of water systems in homes, guaranteeing a clean and uninterrupted water supply, proper drainage, and the removal of wastewater.

The role of a plumber encompasses a wide range of tasks, far beyond those of a heating engineer. In addition to installing and maintaining water systems in residential settings, plumbers also work on installing and repairing domestic appliances, cutting, and joining pipes, and addressing issues such as leaking pipes and blocked drains.

Plumbers possess expertise in working with various types of pipes, including copper, PVC, and cast iron. While plumbers may hold a Gas Safe registration ID, similar to heating engineers, this certification does not qualify them to work on heating systems. Instead, their Gas Safe ID permits them to work on other gas appliances, such as stoves, cooktops, and ovens.

Qualifications

When discussing the qualifications of a plumber, it is important to note that formal certifications are not a requirement to practice as a plumber. However, to be considered qualified and skilled enough to effectively carry out their duties, plumbers should possess the NVQ Level 2 or 3 plumbing and heating qualification.

Obtaining the NVQ Level 2 certification indicates that a plumber has completed all necessary basic training, demonstrating their expertise in plumbing. On the other hand, holding the NVQ Level 3 certification provides plumbers with the opportunity to further enhance their knowledge in specialized areas such as drainage or water recycling systems.

In addition to their qualifications, plumbers are professionals who excel in customer service, take initiative, provide guidance to homeowners, interpret construction designs, possess technical expertise, and demonstrate strong problem-solving skills. These qualities are essential for plumbers to effectively carry out their responsibilities and provide exceptional service to their clients.

Duties of a Plumber

Talking about the roles and responsibilities of a Plumber are multiple:

1. First and foremost, they are responsible for installing the plumbing system of your home. This includes everything from pipe fixtures to bathroom sinks, toilets, and water heaters. Also, they are responsible for understanding your building structure and installing the system while ensuring proper connection of components.

2. They are responsible for the installation and maintenance of gas lines in your homes. Also, they are the one who ensures the proper connection of gas lines and appliances. Plumbers are responsible for ensuring that the system installed is working properly and if there are some leaks due to damage within the system then it is their duty to fix the issue and ensure the safety of your home.

3. Apart from installation and maintenance service plumbers must be knowledgeable about building codes and structure, interpret blueprints and building plans and make sure the plumbing system within the building complies with local, state, and federal regulations.

4. Plumbers are also responsible for dealing with their customers with transparency. Provide recommendations and assistance to help them understand their plumbing needs and install the system including pipework fixtures accordingly.

5. Not only do plumbers communicate with the residents but also, but they also communicate and collaborate with other professionals including the construction team, architects, and engineers.

6. In case of emergency let’s say burst pipe, clogged or blocked drains or other issues with your plumbing system, plumbers are responsible for attending to your emergency.

Cost of hiring a plumber?

The cost of hiring a plumber varies depending upon the job type and the complexity of the problem. However, to give you a fair idea the Plumber’s per day fees range from £180 to £350.

As I’ve mentioned before in the section of hiring cost of heating engineer this estimate is based on multiple jobs that the plumber performs from lowest to highest price range. Below I am going to mention the cost of common jobs that require the attention of the plumber.

Required Work	Cost (£)
Unblock a toilet	£75 – £150
Installing a radiator	£150 – £180
Fixing a Leaking pipe	£100 – £200
Repairing burst water pipe	£50 – £200
Unclogging a toilet	£75 – £150
Slow draining sink	£150 – £200
Repairing a tap	£65 – £125
Toilet Replacement	£145 – £315
Drain cleaning	£100 – £150
Emergency call-out	£100 – £130

Note:
Above mentioned work is just a common job that requires the attention of a plumber. Also, the prices mentioned above are just to give you an estimate and the original price may vary depending upon the complexity of your problem and your location.

How to contact a Heating engineer and a Plumber?

The procedure for contacting a heating engineer or a plumber is somewhat similar which involves the following:

1. Obtain a boiler cover policy that includes coverage for both plumbing and your boiler.

2. Utilise the Gas Safe Register directory to locate a qualified plumber and heating engineer in your vicinity.

3. Seek recommendations from your family, friends, and neighbours for trusted professionals.

4. Conduct an online search to discover numerous service providers. Contact them via phone to explain your issue and schedule an appointment for assistance.

By following these steps, you can efficiently and effectively connect with a skilled plumber and heating engineers to address your needs.

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Conclusion

I trust that you now have a clear understanding of the distinction between a heating engineer and a plumber. In summary, when encountering issues with your boiler, it is advisable to contact a heating engineer. On the other hand, for water-based system problems such as pipe bursts, leaking pipes, and drainage issues, a plumber should be consulted.

While some responsibilities may overlap, it is important to recognize that the roles of heating engineers and plumbers are not interchangeable. Heating engineers are certified professionals, whereas plumbers are skilled professionals in their respective fields.

If you have a boiler cover in place, it is recommended to review the extent of coverage provided. Some policies offer coverage for both boiler and plumbing issues, along with additional benefits. If you are seeking a boiler cover policy that includes insurance for your home’s plumbing and boiler systems, we invite you to explore our range of options at discounted rates.

For further information on our boiler cover policies, please do not hesitate to contact us at 0345 3192 247. Our dedicated representatives are ready to assist you with any inquiries you may have related to your boilers.

How Much Does it Cost to Run Central Heating Per Hour in The UK?

Fri, 26 Jan 2024 14:52:04 +0000

Living in the UK, homeowners must understand how much gas central heating costs per hour. By doing this, you will realise your consumption pattern and may be able to lower your rising energy bills. Also, before determining the cost of running your central heating per hour, you must consider the type of fuel you are using. It would help if you considered your energy consumption per hour (kWh), as it will affect the cost of running your central heating system.

In this article, I will tell you how to calculate the running cost of your gas central heating system, factors to consider, alternative fuel options, and tips to save up on your energy bills.

Running Cost of a Gas Central Heating System per Hour

The standard fuel source to run your central heating system in the UK is gas if you are connected to a mains gas supply. Although it is the cheapest fuel source for heating but environmentally it has the highest rate of CO2 emissions.

To determine the cost, you must consider additional factors such as the size of your home, the number of people, and the number of rooms requiring heating and hot water. Also, consider the appliances that require gas and how frequently you use them. Plus, the main factor is the size of your boiler in terms of kilowatt output ratings.

So, considering all these factors, the running cost that you will be paying for a gas-fueled central heating system is 7.42 pence per kilowatt hour (kWh) and 29.60 pence per daily standing charge, equating to an additional 1.2 pence per hour. Now let’s say you have a system boiler of 26 kWh, providing heating to 3–4 bedrooms and hot water to 2–3 bathrooms. Then, expect to pay somewhere around £1.93 (kWh).

Note: Price information is correct as of the January 2024 price cap.

To calculate the running cost of your gas central heating system, use this gas calculator: https://www.sust-it.net/gas-calculator.php.

Running Cost of the LPG Central Heating System per Hour

If you are not connected to a gas mains supply, another fuel option you can use for central heating in your home is LPG (liquid petroleum gas). The running cost of an LPG-fueled central heating system will be £14 per kilowatt-hour. Compared to gas, the consumption cost per hour for LPG will be cheaper for you in the long term because of its energy efficiency. But when you convert to LPG as a fuel option, it will cost you more.

This is because you will need a tank for storage, which requires both money and space. Expect to pay somewhere between £60 and £70 on an annual basis to rent an above-ground LPG tank and £120 and £150 a year for underground tanks.

Also, remember that underground tank installation will cost an additional £1,500. So, let’s say you have a 24-kW boiler. The running cost for your LPG boiler will be £3.36 (kWh).

Note: Price information is correct as of the January 2024 price cap.

Running Cost of an Oil-Fueled Central Heating System per Hour

Another fuel option, like LPG, is oil. The reason is the same: It is a viable option if you are not connected to a gas network. The running cost of an oil-fueled central heating system will be around 10p per kilowatt-hour, meaning that if your boiler is 30 KWh and it runs for, let’s say, 5 hours, then the cost you will be paying per day will be £15. It is cheaper than LPG, but less environmentally friendly. Compared to LPG and gas, it has higher carbon emission rates.

To store oil, you’ll need a tank and get it refilled at least once a year; the oil boiler will be installed by an OFTEC (Oil Firing Technical Association) registered engineer, costing you more as compared to an LPG boiler, which a Gas Safe registered engineer will install.

Note: Price information is correct as of the January 2024 price cap.

Running Cost of an Electric Central Heating System per Hour

Lastly, if you are not connected to a gas network, electricity is another viable option to run your central heating system. Although it is the most expensive option compared to gas, oil, and LPG, it costs 28.62 pence per kWh, with a daily standing charge of 53.35 pence. So, if you have a 30Kw boiler, the cost to run your electric central heating system will be around £16 per hour.

But in terms of performance, electric boilers are way more efficient, having an efficiency rating of 98% compared to a boiler’s 90%. Also, electric boilers have a longer life span of up to 20–25 years, whereas gas boilers have a life span of 10–15 years.

Moreover, electric boilers are an ideal choice if you want to reduce your carbon footprint. Overall, there are numerous advantages as well as some disadvantages. So, it will depend on you and your budget.

Note: Price information is correct as of the January 2024 price cap.

Read more about: Electric vs Gas boilers

Basic Formula to Calculate Your Energy Consumption

Above, I have mentioned the cost of running your central heating system per hour for different fuel types. Still, for ease, you can use a basic formula to calculate energy consumption yourself.

Calculation:

Size of your boiler in terms of kWh multiplied by fuel type cost per kilowatt hour divided by 100, and you will get central heating per hour cost for different fuel types.

E.g., boiler output (24 kWh) x gas per hour (7.42 pence) = 178.08/100 = £1.780 per hour.

The Running Cost of your Central Heating System Per Year

Now, to give you an estimate, I will be mentioning the yearly cost of running your central heating system for different fuel types:

Fuel Type	Energy Price Unit (pence per kWh)	Estimated Annual Consumption (kWh)	Adjusted Consumption (kWh)	Total Cost Per Year (£)
Gas	7.42	13500	12150 (90% efficient)	£90,726
Oil	10	13500	12150 (90% efficient)	£121,500
LPG	14	13500	11787.5 (87.5% efficient)	£165,025
Electricity	28.62	13500	13230 (98% efficient)	£379,067

Note: The above-mentioned prices and energy output consumption are just estimates. These values can vary significantly depending on factors like house size, insulation levels, and consumption patterns.

Which fuel source is cheaper to run a central heating system?

As mentioned above, gas is the cheapest fuel to heat your home. However, there are certain advantages and disadvantages for every fuel type. Also, if you live in an area where you are not connected to a gas grid network, then alternative options are:

Additional factors affecting the central heating running cost

Apart from fuel, various factors affect the cost of running a central heating system:

The types of boilers you have include system, combi, and regular boilers.
Size of your home: the number of bathrooms, rooms, and people who require heating.
Energy consumption in your home.
The size of your boiler in terms of energy output depends on your home’s size.

Tips to Lower the Cost of Your Heating Bills

Maintain your boiler and get an annual boiler service. This will ensure that your boiler remains in optimal condition for longer.
Improve your home’s insulation, including doors and windows, so that heat doesn’t escape your home.
Compare the tariff rates of different utility providers in your area and try to find the cheapest option.
Adjust the temperature settings in your home and keep the temperature low in rooms that do not require that much heat.
Install the Utrack mobile app, through which you can connect to your smart metre, track your hourly energy usage, and understand your energy consumption to adjust accordingly.

Conclusion

So here you have it. You now know the cost of running a gas central heating system and running a central heating system on other fuel types. Also, you are now aware of the factors that affect the cost of your energy bills, plus tips to lower them.

If you still have any queries, please contact us on 0345 3192 247, and one of our representatives will assist you on the call.

FAQ’s

How much does it cost to run central heating for 1 hour in the UK in 2024?

According to the energy price cap for typical domestic consumption values between 1st January to 31st March 2024, the running cost of your central heating on gas is 7.42 pence per (KWh). For other fuel types, the central heating running cost, including LPG, is 14 pence per (KWh), oil is 10 pence per (KWh), and electricity is 28.62 pence per (KWh).

What is the best temperature for central heating?

The ideal temperature for your central heating system should be between 18°C and 21°C. This temperature range creates a sweet spot, which keeps you warm and limits your rising energy bills.

How many hours a day should central heating be on?

Your central heating system should be on for 8 hours a day in colder months. You can turn it on for 10 hours if you require it; otherwise, to keep your energy bills down and your home warm and comfortable, it is suggested that you keep it on for 8 hours.

Boiler Pump Replacement Cost: All You Need to Know!

Fri, 05 Jan 2024 14:01:15 +0000

If you are looking to buy a new pump for your boiler and want to know about boiler pump costs, then you are at the right place! In this guide, I will tell you about the replacement cost of a new central heating pump and the additional factors affecting the replacement cost.

What is a boiler pump?

First things first, you need to understand what a boiler pump is. In short, a boiler pump, a central heating pump, or a circulating pump is responsible for distributing the hot water from your boiler, which travels through your pipes into your radiator to heat your home. After warming your rooms, the water travels back to your boiler to be reheated for later use.

Where is it located?

If you have a system boiler, you should find the central heating pump near the hot water cylinder in the airing cupboard. In the case of a combi boiler, you should see the pump near the boiler, or it might be built in depending upon your system.

And if you have an older home and cannot locate the pump, it might be under the floorboard. Finding it under the floorboard will require work, as you must remove the carpets and look for movable floorboards.

Replacement Cost of a Central Heating Pump

Now that you know what a boiler pump is and its location, let’s come to the topic of interest: the boiler pump price! Generally, the cost of replacing a central heating pump will be somewhere between £150 and £350, including the cost of labour work and additional supplies.

If you want to know the separate price, then the standalone pump will cost you £90 to £200, and depending upon the complexity of installation, the labour cost will range between £60 and £180. However, if you have a boiler cover, the repair and replacement cost might depend on your policy type.

Note: The above-mentioned costs are just estimates to give you a fair idea. And the original prices may vary depending upon the size of boiler, property and number of radiators.

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Problems causing the need to replace a central heating pump

After knowing the cost of replacing a central heating pump, it is also essential to understand the issues that causes the need replacement. Below, I am mentioning a summarised list of common boiler pump problems:

1. Disturbing noises

2. Incorrect speed setting on the pump

3. Blockages due to the build-up of sludge

4. The circulating pump is running but not moving the water.

5. The heating pump is not powering up.

6. The heat pump is not turning off.

7. Pump old age and rising problems

8. The pump is leaking.

For more details and possible solutions regarding the above problems, read my helpful blog on central heating pump problems and their fixes.

Additional factors affect the cost of boiler pump replacement

After reading so far, you now know the cost of replacing the boiler pump and the problems that cause the need to do so, but that’s not all! Some additional factors might affect the final cost of boiler pump replacement. These factors include the following:

Location

Your location is the most crucial factor that will affect the cost of your boiler pump replacement. As in the UK, engineers charge different prices. If you live in the southeast of England, the labour fees will be higher, and if you live in northern England, mainly in England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, then the labour fees will be average.

Below is the estimated breakdown of quotes region wise in the UK:

Region	Hourly Rate (£)	Installation Fee (£)
Northeast	£40	£165
Northwest	£44	£180
Yorkshire	£51	£225
East Midlands	£54	£225
West Midlands	£48	£205
Southeast	£74	£382
Southwest	£58	£237
East of England	£68	£296
London	£81	£343

Note: Above prices are estimates just to give you an idea and the original prices may vary depending on your exact location.

Type of Boiler Pump

Another significant factor is the type of pump you have. Above, I told you the average replacement cost of the boiler pump but did not specify the type of pump. Generally, there are two types of boiler pumps: the circulating pump and the condensate pump. The circulating pump moves water around your home, while the condensate pump removes excess water from your boiler.

Speed and size of the circulator pump

The central heating pump’s speed and size are crucial factors you need to consider before installing it. The engineer who will visit your home for installation will guide you regarding the size and speed of your central heating pump after inspecting your type of central heating system.

Mainly, there are three-speed settings: single-speed radiators suitable for homes with less than 10 radiators; and multiple-speed central heating pumps with three-speed settings and adjusting accordingly depending upon your heating system. Lastly, a variable-speed main heating pump automatically adjusts when the heating is on. Variable-speed heating pumps can damage your boiler if you have a thermostatic radiator valve.

The condition of your home

Apart from the location, the condition of your house is also a crucial factor that will affect the cost of replacing a central heating pump. Older homes tend to have rusty old pipe work that requires extra care and effort from the engineer, for which you might be charged extra.

No isolation valves

Isolation The valves of your boiler are also a factor that might increase the cost of the installation of the central heating pump. If your boiler does not have isolation valves, the engineer will need to drain your system completely, meaning it will take more effort, resulting in additional charges.

Emergency call-out

Lastly, apart from all other factors, the primary variable factor is the situation. Let’s say, out of the blue, you find that your central heating pump is down, resulting in no hot water or heating, and you need it repaired or replaced in an emergency. Then, brace yourselves for the emergency call-out fees, increasing the total cost.

Top Central Heating Pump Brands

To simplify things, I mention top brands for central heating pumps based on fair prices, efficient performance, technological advancement, and durability. Following are the top central heating pumps:

Grundfos ALPHA3 15-50/60

Energy Efficiency: 5/5
Price Value: 2/5
Technological Advancement: 5/5
Durability: 5/5

Grundfos UPS3 15-50/65

Energy Efficiency: 3/5
Price Value: 4/5
Technological Advancement: 3/5
Durability: 5/5

Lowara Ecocirc Premium 25-4 (180)

Energy Efficiency: 5/5
Price Value: 4/5
Technological Advancement: 5/5
Durability: 5/5

Stuart Turner ST 15/60

Energy Efficiency: 5/5
Price Value: 4/5
Technological Advancement: 5/5
Durability: 5/5

Lowara Ecocirc 25-4 (180)

Energy Efficiency: 5/5
Price Value: 4/5
Technological Advancement: 5/5
Durability: 5/5

If you want to know which brand of central heating pump best fits your boiler, including top boiler brands, including Vaillant and Worcester boiler replacement costs, then it depends on the make and model of your boiler. You should contact a certified gas-safe engineer, as they will be able to guide you better.

Conclusion

Here is the complete guide for boiler pump replacement, including the additional variable factors that might affect the final replacement cost. However, before buying a new boiler pump, you contact an engineer and let him inspect the problem. Sometimes, the problem is not directly related to your boiler pump or elsewhere, which might save you money on replacement.

If you need any assistance or have queries about your boiler, please get in touch with us at 0345 3192 247. One of our representatives will assist you on-call and, if necessary, book your appointment with a gas safety engineer.

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New Boiler Cost 2023: Understand the Price Dynamics!

Tue, 05 Dec 2023 13:30:13 +0000

Buying a new boiler takes a lot of time and money. Boilers are an integral part of our homes that keep us warm and cosy during the winter. And if, for some reason, you are planning to buy or replace a boiler, then you must know the cost of a new boiler. However, determining the cost is a task, as many factors influence the price of the new boiler.

In this blog, I will guide you through the process of determining the cost of a new boiler and discuss the numerous factors that will influence the final price that you pay. So read till the end to make a more precise decision.

How Much Does a New Boiler Cost?

In general, the cost of a new boiler ranges between £500 and £3000, and the installation cost, including parts and labour, ranges between £650 and £2500.

However, there are a lot of factors to consider that make up this cost, which will be discussed further in this blog. But first, you need to determine which type of boiler you want.

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Types of Boilers

When you search for a new boiler by visiting the marketplace or online, you will be overwhelmed with numerous options. But to simplify things for you, I will mention common types of boilers popular among UK residents.

1. Heat-only Boiler

Suitable for larger homes, a heat-only boiler provides hot water and central heating with the help of hot water and a cold-water storage tank. It is a great option for homes with more than three bedrooms, and it requires hot water in multiple bathrooms simultaneously.

The estimated cost of a heat-only or conventional boiler will range between £600 and £3500, and the average cost, including installation, will be £2900.

To know more about heat-only boiler operation and its advantages and disadvantages, read our detailed blog: What Are Heat-Only Boilers? A Complete Guide

2. System Boiler

Like heat-only boilers, a system boiler is a popular boiler that is more space-saving as it provides hot water and heating without needing an additional cold water storage tank. The system boiler uses a pressurised heating circuit directly connected to the mains, eliminating the need for a cold-water tank and making it a more popular choice.

The estimated cost of a system boiler ranges between £550 and £3500, and the average cost, including installation, will be £2800.

To know more about system boiler operation, advantages, and disadvantages, read our detailed blog: What is a system boiler? Everything You Need to Know

3. Combi Boilers

A combi-boiler, originally known as a combination boiler, is suitable for smaller homes. It provides heating and hot water without requiring an additional water storage tank, making it a more space-efficient and easy-to-install option. Also, they are ideal for homes with 2–3 bedrooms. Plus, they have a preheat function, which stores a small amount of heated water to supply you instantly.

To know how much a combi boiler costs then to give you an estimate the cost will range between £500 and £3,000, and the average cost, including installation, will be £2800.

To know more about combi boilers, read our detailed blog: All About Combi Boilers: How They Work, Types, Advantages, and More Other Types

Above, I mentioned common types of boilers popular in the UK; however, these boilers work on common fuel types, including gas, oil, and coal. But if you are looking for sustainable practises to limit the emission of harmful gases into the environment, you can also find alternative fuel options for your boiler mentioned below:

4. Electric Boiler

As the name suggests, an electric boiler heats water and provides central heating by using electricity. It is a great option if you are looking to adapt to sustainable practises and reduce your dependence on fossil fuels. Also, electric boilers are very easy to install as they don’t require flue installation or condensate pipe. And talking about energy efficiency, compared to a gas boiler that achieves 70%–90% efficiency, the electric boiler can achieve 99% efficiency.

If your home is off the gas grid, an electric boiler is ideal. Also, electric boilers offer compatibility with solar panels, granting you access to renewable energy sources and saving money on your energy bills.

The estimated cost of an electric boiler ranges between £590 and £2500, and the average cost, including installation, will be £2800.

5. Biomass Boiler

A biomass boiler is another type that utilises renewable energy sources to provide heat and hot water to your home. Working similarly to conventional boilers, they combust fuel to provide you with warmth and hot water. But the catch is that they burn wood pellets instead of using gas or oil to create energy. Although it emits carbon dioxide into the environment, it does so to a very low extent, making it a very environment-friendly option.

Bear in mind that you will need a lot of space to install a biomass boiler, and you will also need an additional room to store wood logs or pellet supplies.

The estimated cost of a biomass boiler ranges between £4000 and £12000, and the average cost, including installation, will be £16000.

Below, I have broken down the cost of a new boiler before and after installation so you can compare and make a more precise decision.

Boiler Type	Cost (Excluding Installation Cost)	Cost (Including Installation Cost)
Heat-Only Boiler	£600-£3500	£1700-£4000
System Boiler	£550-£3500	£1700-£4000
Combi Boiler	£500-£3000	£1500-£4500
Electric Boiler	£590-£2500	£1700-£4000
Biomass Boiler	£4000-£12000	£6000-£21000

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Additional factors that affect the cost of a new boiler

1. Boiler Size

The size of your boiler will affect its cost, as the bigger the size, the higher the price. To determine the ideal size of boiler for your home, you need to determine the following:

Number of bedrooms
Number of radiators
Number of bathrooms
How well-insulated your home is

2. Boiler Type

After determining the size, you opted to change the type of your boiler due to an increase or decrease in hot water and heating demand. Then, the cost will increase depending on the type of boiler, complex installation, including flue and pipework, and additional labour work.

3. Model and Brand

Now that you have determined the type of boiler, the next step is to choose the model and the manufacturing brand. This will affect the cost of a new boiler due to the brand’s reliability and warranty. Below are some of the top brands, along with the cost of their types of boilers:

Manufacturing Brand	Heat-Only Boiler Price Range	System Boiler Price Range	Combi-Boiler Price Range
Worcester Bosch	£795-£2,865	£991-£2,515	£819-£2,402
Vaillant	£910-£1,689	£888-£2,164	£854-£1,684
Viessmann	£851-£1,453	£1,110-£1,382	£890-£1,453
Ideal	£826-£1,394	£881-£1,329	£860-£1,692
Alpha	£616-£1,698	£859-£2,475	£704-£805

Note: Installation and labour costs are not included in the above prices because they differ between manufacturers.

4. Fuel Type

Another important factor that you must consider that influences the cost of a boiler is the fuel type. Primarily, you will be choosing among three options:

Electricity:

Choosing a boiler that uses electricity to generate heat and domestic hot water is a great choice if you are not connected to the gas grid and want to lower your carbon footprint. Nowadays, many people are transitioning towards electricity to minimise their dependency on gas.

But most people don’t know that most of the electricity in the UK is generated by burning fossil fuels. Although you will find different variations of electric boilers on the market and you will be saving money and impacting the environment in the long run, the running cost of an electric boiler is more expensive than oil and gas fuel types.

The cost of an electric boiler ranges between £590 and £2500, and the installation cost will range between £1,600 and £3,500.

Gas:

The most common fuel type that is used for heating and hot water is gas. Gas, being inexpensive, is the most popular fuel type that most UK residents opt for. And if your boiler has higher efficiency ratings, the carbon emissions will also be low.

The cost of a new gas boiler ranges between £2000 and £4000, and the installation lies between £500 and £4000.

Oil:

Another common but less popular fuel is oil-fueled boilers. It is an ideal choice if you are not connected to your local gas grid and want to avoid the expensive running costs of electric boilers.

The price of a new oil boiler ranges between £999 and £2,800, and the installation and replacement cost will range between £2500 and £4000.

5. Relocating your boiler

If you are looking for a new boiler and a new location for your boiler due to renovation or some other reason, then get ready to bear the additional cost of labour, pipework, fixtures, and fittings.

6. Radiator cost

When buying a new boiler, inspect your home’s heating system in detail, including the radiator. Suppose your radiators are old and worn with time. In that case, you should consider replacing your radiators, as inefficient radiators will affect the performance of your new boiler.

The estimated radiator replacement cost will range between £200 and £400, depending on numerous factors.

7. Magnetic Filter

What is the Cost of Repairing a Boiler?

Fri, 24 Nov 2023 12:08:40 +0000

A boiler breakdown is a situation where you can get stressed, especially in the winter. And many people get bothered by the boiler repair costs they must pay. But what most people need to consider is that repairing your boiler is less costly than replacing your boiler.

Is your boiler getting faulty and needs repair? But you need to find out where the problem lies and what it will cost. This blog is for you, as I will discuss the cost of repairing a boiler.

Also, I will break down the cost of the different parts you will need to replace. Additionally, I will tell you the factors that affect the cost and possible measures that you can take to prevent the problem in the future.

Average Cost of Repairing a Boiler

As mentioned above, the cost of repairing the boiler depends on your problem. But to give you an estimate, expect to pay somewhere between £100 and £500. However, these prices can be increased depending on the age, condition, and parts of your boiler that need to be replaced.

Also, don’t forget to include the labour cost, which will lie between £60 and £100 based on the hourly fee.

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Which Parts of a Boiler Need to Be Replaced?

The boiler may look like a simple box-shaped appliance that provides heating and hot water. However, it is a complex machine, requiring various components to work in sync to operate efficiently. And if one of the parts or components gets damaged or faulty, your boiler might halt its operation. Below, I will mention the common parts that get damaged and need to be repaired.

Parts	Estimated Replacement Cost	Function
Boiler Fan	£225-£275	Help safely remove harmful gases from the flue pipe.
Water Circulating Pump	£150-£380	Circulate heated water around your central heating to supply it on hand.
Gas Valve	£180-£220	Controls the flow of gases into the burner and pilot light.
Diverter Valve (Combi-Boilers)	£250-£375	It is a mechanism that opens and closes to redirect the hot water to taps, showers, or radiators.
Boiler Air Vent	£115-£140	Eliminates the air outside.
Pressure Relief Valve	£70-£150	Helps in removing pressurised fluid from the system safely.
Overheating Thermostats	£115	It prevents your boiler from getting overheated.
Printed Circuit Board	£300-£500	It serves as the control centre for all other parts of your boiler.
Ignition System	£100-£250	Ignites the main flame.
Heat Exchanger	£400-£600	Transfers the heat from gases into the water.

The above-mentioned prices do not include the cost of labour.

Note: The prices mentioned above are just to give you an estimate, and the original prices may vary.

When do I know that my boiler needs repair?

It is essential to know the signs of boiler repair, inspect them early, and get them solved before the damage becomes more severe, leaving you with a non-operating boiler. Look for the following signs and contact a certified professional immediately.

The boiler is losing pressure.

A leaking boiler.

The boiler’s pilot light is turning yellow.

Pungent smell.

The boiler turns itself off automatically.

Factors Affecting the Cost of Boiler Repair

Multiple factors that affect the cost of boiler repair that you must consider are mentioned below:

Age of your boiler

Older boilers are more expensive to repair as their parts are hardly available, making it costly to source and replace them.

Size of your boiler

The bigger the size of your boiler, the more you will have to pay to get it repaired.

Type of your boiler

Prices may vary depending on the type of boiler you have. Gas boilers are comparatively cheaper to repair than electric or oil-fired boilers.

The location of your home

The area where your home is located and the time it takes for an engineer to reach it may affect the repair price.

Parts replacement

As mentioned above, the cost of parts that need to be replaced will affect the overall price of your boiler repair.

Boiler cover

If you have a boiler cover in place, you may not need to pay for the repairs, which will be covered under your policy.

Call-out charges

Many providers charge extra call-out fees aside from boiler repair costs.

Time involved in the repair

Some engineers charge you according to the time it takes to solve your problem. And charge you on an hourly basis.

What is an emergency boiler repair?

Needing repair services is considered an emergency; however, some engineers offer emergency boiler repair services if your boiler is not operational, leaving you with no hot water and heating, or you suspect a gas leak. In that case, the engineers will respond to queries and visit your location quickly, but you will be charged a higher fee than you would typically pay.

But remember, don’t let your emergency prevent you from verifying the engineer’s authenticity, and check his Gas Safe Registered ID before he begins to repair your boiler.

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What is the difference between fixed-price repair and time-based repair?

A fixed-price repair is the flat fee you charge after agreeing to services. On the other hand, time-based repair is the fee you are charged depending on the time it takes for the engineer to repair your boiler.

How much time do boiler repairs take?

The time required to repair a boiler will depend on the complexity of the problem. Considering that the parts are readily available, it might only take one or two hours to solve the problem if only one or two parts need to be replaced.

If complex parts are not readily available and the engineer needs to find a supplier to provide those parts, the process might take a day or two. And yes, this will cost you more.

Can I fix the boiler myself?

The short answer is no! The reason is that it is illegal for a non-gas-safe registered person to attempt to fix gas appliances. If, in any case, your boiler requires repair, then you should immediately contact a certified professional and remember to check their IDs and make sure they are registered by the authority and qualified to carry out work on the gas appliances.

Preventive measures to avoid repairs in the future

Boiler problems are inevitable, but there are some measures that you should take to prevent them.

Get an annual boiler service

Boiler service on an annual basis makes sure that there is no problem with your boiler. Also, servicing helps to inspect problems early and solve them before the situation worsens.

Keep the boiler well-insulated

Ensure the boiler pipes are well insulated and that there are no weak spots (exposed areas) left that reduce the effectiveness and efficiency of the boiler.

Keep an eye on the boiler water pressure

Check your boiler’s water pressure once every month and ensure it is between 1.5 bars to provide optimal circulation around your central heating system.

Regularly turn on your boiler

Not turning on your boiler for months until the winter arrives can surprise you with unexpected issues within your boiler.

That’s why it is necessary to turn on your boiler for 45–60 minutes monthly to ensure it works correctly.

Bleed your radiators

As time passes, the air gets trapped in your radiator, making it cold at the bottom. The trapped air causes improper heating around your home. To solve this problem, you must bleed your radiator regularly.

Keep an eye on the boiler problem

Above, I have mentioned the reasons that indicate potential repairs for your boiler. If you inspect any of these signs, don’t wait, as the problem won’t solve itself, and immediately contact a certified gas-safe engineer.

Conclusion

I hope you have now understood the boiler repair cost and the various factors affecting it. Ultimately, you must regularly maintain your boiler to avoid future problems. Also, consider the insurance option for your boiler.

Why are my radiators getting cold at the bottom

Fri, 03 Nov 2023 17:29:21 +0000

Winter has arrived! And it’s that time of the year when you highly rely on your boiler and radiators to provide your homes with heating and hot water to keep your family warm. But a common issue many people in the UK face is the radiator getting cold at the bottom and warm at the top. When radiators become cold at the bottom, it usually means that sludge buildup has blocked the hot water’s flow or is restricting it.

This is not a significant problem, but if not properly investigated and solved, it can become a matter of concern, as your home will not be adequately heated and there will be inconsistent distribution.

Is your radiator also getting cold at the bottom? Don’t worry, as it does not mean that your boiler is faulty. It means your radiator needs a little attention.

In this blog, I will be telling you what you can do to remove the cold patch from your radiator, along with the possible measures that you can take to prevent the problem. Before we get into how to remove cold spots from the radiator, it is vital that you first understand how a radiator works.

How does a radiator work?

Radiators work through a simple heat transfer process known as convection. It is connected to your boiler (central heating system) via pipes. When you turn on your boiler, it heats the water and transfers it to your radiator. From there, the hot water is heated by the surrounding air via convection to heat your home. After the heated water has completely flown through your radiators, it travels back to your boiler to get heated again.

It is essential to understand that water does not stay in your radiators all the time and only stays to heat your home or a particular room. Once the heated water has properly warmed the room, it flows from one radiator to another. After completing the flow around your radiators, it flows back to your boiler in a colder state, where it is heated yet again. This back-and-forth process makes the radiator prone to airlocks and cold spots.

What are the reasons and causes of radiators getting cold at the bottom and hot at the top?

Reason

The radiator getting cold from the bottom indicates that the flow of hot water is being restricted due to blockages. The common reason behind this blockage is a buildup of sludge.

Cause

As mentioned above, the heated water from your boiler continuously flows through your radiators. The radiators are made up of steel, and with passing time, the continuous flow of water forms iron oxides (hematite and magnetite) that build up over time and prove to be a significant cause of blockage.

Additionally, other minerals accumulate in the water, causing impurities like limescale to accumulate. These impurities cause sludge buildup that blocks the water flow from the bottom, making it cold.

Suppose you are experiencing inconsistent heating flow around your home. In that case, it is more likely that a lot of sludge has built up at the bottom and needs to be removed. Remember that sludge buildup will not be removed by itself, as the pressure at which water is flowing through the radiators must be increased.

Also, the buildup of sludge will not be cleared by bleeding out the radiators, as bleeding is only good for removing cold spots from your radiators.

How do we fix radiators that are getting cold from the bottom?

Radiators getting cold from the bottom and warm at the top is a problem that, left unattended, can cause problems for your boiler operation. You must take the necessary steps to solve the problem. Suppose only one of the radiators in your home is getting cold from the bottom. In that case, you can fix the problem by manually flushing your radiator.

Suppose more than one radiator is getting cold from the bottom. In that case, you might chemically or power flush your radiators; therefore, you should get in touch with a professional because you cannot do this process yourself. Let’s discuss both methods in detail:

How to manually flush your radiators

Suppose only one of your radiators is getting cold from the bottom. In that case, you can solve the problem by manually flushing your radiator without needing assistance from a gas-safe engineer, considering you are good at performing DIY solutions.

Now, let’s move on to the step-by-step procedure:

Step 1:

The first step is to isolate your radiator, for which you must turn down your thermostatic radiator valve to zero (if you have one). Then, locate the lock shield valve on the opposite side of the radiator, which will be covered with a cap. Remove the cap and, with the help of pliers or a spanner, turn it a quarter and a half to turn it off.

For more details, read How to Isolate a Radiator.

Step 2:

The next step is to prepare for water spillage, as you must bleed your valves. To prevent the mess, you will need a piece of old cloth or a towel to lay down beneath the connector nuts. Also, place a plastic bowl over the towel to catch the water and prevent it from spilling on the floor.

Step 3:

Now, with the help of a plier or a spanner, loosen up the radiator nuts slightly and let the gunky black water drip out that is built due to excessive corrosion and lack of maintenance.

Step 4:

The next step involves opening the bleed valve at the top of your radiator. For that, you will need a bleeding key. But before opening the valve, place a bowl near the valve to catch the water. Then attach the key to the bleeding screw, let the air escape, and wait for the hissing sound.

After the hissing sound ends, the water will drain out and fill the bowl. It is advised to have another bowl in place just in case there is too much water trapped inside.

For more details, read How to Bleed a Radiator.

Step 5:

Now, after the water is fully drained, undo the valves, remove the radiator from its brackets, and take it outside to begin the flushing process and remove the sludge.

Step 6:

Place the radiator in your garden and take a garden hose pipe, attach one end to the tap and the other to the inlet valve, and turn on the tap. Continue flushing the radiator until the dirty water stops coming on the other side. For extra satisfaction, attach the hose to both radiator openings until the clean water flows out.

Step 7:

After thoroughly flushing your radiator, please bring it back inside and reattach it to your brackets. Reattach the pipes and valves. The water will start flowing into your radiator, so stay ready with the bleed valve to tighten it as soon as you see the water escaping.

Step 8:

Now, it is time to test your system. After completely reattaching your radiator, it’s time to test the system by turning back on your heating system. Wait for 15-20 minutes, allow the system to heat up, and then touch it from the bottom, and you will notice that it is evenly hot at the bottom.

Remember, if you have a conventional feed and expansion system, i.e., a heat-only boiler, your system will repressurize itself. On the other hand, if you have a pressurised system like a combi-boiler, you will need to repressurize it with the help of a filling loop.

What should I do if more than one radiator is affected?

When you don’t use your radiators more often or don’t maintain them annually, the buildup of sludge becomes severe and affects multiple radiators in your home. For that, you will require the assistance of a certified professional who will perform a chemical or power flush to remove the sludge altogether.

What is a powerflush?

Power flushing your radiators is a process to remove the buildup of sludge, rust, debris, and other impurities from your radiators and pipes. The process involves a powerful pump being connected to the pump head, circulation pump, and tail of the radiator. After that, water is circulated at high pressure along with the cleaning agents to remove impurities from your system.

After removing the impurities, the professional will use clean water to drive out the contaminated liquid and ultimately dispose of it after removing sludge and other contaminants from it.

What is chemical flushing?

A chemical flush is the process of removing sludge, rust, and debris from your radiator to allow the water to flow more smoothly. Contrary to a power flush, a chemical colour involves using gravity. It releases chemicals that dissolve the sludge and, with the help of a manual water flush, removes the contamination from your system.

How do I prevent my radiators from getting cold in the future?

After successfully getting sludge and debris removed from your system, you must take the following measures to prevent radiators from getting cold at the bottom in the future:

Regularly clean your radiators.

Use a scale reducer and add it to your water to reduce limescale, which makes sludge buildup more severe.

Add a central heating inhibitor to your water, forming a coated layer to prevent the buildup of limescale and sludge and keep the water running smoothly.

Get magnetic filters installed, as they are crucial in attracting sludge and other metallic debris before they accumulate in your radiators and interrupt the heating flow.

Conclusion

So here you have it. After reading the above blog, cold radiators from the bottom shouldn’t be a concern. However, if you have any other issues related to your radiator, such as how to bleed a radiator, how to isolate a radiator, how to measure a radiator, and more, then visit our blogs section and enter your query in the search box to find the related articles. If you don’t see the necessary guide in our blogs, please contact us at 0345 3192 247, and one of our representatives on call will assist you with your problems.

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What is a Boiler Pump Overrun Function? All You Need to Know!

Mon, 30 Oct 2023 12:33:51 +0000

Pump overrun on your boiler is a crucial function that is often overlooked. Understanding what boiler pump overrun is and how it functions is essential for homeowners. Pump overrun refers to the continued operation of the central heating pump after the boiler has switched off.

This article aims to provide a comprehensive overview of boiler pump overrun, its purpose, components, benefits, problems and troubleshooting techniques, energy efficiency considerations, and maintenance tips.

By delving into these aspects, you will gain valuable insights into optimising your boiler’s performance and achieving optimal comfort and energy efficiency in your home.

What Does a Pump Overrun Mean?

If you have ever wondered why your boiler continues to run even after turning it off, you may have encountered the concept of a central heating pump overrun. However, worrying is unnecessary, as it is a simple concept. Pump overrun refers to the continued operation of the central heating pump in your system for a short time after the boiler has been switched off.

Now, let us delve a little deeper into the purpose of a pump overrun. When you turn off your boiler, the pump overrun function is activated. This function ensures that your pump continues to run for a short period, typically lasting 5–10 minutes. You will need a pump overrun thermostat or a timer set for a specific duration to control this function effectively.

By passing the hot water through a bypass valve and circulating it, the pump overrun operation helps dissipate any residual heat, thereby reducing the risk of hot water boiling inside and causing damage to your boiler components. Additionally, it would be best to have a bypass circuit piped in, depending on whether you have an S-plan or a Y-plan heating system.

It is worth noting that the pump overrun function is commonly found in heat-only boilers, as some larger and sturdier boilers have an in-built function to handle the residual heat, eliminating the need for pump overrun.

Components Involved in Pump Overrun Functionality

To make a pump overrun work, there are a few components involved. The control mechanism, often integrated into the boiler or as part of a separate controller, is responsible for monitoring and initiating the pump overrun function. The pump and motor also work together to keep the water flowing during this extended operation period.

So, the next time you hear your boiler humming away even after you’ve turned it off, remember that it’s just the trusty pump overrun doing its job to keep you warm, cosy, and energy efficient.

Benefits of utilising a central heating pump overrun

Improved Efficiency and Energy Savings

By allowing the remaining heat in your system to be fully utilised, pump overrun improves the overall efficiency of your boiler. This means less energy waste and lower energy bills, giving your wallet and the environment a reason to smile.

Enhanced Comfort and Temperature Control

With pump overrun, you can bid farewell to those annoying cold patches in your home. By circulating the water, pump overrun ensures that every nook and cranny of your living space receives a steady flow of warmth. So, say goodbye to chilly toes and hello to cosy evenings.

Identifying Common Problems with Pump Overruns

Pump overrun is a great feature that helps circulate hot water even after the boiler has turned off. However, like any other system, it can sometimes run into issues. To identify the cause, look for the following problems:

1. No Pump Operation

If you notice that the pump isn’t running even when the boiler is on, there might be an electrical issue, or a faulty pump printed circuit board (PCB).

2. Continuous Pump Operation

One of the common issues that many homeowners face related to their pump’s overrun function is that it keeps running for hours rather than 5–10 minutes. Conversely, if the pump keeps running indefinitely, even when the boiler is off, there might be an issue with the thermostat or a faulty control valve.

3. Insufficient Heat Circulation

If the radiators in your home aren’t getting adequately hot, it could be due to poor pump performance or trapped air in the system.

How to Fix Pump Overrun on Boiler

When you encounter pump overrun issues, here are a few troubleshooting techniques you can try:

1. Check the Power Supply

Make sure the pump is receiving power. Check the fuse box or circuit breaker to ensure there are no issues. Sometimes the reason behind a pump overrun fault is a broken PCB on your boiler’s pump. To fix it, you must contact a Gas safety Engineer.

2. Examine the Pump Settings

Ensure that the pump is set to the correct speed and flow rate. Incorrect settings can affect its performance.

3. Bleed the Radiators

If you suspect trapped air in the system, bleed the radiators to release the air and improve heat circulation.

4. Inspect the Thermostat

Test the thermostat by adjusting the temperature settings. The thermostat may require calibration or replacement if the pump operates according to the changes.

5. Consult a Professional

If you cannot identify or resolve the issue, it’s best to seek assistance from a qualified heating engineer or technician who can diagnose and fix it.

Impact of Pump Overruns on Energy Consumption

While pump overrun may consume some energy, it is essential for maintaining optimal heating efficiency. The additional hot water circulation helps distribute heat evenly throughout your home, eliminating cold spots and reducing the need for the boiler to operate frequently.

Calculating Potential Cost Savings with Pump Overruns

Calculating precise cost savings with pump overruns can be challenging due to various factors influencing energy consumption. However, by reducing the frequency of boiler cycles and ensuring efficient heat distribution, pump overrun can lower your heating bills. The improved comfort and reduced wear and tear on the boiler can also contribute to long-term cost savings.

Maintenance Tips for Central Heating Pump Overrun Systems

To keep your pump overrun system running smoothly, here are a few maintenance practises to consider

1. Get an annual boiler service.

2. Inspect the pump regularly for signs of wear or damage. Replace any worn-out parts promptly.

3. Clean and remove any debris or sludge accumulating in the system to ensure efficient operation.

4. Check the circulating pump’s impeller to ensure it spins freely and isn’t obstructed by objects.

5. Test the pump overrun function periodically to ensure it activates and deactivates correctly.

Tips for Optimising Pump Overrun Performance

For optimal pump overrun performance, keep in mind these helpful tips:

1. Set the pump speed and flow rate according to the specific requirements of your heating system.

2. Consider installing thermostatic radiator valves to control the heat output more precisely and reduce unnecessary pump operation.

3. Insulate your pipes and boiler to minimise heat loss and improve energy efficiency.

4. Regularly bleed your radiators to eliminate trapped air, allowing heat to circulate more effectively.

Conclusion

In conclusion, central heating pump overrun is vital to maintaining efficient and effective boiler systems. By understanding its purpose and benefits, homeowners can harness the advantages of pump overrun to enhance comfort and energy efficiency. Regular maintenance and adherence to best practises ensure optimal pump overrun performance.

By implementing these strategies and troubleshooting techniques, homeowners can optimise their boiler’s performance, reduce energy consumption, and enjoy a cosy and comfortable living environment.

However, if you are facing other issues related to your central heating system or looking for a new boiler, please get in touch with us on 0345 3192 247, and one of our representatives on call will assist you with your problem.

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Common Boiler Fan Faults Reasons and Solutions

Thu, 19 Oct 2023 16:08:26 +0000

A boiler fan is a crucial component in your central heating system that plays a vital role in ensuring the proper functioning of the boiler. It is designed to create airflow and maintain pressure within the combustion chamber; the fan provides an essential combustion air supply for efficient fuel burning.

So, if your boiler fan is not working due to which your boiler is making noises or your boiler has locked itself, then in this blog, I am going to tell you how a boiler fan operates, its importance as a safety mechanism, and the common boiler fan faults that arise with your boiler’s fan, along with the solutions.

How Does a Boiler Fan Work?

The fan works by drawing in fresh air and expelling waste gases produced during combustion through a flue pipe, facilitating clean and controlled burning processes.

Equipped with an electric motor or powered by steam, the fan delivers the necessary oxygen to mix with the fuel, resulting in complete combustion while minimising harmful emissions.

It also aids in the removal of flue gases, preventing accumulation within the boiler system that could hinder performance or pose safety risks.

Moreover, some boiler fans are specifically designed to handle increased pressure requirements for industrial boilers, enabling efficient operations on a larger scale.

Importance of the Boiler Fan in Boiler Operation

The boiler fan’s primary function is to provide combustion air to the system by delivering the necessary oxygen for efficient fuel combustion. By regulating airflow, it ensures optimum combustion and helps maintain consistent burner flame stability.

An effective boiler fan also aids in removing flue gases from the combustion chamber, preventing any accumulation that could hinder heat exchange and impede overall efficiency.

Furthermore, the fan assists in maintaining proper furnace pressure by controlling the exhaust gas flow rate, thereby preventing any potential disruptions to the air-to-fuel ratio, and minimising fuel waste.

How Long Does a Boiler Fan Last?

The lifespan of boiler fans can vary depending on several factors, including the quality of the fan itself, the environment in which it operates, and the level of maintenance and care provided.

Generally, well-built, and properly maintained boiler fans can last 5 to 10 years. Let’s say your boiler is 5-8 years old and is getting faulty. Then, the problem might lie within the fan. But if your boiler has been relatively new for 3–4 years, the fault might be elsewhere rather than the fan.

However, it is essential to note that certain elements can significantly impact their longevity. For instance, excessive dirt or debris accumulation within the fan blades or the motor could cause premature wear and tear, potentially reducing its lifespan. Similarly, exposure to extreme temperatures or corrosive substances may also hasten deterioration.

To maximise the lifespan of boiler fans, proactive maintenance practices such as regular cleaning, lubrication checks, and inspections should be implemented. Investing in high-quality fans with durable construction materials will undoubtedly contribute to their extended service life.

Importance of the Boiler Fan as a Safety Mechanism

The boiler fan serves as a crucial safety mechanism within your boiler system. When you initiate the boiler, the Printed Circuit Board (PCB) communicates with the fan through an air pressure switch to verify its functionality.

If the PCB fails to receive a signal, it will prevent the boiler from starting and display an error or fault code on the screen. The system will automatically lock itself down if any issues arise with the boiler fan. In such cases, it is imperative to promptly engage the services of a Gas Safe engineer who will thoroughly examine and resolve the problem.

Does a Faulty Boiler Fan Pose Any Risks?

A faulty boiler fan does not necessarily pose any risk, as it typically starts before the rest of the machine. If the printed circuit board (PCB) does not receive any signals from the fan, the boiler will automatically lock itself out and display an error code.

However, if the boiler has already started and the fan becomes faulty during operation, it can potentially lead to the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning and even a house fire. Therefore, taking precautionary measures by installing a carbon monoxide detector to prevent these potential dangers is crucial.

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Causes and Symptoms of Boiler Fan Problems

1. Faults in the circuit board

A fault within your boiler’s PCB might send incorrect signals to various components, including the fan. Also, a faulty PCB may cause your boiler not to fire up. So, if your boiler displays a fan fault code, then you should immediately contact a Gas Safe Engineer.

Solution

To determine whether the problem lies within your PCB or the fan, contact a Gas Safe engineer first and ask him to inspect the PCB with a multi-meter, as there is a possibility that the problem might not be that big and can be related to just some loose wiring connections.

And if there is no problem with the wiring, you might have to replace the whole PCB. However, if your boiler is too old, you should look to replace it with a new one, as replacing a PCB is very costly.

2. Faults with the air pressure switch

As mentioned above, when you start the boiler, the PCB sends signals to the fan through an air pressure switch. So, if the air pressure switch malfunctions, the boiler won’t start and will not receive the correct signal regarding the fan working correctly.

Solution

Contact a Gas Safe engineer to inspect the problem, and if he determines that there are no other issues and the problem is only with the air pressure switch, you can replace the button with a new one.

3. Blockage in the condensate pipe

In the winter, one common problem many people face regarding their boiler is a frozen condensate pipe. When the condensate pipe freezes, fluctuations in air pressure will occur, resulting in your boiler indicating various fan problems and displaying error codes on the screen.

Solution

To solve the issue of a frozen condensate pipe, you will need to thaw the pipe by pouring hot water on it. After that, you will need to insulate it to prevent it from freezing in the future. It is recommended that you get some assistance from a certified professional for insulation.

4. Leakage issues within the boiler

As time passes, leakage issues arise with your boiler. These leakages can cause long-term damage to various components of your boiler, including the fan.

Solution

The leakage issue should always be left to a certified professional. He will inspect the leak’s source and determine the damaged parts that need to be replaced, which might include the fan.

5. The fan speed is getting low

If the fan speed of your boiler is low, it can lead to various issues, such as the pilot light extinguishing or the boiler becoming completely locked out. These problems can arise due to inadequate airflow within the system.

Solution

To solve the low-speed issue, you must increase the fan speed to a suitable level. And for that, you will have to contact a Gas Safety Engineer.

6. Loose connections

Loose connections are caused in your boiler when the fan operates and produces small vibrations. Due to these vibrations, connections and wiring can get loose over time, causing your boiler to make strange noises.

Apart from the boiler fan noise, the loose connection between your PCB and fan can cause the PCB to send incorrect signals and lock your boiler.

Solution

Only a Gas Safe-registered engineer should deal with a loose connection because it is an internal issue. The engineer will visit your home, inspect your boiler, take off the casing, inspect the connection issues within your boiler, and solve the boiler noise issue.

Boiler Fan Replacement Cost

If you have identified the faults mentioned above and concluded that your boiler’s fan is defective and requires replacement, you may wonder about the expected cost.

The price will vary depending on the type of boiler and its size. It could be as low as £100 or exceed £200. E.g., let’s say the price of a Worcester Junior 28I boiler fan replacement is less than £100, and on the other hand, the Baxi Solo 3 boiler fan replacement cost is nearly £200.

However, to provide a fair estimate, anticipate the boiler fan replacement cost to range between £200 and £300, including parts and installation expenses.

Boiler Fan Repair Cost

The repair cost of a boiler fan is like the cost of its replacement due to the labour fees included. That’s why it is suggested that if the repair is not simple and complex, investing in a new boiler fan will be wise.

Standard Boiler Fan Fault Codes

For your assistance, below are some common boiler error codes from leading manufacturers that indicate a fault with your boiler fan:

Viessmann: 04, 05, 06, 08, 0A

Vaillant—F.32

Vokera—A03, 03, and E030

Baxi—E160

Potterton—E160, E161

Ideal—F3

Worcester Bosch: C6, C6 215, C7 214, C7 217, and C1 264

Glow Worm—F2, F3

Conclusion

After reading this article, I hope you now know why the fan fault on your boiler fan is not working correctly. If there are other issues with your boiler, i.e., a faulty gas valve or problems with the central heating pump, please get in touch with us at 0345 3192 247. One of our on-call representatives will assist you with your situation and arrange an appointment with a Gas Safe Engineer.

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What is Boiler Frost Protection and How Does It Work?

Tue, 10 Oct 2023 16:09:09 +0000

Boiler frost protection is crucial for your heating system in colder months. It prevents the water from freezing. And minimise damage to boilers. It is designed to maintain a constant temperature within the boiler system. Ensuring the efficient functioning of your boilers during the winter. In this blog, I will tell you in detail what is boiler frost protection and why it is crucial.

What is Boiler Frost Protection?

The concept of boiler frost protection revolves around using thermostatic controllers or sensors that monitor the external temperature and activate a heating source when it drops below a certain threshold. This heating source may be an internal heater or an external heat exchanger, depending on the specific design of the boiler.

Additionally, insulation is crucial in preventing heat loss from pipes and surrounding areas, further enhancing frost protection capabilities. Boiler frost protection not only safeguards against potential breakdowns caused by freezing but also maintains optimal efficiency levels and prolongs the lifespan of these expensive systems through consistent monitoring and regulation of temperatures, even in extreme weather conditions.

Why is Boiler Frost Protection important?

Boiler frost protection plays a crucial role in maintaining the efficiency and longevity of the Central heating system, making it an essential aspect of any professional heating installation. When temperatures drop below freezing, there is a high risk of water freezing within the boiler and associated pipes. This can lead to many costly issues, including burst pipes, damage to internal components, and even complete system failure. These risks can be mitigated by incorporating efficient frost protection mechanisms into the boiler, including automatic controls or antifreeze solutions.

The boiler will be able to detect and respond to low temperatures, preventing water from freezing and minimising potential damage. This ensures uninterrupted heating during cold spells and reduces the likelihood of expensive repairs or replacements in the long run. Ultimately, investing in reliable frost protection for boilers is a proactive measure that safeguards both comfort and finances by preserving the smooth operation of the entire heating system.

What is the Frost Protection Mode on your Boiler?

The water in your boiler will freeze when the temperature drops below 5°C. The central heating frost protection temperature mechanism will detect when the water temperature in your system drops below 5 °C. The frost protection will heat the water to 10 °C by turning the boiler back on. The boiler will do this many times when the water temperature drops below 5 °C to ensure the water doesn’t freeze and halt the operation of your boiler. After it reaches 10 °C, it turns the boiler off.

Does the Frost Protection Feature increase the Energy Bill?

The frost protection feature does not necessarily increase your energy bills significantly, as it activates the boiler solely to heat the water and prevent it from dropping below the minimum temperature of 5 °C. This heating process does not circulate the water throughout your heating system or hot water storage tank; it only warms the water stored in the boiler. Consequently, the energy consumption associated with this feature is minimal.

Does Every Boiler have an in-built Frost Protection Feature?

If you own a modern boiler, i.e., a combi boiler, it is likely equipped with built-in frost protection. However, if you have an older boiler, i.e., a system or Regular boiler, it becomes necessary to install frost protection thermostats. It is important to note that frost protection is only required when the boiler is installed in colder areas. Therefore, frost protection is optional if your boiler is in a room within your home, such as the kitchen.

Nevertheless, frost protection becomes essential if your boiler is situated in colder spaces like a garage or loft. For those with older boilers, it is highly recommended to install a thermostat to prevent freezing. Additionally, investing in insulating jackets for your pipes is suggested. This measure helps protect the lines from freezing and maintains their warmth for extended periods while the heating is on, resulting in increased efficiency in your system.

Types of Thermostats for Frost Protection

There are mainly two types of thermostats used for frost protection: the room thermostat and the frost protection thermostat.

Room Thermostat:

Although a room thermostat’s primary function is to measure the temperature of your room, some room thermostats come with a frost protection feature that turns on the central heating when it senses a drop in temperature below the minimum level.

Frost Protection Thermostat:

On the other hand, the Frost Protection thermostat setting is specialised to protect your boiler from freezing. If your boiler is installed in a comparatively colder area of your home, e.g., a loft or a garage, then a frost protection thermostat must be installed. When it detects that the temperature rating of your boiler has dropped to 5 °C, it will turn on your boiler so that the pipes don’t freeze.

Prices for Frost-protection Thermostats

The price of frost protection thermostats can range from £20 to £30, although this price can vary if you opt for a more advanced and functional thermostat. Additionally, consider the installation cost because a Gas Safe engineer should install frost-protection thermostats.

Conclusion

After reading so far, you know what boiler frost protection is and why you need it. To summarise, all frost protection is required only when your boiler is in a colder area. Its principal function is to detect a drop in the water temperature below the recommended range of 5 °C, turn on the heating, and increase the water temperature to 10 °C. Frost protection is essential to prevent damaged boiler components, burst pipes, and complete system failure.

Although modern boilers come equipped with frost protection, you must install a boiler frost thermostat if you have an older boiler. Considering both upfront costs and long-term benefits, investing in a reliable boiler frost protection thermostat ultimately proves worthwhile by preventing expensive repairs resulting from frozen pipes or malfunctioning heating systems.

Although if your boiler is 10–15 years old, it is suggested that you invest in a new boiler for more efficiency and abide by the boiler plus regulation.

If you are looking to buy a new boiler or have any queries regarding your central heating system, please get in touch with us at 0345 3192 247, and one of our representatives will assist you with your boiler.

Three Crucial Aspects To Consider When Buying Lighting Fixtures

Wed, 09 Feb 2022 05:00:00 +0000

Many people are worried about picking the appropriate lighting fixtures for their homes properties, buildings or even construction projects. If you’re in the same situation, you already know that there are two main issues to consider. The lighting fixtures need to be energy efficient but not excessively costly upfront.

This trade-off is at the heart of most energy-efficient lighting products. Lower-end lighting fixtures are less efficient than more expensive ones. No matter the scale or the nature of your project, sorting out a list of lighting choices can be a long and a mind-numbing task.

It is important to bear in mind that there are three major types of interior lighting fixtures based on various lighting modes that include fluorescent tubes and high-intensity discharge (HUD) lambs and light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Although any store attendant will be able to provide a list of aspects to take into consideration, here are some issues that are more than just the cost-efficiency argument.

Heat Load

Every lighting fixture creates heat during use. HIDs, commonly used in industrial facilities are the most dangerous as they can boost the heat up to 350 degrees. Fluorescent lamps can reach 150 degrees, whereas LED lighting is the coolest when they reach 100 degrees. According to the U.S. Department of Energy LED lighting is able to aid the nation in saving around 50 percent of its energy bills in future.

Based on the settings you have, heat can be a significant issue to consider. It may be difficult or impossible for offices to be located in industrial buildings because of the heat load. You might end up spending an enormous amount of cash on cooling refrigerants when you buy lighting fixtures that emit lots of heat.

On the other hand Metal halide lamps are ideal for lighting interiors in homes that are located in cold climates. The warmth can help you feel more comfortable while at work in, which can improve overall productivity. Modern lighting stores will have many lighting fixtures.

Maintenance

The ease and frequency of maintenance must be a primary consideration when purchasing a lighting fixture.

Installations that rarely break down demand less manpower and equipment to keep running efficiently. This is especially important if the facility is large. It is possible that the task of fixing over 300 fluorescent lamps is a full-time occupation for the maintenance crew.

LED fixtures are ideal for those who value ease of maintenance. These lighting fixtures can be quite costly. Their light source will last between 100,000 to 150,000 hours. Metal halide bulbs however are the ones with the lowest rating of around 15,000 hours.

If you are in a industrial setting, try to strike a balance between energy savings and maintenance costs. Since you only have one or two fixtures, your home lighting might not require any maintenance. You could find a more accurate estimation of how much you need to spend on lighting in the beginning by visiting a store that sells lighting.

Productivity

It can be difficult to measure productivity in dollars when there are so many variables to be considered. An unlit workplace can produce poor quality work and can make employees feel tired. The Illuminating Society states that most industrial applications require 20 to 50 feet candles in order to perform optimal performance.

Metal-halide lighting fixtures will lose 50% of their brightness within two years. However LEDs only diminish by 70 percent within 17 years. It is important to consider the project you’re conducting research on before making the purchase decision. Are you expecting that the facility will be in place in a few months years, decades, or even years?

Summarising It

Lighting is one of the most vital factors in modern productivity. It is essential to select the correct fixtures for your home or construction project. You need to think about the productivity level as well as the maintenance required, as well as the temperature of the fixture.

Premier Lighting provides a wide selection of lighting options that aids customers to make the right lighting selections. You can learn more about the different lighting fixtures available for indoor and outdoor lighting by calling us now.

What Is The Best Light For Your Home

Fri, 04 Feb 2022 05:00:00 +0000

The ideal lighting will show amazing things for your home, as it transforms rooms from a slow zero to the steady ten. Lighting is an essential aspect to consider when designing your home as it symbolises knowledge and positivity. Lights also highlight expensive items and beautiful designs that you’ve invested a lot of money on. They also reflect of our moods and enthusiasm and so, often we select the lighting that best suits our preferences and place the space on any corner or wall. Brightestlumen experts do not agree. When you select lights that compliment your home and placing them in the proper direction, your home is sure to be a place of happiness and illumination. It will provide your home with a an appealing aesthetic and boost your mood. Here are some Brightestlumen suggestions for placing lights in your home in a way that is safe and appropriate.

Living room

The living space is the center of your home, and it is where the most important family discussions occur. It is essential to have high-quality and warm lighting in the living room. Ensure you go for optimum lighting, not just a centric light with lots of luminosity. Place any family photos in your living area on the wall to the southwest. Lights will be in the middle of the picture. By placing lights above the photo, you will ensure the better health of the family. However, don’t make use of too bright lights or LEDs in your living room; give an inviting, warm feel by putting yellow light bulbs.

Dining room

Your dining room is a reflection of the culture and history of your family. This room is a hub of delicious food and good memories. Place candles and small decorative lights in the dining room to create a welcoming mood. Warm colors are ideal for an area for a bar or serving crockery.

Kitchen

A healthy diet is healthier if you cook it with pleasure. The kitchen should be lit with bright lights, especially in the corners. The light should be equally distributed, with less or no dark spaces to avoid unwanted vibrations and insects. You should have lights installed in your storage areas. Install a lamp in the east over the stove. When you wish to find out new information about lights, you have to check Brightest Lumen website.

Bedroom

This is the place you’re looking forward to after a hectic day at work. Create your bedroom as relaxing as possible with the correct lights. Bright and warm lighting is best kept in separate rooms. Set up floor lamps with soft textures and fabrics in your bedroom. The lights shouldn’t reflect on the mirror, if you have one in the bedroom.

Bathroom

Bathrooms are now the most stylish rooms, where the aesthetics of mirrors, candles, and lighting have become a cherry on top. It is becoming an integral part of the design process. This tranquil space is the ideal spot to relax and end your day in peace. The luxurious experience of a bathroom can be enhanced with a warm and dim lighting. Meanwhile, don’t forget to have a planned lighting layout in your bathroom. A single ceiling light is sufficient, however, always keep a light over the mirror. If you’re using other bathroom fixtures, make sure they aren’t within the darkness. Don’t hang lighting fixtures or lamps for the ceiling in the shower area or near the shower.

Latest Gas Safety News

Sun, 05 Jun 2016 23:29:05 +0000

In the latest gas safety news, the has been a petition calling for TV warnings about carbon monoxide poisoning on the Isle of Wight, see article below.

A petition calling for prime time TV warnings about carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning to save lives has been launched by Isle of Wight based campaigner, Stephanie Linda Trotter, OBE.
The petition urges the Government to provide warnings against the dangers of the carbon monoxide poisoning. The deadly gas can be emitted from faulty cooking or heating appliances powered by any carbon based fuel (such as gas, coal, wood, oil, diesel, petrol etc.).
Responsible for 50 deaths each year
It states that less than 2% of CO in the air can kill in between one and three minutes and these deaths and injuries cost the taxpayer £178 million a year.
In the UK, carbon monoxide poisoning is linked to around 50 deaths a year and more than 200 people go to hospital with suspected carbon monoxide poisoning.

Read the full article here.

Other news from around the country, another suspected carbon monoxide leak, read below.

Dartmouth fire crews called to suspected carbon monoxide leak
FIRE crews in Dartmouth were called on on Tuesday night after a suspected carbon monoxide leak at a property in the town.
Crews donned breathing apparatus and using a gas detector to check the property in Lower Street.
A fire service spokesman said: "Fortunately no gas was detected and the building was cleared of this danger and handed to a responsible person."
They added: "Carbon monoxide is a gas that is invisible, odourless and tasteless. It is recommended that if you have a room that burns a solid fuel (i.e wood or coal) then you should have a carbon monoxide detector installed, also as gas appliances can emit carbon monoxide it is also encouraged that you should have one fitted in a room that has a gas fires or gas appliances (boiler)."

Latest Gas Safety News

Sun, 05 Jun 2016 22:24:04 +0000

In the latest gas safety news, the has been a petition calling for TV warnings about carbon monoxide poisoning on the Isle of Wight, see article below.

A petition calling for prime time TV warnings about carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning to save lives has been launched by Isle of Wight based campaigner, Stephanie Linda Trotter, OBE.
The petition urges the Government to provide warnings against the dangers of the carbon monoxide poisoning. The deadly gas can be emitted from faulty cooking or heating appliances powered by any carbon based fuel (such as gas, coal, wood, oil, diesel, petrol etc.).
Responsible for 50 deaths each year
It states that less than 2% of CO in the air can kill in between one and three minutes and these deaths and injuries cost the taxpayer £178 million a year.
In the UK, carbon monoxide poisoning is linked to around 50 deaths a year and more than 200 people go to hospital with suspected carbon monoxide poisoning.

Read the full article here.

Other news from around the country, another suspected carbon monoxide leak, read below.

Dartmouth fire crews called to suspected carbon monoxide leak
FIRE crews in Dartmouth were called on on Tuesday night after a suspected carbon monoxide leak at a property in the town.
Crews donned breathing apparatus and using a gas detector to check the property in Lower Street.
A fire service spokesman said: "Fortunately no gas was detected and the building was cleared of this danger and handed to a responsible person."
They added: "Carbon monoxide is a gas that is invisible, odourless and tasteless. It is recommended that if you have a room that burns a solid fuel (i.e wood or coal) then you should have a carbon monoxide detector installed, also as gas appliances can emit carbon monoxide it is also encouraged that you should have one fitted in a room that has a gas fires or gas appliances (boiler)."

Builder Health And Safety Offences Leads To Carbon Monoxide Tragedy

Tue, 31 May 2016 19:59:53 +0000

Many times injuries and deaths from carbon monoxide poisoning could be avoided if we were to take action and install a carbon monoxide sensing device. However, there are times when our fate is not in our hands but those of professionals. Unfortunately in the article below, the professional in question took actions that resulted in the death of a man. In this instance, recognising the symptoms fast enough may help but sometimes the worst happens all too fast.

A builder in his 60s has been given a suspended prison sentence after building work resulted in the death of a business owner in Wandsworth Road.
Muhammad Javid Butt, 63, was found slumped against the wall of Taniya Dry Cleaners on October 5 2013.
Officers were called to the scene, where they noticed a strong smell of gas inside.
They left the drycleaners and Mr Butt, of Wensleydale Avenue, Ilford, to retrieve gas masks from their vehicle.
London Fire Brigade crews were called to help move Mr Butt outside before paramedics attempted to resuscitate him.
A post-mortem examination gave cause of death as carbon monoxide poisoning.
Tests of the property showed that the carbon monoxide levels were 10 times greater than the minimum level required to be toxic to humans.
Enquiries revealed the boiler’s external flume, used to ventilate fumes, had been cut back to about 5ft above the ceiling during building works undertaken by 6699 Limited.
Builder with the firm Keith ‘Bruno’ Morris’, 66, of Ackland House, Beckenham, admitted to cutting the the pipe to make it safer for the builders to work around.
The 66-year-old pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey on Friday, April 29 and was sentenced on Tuesday May 31 to eight months imprisonment, suspended for two years.
He must carry out 200 hours of unpaid community work and pay £1,000 in costs.
The company pleaded guilty to failure to plan, manage and monitor works, contrary to regulation 13(2) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 207 and section 33(1)(c) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
Sentencing for 6699 Limited will take place at the Old Bailey on Thursday, July 28.

Read the original post here...

Further news stories about carbon monoxide can be found at this feed.

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via Blogger Builder Health And Safety Offences Leads To Carbon Monoxide Tragedy

Builder Health And Safety Offences Leads To Carbon Monoxide Tragedy

Tue, 31 May 2016 19:44:31 +0000

A builder in his 60s has been given a suspended prison sentence after building work resulted in the death of a business owner in Wandsworth Road.
Muhammad Javid Butt, 63, was found slumped against the wall of Taniya Dry Cleaners on October 5 2013.
Officers were called to the scene, where they noticed a strong smell of gas inside.
They left the drycleaners and Mr Butt, of Wensleydale Avenue, Ilford, to retrieve gas masks from their vehicle.
London Fire Brigade crews were called to help move Mr Butt outside before paramedics attempted to resuscitate him.
A post-mortem examination gave cause of death as carbon monoxide poisoning.
Tests of the property showed that the carbon monoxide levels were 10 times greater than the minimum level required to be toxic to humans.
Enquiries revealed the boiler’s external flume, used to ventilate fumes, had been cut back to about 5ft above the ceiling during building works undertaken by 6699 Limited.
Builder with the firm Keith ‘Bruno’ Morris’, 66, of Ackland House, Beckenham, admitted to cutting the the pipe to make it safer for the builders to work around.
The 66-year-old pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey on Friday, April 29 and was sentenced on Tuesday May 31 to eight months imprisonment, suspended for two years.
He must carry out 200 hours of unpaid community work and pay £1,000 in costs.
The company pleaded guilty to failure to plan, manage and monitor works, contrary to regulation 13(2) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 207 and section 33(1)(c) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
Sentencing for 6699 Limited will take place at the Old Bailey on Thursday, July 28.

Read the original post here...

Further news stories about carbon monoxide can be found at this feed.

The original article
can be viewed by clicking on this link

Outdoor Appliance Safety And Side Effects

Mon, 30 May 2016 16:02:04 +0000

The dangers of carbon monoxide are everywhere and while some of us are more aware, other people still do not understand where the dangers can come from, as can be see in the article below. For further help click here.

A Perth woman has suffered serious carbon monoxide poisoning after using a charcoal barbecue as a heater.
The incident has prompted health officials to warn against using outdoor appliances in enclosed areas.
Western Australia's chief health officer Tarun Weeramanthri said burning fuels or using unflued heaters in non-ventilated areas can cause poisoning, which can lead to serious tissue damage and death.
A Perth woman has suffered serious carbon monoxide poisoning after using a charcoal barbecue as a heater inside her home (stock image)
A Perth woman has suffered serious carbon monoxide poisoning after using a charcoal barbecue as a heater inside her home (stock image)
Western Australia's chief health officer Tarun Weeramanthri (pictured) said burning fuels or using unflued heaters in non-ventilated areas can cause poisoning, which can lead to serious tissue damage and death.
'Somebody who is intoxicated or sleeping can die from carbon monoxide poisoning without ever experiencing symptoms,' Professor Weeramanthri said, according to Perth Now.
'Anybody who believes they might be experiencing carbon monoxide poisoning should go outside immediately and not return inside until they have recovered completely.
'Once in the fresh air, recovery is usually fast so if this does not happen it is important to call Health Direct on 1800 022 222 or the Poisons Information Centre on 13 11 26.
CARBON MONOXIDE POISONING CASE STUDIES
In January 2011, a Queensland man died from suspected carbon monoxide poisoning caused by generator fumes while taking shelter from cyclone Yasi.
In 2009, a 43-year-old Sydney man died from carbon monoxide poisoning after using an outdoor charcoal barbeque inside his home.
During 2006-07, there were 365 public hospital cases for carbon monoxide poisonings recorded in Australia.
In the US around 30 deaths and 450 injuries each year are related to accidental carbon monoxide poisoning. Source: ACCC
The odourless, colourless and highly poisonous gas is produced by any fuel-burning appliance. Early symptoms include dizziness, nausea and confusion.
Carbon monoxide poisoning can cause heart disease and brain damage and is often deadly.

Read the full article at the Daily Mail

An interesting new development in further potential side effects of carbon monoxide poisoning. This time with a link to dementia as can be seen in the following article.

A CHARITY said an ‘urgent investigation’ is needed to see if there is a between carbon monoxide poisoning could cause dementia in a bid help protect the elderly and vulnerable people.
Carbon monoxide could be linked to dementia
Carbon monoxide is a colourless, odourless gas that can be toxic to humans and in large concentrations it is known to be a ‘stealth killer’.
The Gas Safety Trust has discussed carbon monoxide as being one of factors which could be affecting peoples’ cognitive function.
A study, published in the Emergency Medicine Journal has found 30 per cent of patients with acute carbon monoxide poisoning may experience the ’onset of neuropsychiatric symptoms’, including dementia.
It is also naturally produced within the body in small quantities, where it plays a number of important roles such as helping to regulate blood pressure.
Carbon monoxide is colourless and odourless
In the brain, carbon monoxide acts as a ‘chemical messenger’, helping nerve cells to communicate with each other.
Previous research has shown that people with Alzheimer’s have increased amounts of carbon monoxide in the brain, but it’s unclear whether this increase is a cause of damage or a result of disease processes.
But researchers from the University of Leeds have found that carbon monoxide found naturally in our bodies could help protect against damage from Alzheimer’s proteins.
Although fatal to people in large quantities, the study shows that the small amount of the gas present in our bodies may protect against the effects of the amyloid protein, a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease.
Symptoms of dementia include memory impairment
The research, first published in 2014, was funded by Alzheimer’s Research UK and Alzheimer’s Society with support from The Henry Smith Charity, and was published in the journal Cell Death and Disease.
The NIHR Clinical Research Network: West Midlands and the Gas Safety Trust held a roundtable discussion in Birmingham on May 25, to consider carbon monoxide poisoning and the elderly and potential areas for research funding.
The meeting looked in particular at carbon monoxide in relation to the impact on peoples’ cognitive function as well as potential links to dementia.
Chaired by Dr Susan Bews, an independent Gas Safety Trust trustee, the event brought together local clinicians and researchers who have ideas for research in the area.
Symptoms of dementia and CO poisoning are similar
Dr Susan Bews, Gas Safety Trust said: “It is clear that there is a lot that we still do not understand about a possible link between carbon monoxide poisoning and dementia.
"We had a lively and stimulating debate which the Gas Safety Trust hopes will lead to concrete, valuable and feasible research proposals.
“Elderly people represent one of the most vulnerable and at risk sections of society.
“With Public Health England projections suggesting that over one million people will have a diagnosis of dementia by 2025, it is clear that this discussion is both timely and urgently needed.
"It was very encouraging to hear the enthusiasm for further research into understanding the risks of low level carbon monoxide for the elderly and particularly the real commitment across a wide range of professionals to work together to reduce the risks for the more vulnerable, for example those with dementia.”

Read more of original publish at express.co.uk

Two great articles once again emphasising how dangerous carbon monoxide is to us and why it is imperative to stay aware and ensure the proper measurements are taken to protect our selves against co poisoning. Learn more about gas safety from here.

The article Outdoor Appliance Safety And Side Effects
can be viewed at this site

via Blogger Outdoor Appliance Safety And Side Effects

Outdoor Appliance Safety And Side Effects

Mon, 30 May 2016 15:19:30 +0000

A Perth woman has suffered serious carbon monoxide poisoning after using a charcoal barbecue as a heater.
The incident has prompted health officials to warn against using outdoor appliances in enclosed areas.
Western Australia's chief health officer Tarun Weeramanthri said burning fuels or using unflued heaters in non-ventilated areas can cause poisoning, which can lead to serious tissue damage and death.
A Perth woman has suffered serious carbon monoxide poisoning after using a charcoal barbecue as a heater inside her home (stock image)
A Perth woman has suffered serious carbon monoxide poisoning after using a charcoal barbecue as a heater inside her home (stock image)
Western Australia's chief health officer Tarun Weeramanthri (pictured) said burning fuels or using unflued heaters in non-ventilated areas can cause poisoning, which can lead to serious tissue damage and death.
'Somebody who is intoxicated or sleeping can die from carbon monoxide poisoning without ever experiencing symptoms,' Professor Weeramanthri said, according to Perth Now.
'Anybody who believes they might be experiencing carbon monoxide poisoning should go outside immediately and not return inside until they have recovered completely.
'Once in the fresh air, recovery is usually fast so if this does not happen it is important to call Health Direct on 1800 022 222 or the Poisons Information Centre on 13 11 26.
CARBON MONOXIDE POISONING CASE STUDIES
In January 2011, a Queensland man died from suspected carbon monoxide poisoning caused by generator fumes while taking shelter from cyclone Yasi.
In 2009, a 43-year-old Sydney man died from carbon monoxide poisoning after using an outdoor charcoal barbeque inside his home.
During 2006-07, there were 365 public hospital cases for carbon monoxide poisonings recorded in Australia.
In the US around 30 deaths and 450 injuries each year are related to accidental carbon monoxide poisoning. Source: ACCC
The odourless, colourless and highly poisonous gas is produced by any fuel-burning appliance. Early symptoms include dizziness, nausea and confusion.
Carbon monoxide poisoning can cause heart disease and brain damage and is often deadly.

Read the full article at the Daily Mail

An interesting new development in further potential side effects of carbon monoxide poisoning. This time with a link to dementia as can be seen in the following article.

A CHARITY said an ‘urgent investigation’ is needed to see if there is a between carbon monoxide poisoning could cause dementia in a bid help protect the elderly and vulnerable people.
Carbon monoxide could be linked to dementia
Carbon monoxide is a colourless, odourless gas that can be toxic to humans and in large concentrations it is known to be a ‘stealth killer’.
The Gas Safety Trust has discussed carbon monoxide as being one of factors which could be affecting peoples’ cognitive function.
A study, published in the Emergency Medicine Journal has found 30 per cent of patients with acute carbon monoxide poisoning may experience the ’onset of neuropsychiatric symptoms’, including dementia.
It is also naturally produced within the body in small quantities, where it plays a number of important roles such as helping to regulate blood pressure.
Carbon monoxide is colourless and odourless
In the brain, carbon monoxide acts as a ‘chemical messenger’, helping nerve cells to communicate with each other.
Previous research has shown that people with Alzheimer’s have increased amounts of carbon monoxide in the brain, but it’s unclear whether this increase is a cause of damage or a result of disease processes.
But researchers from the University of Leeds have found that carbon monoxide found naturally in our bodies could help protect against damage from Alzheimer’s proteins.
Although fatal to people in large quantities, the study shows that the small amount of the gas present in our bodies may protect against the effects of the amyloid protein, a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease.
Symptoms of dementia include memory impairment
The research, first published in 2014, was funded by Alzheimer’s Research UK and Alzheimer’s Society with support from The Henry Smith Charity, and was published in the journal Cell Death and Disease.
The NIHR Clinical Research Network: West Midlands and the Gas Safety Trust held a roundtable discussion in Birmingham on May 25, to consider carbon monoxide poisoning and the elderly and potential areas for research funding.
The meeting looked in particular at carbon monoxide in relation to the impact on peoples’ cognitive function as well as potential links to dementia.
Chaired by Dr Susan Bews, an independent Gas Safety Trust trustee, the event brought together local clinicians and researchers who have ideas for research in the area.
Symptoms of dementia and CO poisoning are similar
Dr Susan Bews, Gas Safety Trust said: “It is clear that there is a lot that we still do not understand about a possible link between carbon monoxide poisoning and dementia.
"We had a lively and stimulating debate which the Gas Safety Trust hopes will lead to concrete, valuable and feasible research proposals.
“Elderly people represent one of the most vulnerable and at risk sections of society.
“With Public Health England projections suggesting that over one million people will have a diagnosis of dementia by 2025, it is clear that this discussion is both timely and urgently needed.
"It was very encouraging to hear the enthusiasm for further research into understanding the risks of low level carbon monoxide for the elderly and particularly the real commitment across a wide range of professionals to work together to reduce the risks for the more vulnerable, for example those with dementia.”

Read more of original publish at express.co.uk

The article Outdoor Appliance Safety And Side Effects
can be viewed at this site

New Technologies In Carbon Monoxide Detection

Thu, 26 May 2016 20:31:08 +0000

Here are some interesting updates in the detection of carbon monoxide gases in the air. Being so difficult to detect, it requires special sensors and any update in this technology can only assist us all further. Get to know your device.

The detection of carbon monoxide (CO) in the air is a vital issue, as CO is a poisonous gas and an environmental pollutant. CO typically derives from the incomplete combustion of carbon-based fuels, such as cooking gas and gasoline; it has no odour, taste, or colour and hence it is difficult to detect. Scientists have been investigating sensors that can determine CO concentration, and a team from the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST), in tandem with the University of Toulouse, has found an innovative method to build such sensors.
As a tool for CO detection, scientists use extremely small wires: copper oxide nanowires. Copper oxide nanowires chemically react with CO, creating an electrical signal that can be used to quantify CO concentration. These nanowires are so thin that it is possible to fit more than 1,000 of them in the average thickness of a human hair.
Two issues have hampered the use of nanowires. "The first problem is the integration of nanowires into devices that are big enough to be handled and that can also be easily mass produced," said Prof Mukhles Sowwan, director of the Nanoparticles by Design Unit at OIST. "The second issue is the ability to control the number and position of nanowires in such devices." Both these difficulties might have been solved by Dr Stephan Steinhauer, postdoctoral scholar at OIST, together with Prof Sowwan, and researchers from the University of Toulouse. They recently published their research in the journal ACS Sensors.
"To create copper oxide nanowires, you need to heat neighbouring copper microstructures. Starting from the microstructures, the nanowires grow and bridge the gap between the microstructures, forming an electrical connection between them," Dr Steinhauer explained. "We integrated copper microstructures on a micro-hotplate, developed by the University of Toulouse. A micro-hotplate is a thin membrane that can heat up to several hundred Celsius degrees, but with very low power consumption." Thanks to the micro-hotplate, researchers have a high degree of control over the quantity and position of the nanowires. Also, the micro-hotplate provides scientists with data on the electrical signal that goes through the nanowires.
The final result is an exceptionally sensitive device, capable of detecting very low concentrations of CO. "Potentially, miniaturized CO sensors that integrate copper oxide nanowires with micro-hotplates are the first step towards the next generation of gas sensors," Prof Sowwan commented. "In contrast to other techniques, our approach is cost effective and suitable for mass production."
This new method could also help scientists in better understanding the sensor lifetime. The performance of a sensor decreases overtime, and this is a major issue in gas sensing. Data obtained with this method could help scientists in understanding the mechanisms behind such phenomenon, providing them with information that starts at the very beginning of the sensor lifetime.
Story Source:
The above post is reprinted from materials provided by Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University - OIST. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
Journal Reference:
Stephan Steinhauer, Audrey Chapelle, Philippe Menini, Mukhles Sowwan. Local CuO Nanowire Growth on Microhotplates: In Situ Electrical Measurements and Gas Sensing Application. ACS Sensors, 2016; DOI: 10.1021/acssensors.6b00042

The full article can be read at this post.

Hopefully we will start to see newer technologies in available carbon monoxide alarms in the near future. Stay up to date at the ccmd blogspot.

Original post is available for viewing at this website

via Blogger New Technologies In Carbon Monoxide Detection

New Technologies In Carbon Monoxide Detection

Thu, 26 May 2016 20:15:08 +0000

The detection of carbon monoxide (CO) in the air is a vital issue, as CO is a poisonous gas and an environmental pollutant. CO typically derives from the incomplete combustion of carbon-based fuels, such as cooking gas and gasoline; it has no odour, taste, or colour and hence it is difficult to detect. Scientists have been investigating sensors that can determine CO concentration, and a team from the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST), in tandem with the University of Toulouse, has found an innovative method to build such sensors.
As a tool for CO detection, scientists use extremely small wires: copper oxide nanowires. Copper oxide nanowires chemically react with CO, creating an electrical signal that can be used to quantify CO concentration. These nanowires are so thin that it is possible to fit more than 1,000 of them in the average thickness of a human hair.
Two issues have hampered the use of nanowires. "The first problem is the integration of nanowires into devices that are big enough to be handled and that can also be easily mass produced," said Prof Mukhles Sowwan, director of the Nanoparticles by Design Unit at OIST. "The second issue is the ability to control the number and position of nanowires in such devices." Both these difficulties might have been solved by Dr Stephan Steinhauer, postdoctoral scholar at OIST, together with Prof Sowwan, and researchers from the University of Toulouse. They recently published their research in the journal ACS Sensors.
"To create copper oxide nanowires, you need to heat neighbouring copper microstructures. Starting from the microstructures, the nanowires grow and bridge the gap between the microstructures, forming an electrical connection between them," Dr Steinhauer explained. "We integrated copper microstructures on a micro-hotplate, developed by the University of Toulouse. A micro-hotplate is a thin membrane that can heat up to several hundred Celsius degrees, but with very low power consumption." Thanks to the micro-hotplate, researchers have a high degree of control over the quantity and position of the nanowires. Also, the micro-hotplate provides scientists with data on the electrical signal that goes through the nanowires.
The final result is an exceptionally sensitive device, capable of detecting very low concentrations of CO. "Potentially, miniaturized CO sensors that integrate copper oxide nanowires with micro-hotplates are the first step towards the next generation of gas sensors," Prof Sowwan commented. "In contrast to other techniques, our approach is cost effective and suitable for mass production."
This new method could also help scientists in better understanding the sensor lifetime. The performance of a sensor decreases overtime, and this is a major issue in gas sensing. Data obtained with this method could help scientists in understanding the mechanisms behind such phenomenon, providing them with information that starts at the very beginning of the sensor lifetime.
Story Source:
The above post is reprinted from materials provided by Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University - OIST. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
Journal Reference:
Stephan Steinhauer, Audrey Chapelle, Philippe Menini, Mukhles Sowwan. Local CuO Nanowire Growth on Microhotplates: In Situ Electrical Measurements and Gas Sensing Application. ACS Sensors, 2016; DOI: 10.1021/acssensors.6b00042

The full article can be read at this post.

Hopefully we will start to see newer technologies in available carbon monoxide alarms in the near future. Stay up to date at the ccmd blogspot.

Original post is available for viewing at this website

The importance of having a co detector

Tue, 24 May 2016 18:12:49 +0000

Having a carbon monoxide detector installed in the home is definitely a life saver. Here we have yet another news story about how this device can save lives. Please read and learn and connect on Facebook or Twitter.

REXBURG, Idaho — It was a normal Sunday for Chris and Julia Marcum. They ate breakfast and spent some time playing with their young daughters before church.
What they didn’t know was there was an invisible danger lurking in their home and it’s likely a small detector saved their lives.
“At first I couldn’t really find what the noise was,” Chris Marcum tells EastIdahoNews.com. “We actually had recently purchased our carbon monoxide detector like a month and a half ago.”
The detector was left forgotten in the Marcum’s furnace room until Sunday, May 15 when carbon monoxide levels became life threatening and the alarm started to sound.
“My husband was like, ‘Everyone get out of the house,'” Julie Marcum says. “I got the baby up from her nap, grabbed the dog and my six-year-old was already outside crying. I think she thought our house was on fire.”
The Madison County Fire Department responded to the house and found the furnace was leaking carbon monoxide.
“It still feels kind of surreal – like we were actually in danger,” Chris says. “That day felt like just a normal day and there was nothing special about it. That’s how it would have felt even if we didn’t have it (the detector), I’m grateful that we did get the detector when we did.”
Madison County assistant fire chief Mikel Walker says this situation is a reminder of how important it is that gas appliances are installed properly and maintained.
“Make sure that your stuff is vented, your furnace is vented properly and your gas stove is vented if it has a chimney,” Walker says. “If your alarm goes off, open your windows, call the fire department, exit the house and protect yourself.”
The Marcum’s two-year-old daughter did get sick from the carbon monoxide but she has recovered and is doing well now.
The family says they’re grateful to be alive and hope those who don’t have smoke detectors will consider getting the life-saving tools.

Original posted here -

http://fox4kc.com/2016/05/23/brand-new-carbon-monoxide-detector-saves-familys-life/

Great news for Barrie in Canada with the fire service having been given more than 100 CO alarms for distribution to help with the battle against carbon monoxide. Install your sensor as soon as possible

(STAFF) - The Barrie Fire & Emergency Service received a special lifesaving delivery Friday morning.
The service received a donation of more than 100 carbon monoxide detectors courtesy of the Insurance Bureau of Canada.
Barrie MPP Ann Hoggarth was on hand, along with the bureau's manager of government relations, Matt Hiraishi, to do the honours at the service's Dunlop Street headquarters.
The donation is part of an awareness campaign regarding the dozens of deaths each year in Canada attributed to the deadly gas.
In 2013, the province passed Bill 77- The Hawkins Gignac Act making CO detectors mandatory in all homes heated by fossil fuels, or have an attached garage.
The legislation was named in honour of Richard and Laurie Hawkins and their two children who died as a result of CO poisoning in 2008. Laurie Hawkins was an OPP officer. Their Woodstock home did not have a CO detector.
Thanks to @AnnHoggarthMPP & @InsuranceBureau for donation of 100+ #CO alarms. #WeAreGoingToMakeTheSilentKillerNoisy pic.twitter.com/DRp5ao0fKw
— Barrie Fire (@Barrie_Fire) May 20, 2016
"What we are doing today reinforces Ontario's role as this country's public safety leader," said Hoggarth. "Our message is simple: If you don't have a CO alarm in your home, get one. It might end up being one of the most important decisions you make."
The city fire service plans to distribute the detectors during an awareness week in October.
"As we head into the first long weekend of the cottage season, it's important to remember that the only way to make the silent killer noisy is with a working carbon monoxide alarm," said Barrie Fire Chief Bill Boyes, adding alarms should also should be installed at the cottage or trailer.
To date, Hiraishi said more than 60,000 alarms have been donated in more than 60 communities provincewide.
Facts:
More than 50 people die each year from CO poisoning in Canada, including 11 on average in Ontario
Residents have a responsibility to know about the dangers of CO and that an alarm is a good second line of defence, but not a substitute for the proper care and maintenance of fuel burning appliances.

Continue reading this article here...

It is time to take carbon monoxide seriously and not to carry on thinking it won't happen to you. Visit the news feed here for more help.

The source of The importance of having a co detector is seen at cheapcarbonmonoxidedetector.com

via Blogger The importance of having a co detector

The importance of having a co detector

Tue, 24 May 2016 17:26:47 +0000

REXBURG, Idaho — It was a normal Sunday for Chris and Julia Marcum. They ate breakfast and spent some time playing with their young daughters before church.
What they didn’t know was there was an invisible danger lurking in their home and it’s likely a small detector saved their lives.
“At first I couldn’t really find what the noise was,” Chris Marcum tells EastIdahoNews.com. “We actually had recently purchased our carbon monoxide detector like a month and a half ago.”
The detector was left forgotten in the Marcum’s furnace room until Sunday, May 15 when carbon monoxide levels became life threatening and the alarm started to sound.
“My husband was like, ‘Everyone get out of the house,'” Julie Marcum says. “I got the baby up from her nap, grabbed the dog and my six-year-old was already outside crying. I think she thought our house was on fire.”
The Madison County Fire Department responded to the house and found the furnace was leaking carbon monoxide.
“It still feels kind of surreal – like we were actually in danger,” Chris says. “That day felt like just a normal day and there was nothing special about it. That’s how it would have felt even if we didn’t have it (the detector), I’m grateful that we did get the detector when we did.”
Madison County assistant fire chief Mikel Walker says this situation is a reminder of how important it is that gas appliances are installed properly and maintained.
“Make sure that your stuff is vented, your furnace is vented properly and your gas stove is vented if it has a chimney,” Walker says. “If your alarm goes off, open your windows, call the fire department, exit the house and protect yourself.”
The Marcum’s two-year-old daughter did get sick from the carbon monoxide but she has recovered and is doing well now.
The family says they’re grateful to be alive and hope those who don’t have smoke detectors will consider getting the life-saving tools.

Original posted here -

http://fox4kc.com/2016/05/23/brand-new-carbon-monoxide-detector-saves-familys-life/

(STAFF) - The Barrie Fire & Emergency Service received a special lifesaving delivery Friday morning.
The service received a donation of more than 100 carbon monoxide detectors courtesy of the Insurance Bureau of Canada.
Barrie MPP Ann Hoggarth was on hand, along with the bureau's manager of government relations, Matt Hiraishi, to do the honours at the service's Dunlop Street headquarters.
The donation is part of an awareness campaign regarding the dozens of deaths each year in Canada attributed to the deadly gas.
In 2013, the province passed Bill 77- The Hawkins Gignac Act making CO detectors mandatory in all homes heated by fossil fuels, or have an attached garage.
The legislation was named in honour of Richard and Laurie Hawkins and their two children who died as a result of CO poisoning in 2008. Laurie Hawkins was an OPP officer. Their Woodstock home did not have a CO detector.
Thanks to @AnnHoggarthMPP & @InsuranceBureau for donation of 100+ #CO alarms. #WeAreGoingToMakeTheSilentKillerNoisy pic.twitter.com/DRp5ao0fKw
— Barrie Fire (@Barrie_Fire) May 20, 2016
"What we are doing today reinforces Ontario's role as this country's public safety leader," said Hoggarth. "Our message is simple: If you don't have a CO alarm in your home, get one. It might end up being one of the most important decisions you make."
The city fire service plans to distribute the detectors during an awareness week in October.
"As we head into the first long weekend of the cottage season, it's important to remember that the only way to make the silent killer noisy is with a working carbon monoxide alarm," said Barrie Fire Chief Bill Boyes, adding alarms should also should be installed at the cottage or trailer.
To date, Hiraishi said more than 60,000 alarms have been donated in more than 60 communities provincewide.
Facts:
More than 50 people die each year from CO poisoning in Canada, including 11 on average in Ontario
Residents have a responsibility to know about the dangers of CO and that an alarm is a good second line of defence, but not a substitute for the proper care and maintenance of fuel burning appliances.

Continue reading this article here...

It is time to take carbon monoxide seriously and not to carry on thinking it won't happen to you. Visit the news feed here for more help.

The source of The importance of having a co detector is seen at cheapcarbonmonoxidedetector.com

Council putting lives at risk by dodging carbon monoxide detector rules critics argue

Sun, 22 May 2016 15:53:29 +0000

For a while now, it has been law for landlords to fit carbon monoxide alarms in their rented properties, a long with smoke alarms. However, it looks like councils can get away with this. Although some are fitting CO detectors regardless, others are avoiding the expense, see the article below. Rss feed news here.

A COUNCIL has been accused of dodging its own rules and risking tenants’ safety by failing to fit carbon monoxide detectors in its housing stock.
During a cabinet meeting last month, Castle Point Council introduced Government legislation stating that private landlords need to fit detectors in properties with a solid fuel burning appliance.
Landlords breaching the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm Regulations 2015 can be fined up to £5,000.
A loophole means that council homes are exempt from the regulations.
However, Basildon Council and South Essex Homes, which manages Southend Council’s housing stock, have both installed the detectors anyway.
Rochford Housing Association, which bought Rochford Council’s housing supply in 2007, said it has also has fitted them to all properties.
A Castle Point council spokesman told the Echo it is considering installing the detectors in light of the new legislation.
She said: “The council housing stock does not come under the legislation which has recently been introduced for properties available in the private rental sector.
“However, whilst we don’t currently have carbon monoxide detectors in our properties we are considering a programme of works to implement these within relevant properties.
“In the meantime we have a very proactive programme of regular gas safety checks across all our properties where gas is installed, whereby the annual checks are now undertaken on a rolling ten month basis.”
“We have also committed to an extensive programme of boiler replacements which commenced last year to bring all our boilers to a better standard.”
Dave Blackwell, leader of the Canvey Independent Party, said he is disappointed the authority is “taking a chance with residents’ safety.”
He has urged the council to act quickly to resolve the issue.

Read the full article at the published source here...

While we have some councils, perhaps, shirking their responsibilities in fitting co alarms, the Shropshire fire and rescue service have recently launched a campaign to raise the awareness of carbon monoxide poisoning, see below. Learn more at our Tumblr blog.

Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service has launched a campaign aimed at raising awareness of carbon monoxide poisoning. Laura Kavanagh-Jones from SFRS’s Prevention team said: “Carbon Monoxide is a deadly gas that you can’t see, smell or taste.
Too many people are dying or suffering needlessly from carbon monoxide poisoning. That’s why I am urging every resident in Shropshire to make sure they and their loved ones are protected by installing an audible carbon monoxide alarm.”
Carbon monoxide is produced when fuels such as gas, oil, charcoal, coal and wood do not burn completely. The most common cause of this is when an appliance, such as a boiler or cooker, is installed incorrectly or poorly maintained.
The deadly gas can also build up when flues, chimneys or vents are blocked. As carbon monoxide has no smell, colour or taste and can seep through walls, installing an audible alarm that sounds when the gas is present is the only way to make sure you are protected.
The gas can be produced by any fuel-burning appliance – such as a boiler, cooker or fire – which is faulty or doesn’t have adequate ventilation.

Full article can be read here...

What we can conclude is that having any kind of carbon monoxide device in the household and workplace is vitally important. One of these safety devices can save lives so buy yours as soon as possible.

This artiicle is available for viewing at this site

via Blogger Council putting lives at risk by dodging carbon monoxide detector rules, critics argue

Council putting lives at risk by dodging carbon monoxide detector rules, critics argue

Sun, 22 May 2016 14:52:11 +0000

A COUNCIL has been accused of dodging its own rules and risking tenants’ safety by failing to fit carbon monoxide detectors in its housing stock.
During a cabinet meeting last month, Castle Point Council introduced Government legislation stating that private landlords need to fit detectors in properties with a solid fuel burning appliance.
Landlords breaching the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm Regulations 2015 can be fined up to £5,000.
A loophole means that council homes are exempt from the regulations.
However, Basildon Council and South Essex Homes, which manages Southend Council’s housing stock, have both installed the detectors anyway.
Rochford Housing Association, which bought Rochford Council’s housing supply in 2007, said it has also has fitted them to all properties.
A Castle Point council spokesman told the Echo it is considering installing the detectors in light of the new legislation.
She said: “The council housing stock does not come under the legislation which has recently been introduced for properties available in the private rental sector.
“However, whilst we don’t currently have carbon monoxide detectors in our properties we are considering a programme of works to implement these within relevant properties.
“In the meantime we have a very proactive programme of regular gas safety checks across all our properties where gas is installed, whereby the annual checks are now undertaken on a rolling ten month basis.”
“We have also committed to an extensive programme of boiler replacements which commenced last year to bring all our boilers to a better standard.”
Dave Blackwell, leader of the Canvey Independent Party, said he is disappointed the authority is “taking a chance with residents’ safety.”
He has urged the council to act quickly to resolve the issue.

Read the full article at the published source here...

Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service has launched a campaign aimed at raising awareness of carbon monoxide poisoning. Laura Kavanagh-Jones from SFRS’s Prevention team said: “Carbon Monoxide is a deadly gas that you can’t see, smell or taste.
Too many people are dying or suffering needlessly from carbon monoxide poisoning. That’s why I am urging every resident in Shropshire to make sure they and their loved ones are protected by installing an audible carbon monoxide alarm.”
Carbon monoxide is produced when fuels such as gas, oil, charcoal, coal and wood do not burn completely. The most common cause of this is when an appliance, such as a boiler or cooker, is installed incorrectly or poorly maintained.
The deadly gas can also build up when flues, chimneys or vents are blocked. As carbon monoxide has no smell, colour or taste and can seep through walls, installing an audible alarm that sounds when the gas is present is the only way to make sure you are protected.
The gas can be produced by any fuel-burning appliance – such as a boiler, cooker or fire – which is faulty or doesn’t have adequate ventilation.

Full article can be read here...

This artiicle is available for viewing at this site

How carbon monoxide detectors work

Fri, 20 May 2016 21:36:18 +0000

This is a great article posted on the cnet.com website, giving details about how carbon monoxide detectors work. It also looks at why CO is so dangerous and breaks down what the alarms are doing when they detect CO gases in the environment . More CO blog posts available on Medium.

How carbon monoxide detectors work
Carbon monoxide is a killer. This colorless, odorless gas is a normal side product of the combustion of things such as the gas or oil that heats your house. Normally, this is only released in very small amounts and is dispersed into the atmosphere through a vent or chimney. However, if a heater is only partially burning fuel or there isn't enough ventilation, it can quickly become a problem, because even small amounts can be fatal. That's why laws were passed that required carbon monoxide detectors to be fitted to most homes, offices and other buildings. Let's look at how these devices detect this stealthy killer.
How carbon monoxide kills
Carbon monoxide is a stealthy killer. An amount as low as 10 parts per million (ppm) can cause headaches, and 600 ppm levels can quickly lead to unconsciousness and, eventually, death. That's how it kills most people: it puts them to sleep, then kills them while they sleep. The effect of low concentrations mounts over time, with even a very low concentration causing adverse effects if you are exposed for long enough. That's because of the sneaky way it harms the body.
Carbon monoxide blocks the ability of your blood to carry oxygen, replacing the spot that oxygen takes on the hemoglobin in your red blood cells. This iron-rich compound is how your blood carries oxygen around the body, and carbon monoxide bonds to hemoglobin much tighter than oxygen alone. Over time, as more and more hemoglobin is blocked from doing its job by carbon monoxide, your blood just can't carry enough oxygen to keep your tissues going, especially the brain. They begin to fail, causing headaches, nausea, unconsciousness, and eventually, death.
How carbon monoxide detectors work

There are several different ways to detect carbon monoxide, but most home carbon monoxide detectors use an electrochemical sensor. These rely on how the behavior of a chemical changes when carbon monoxide is around.
Inside the carbon monoxide alarm is a small sensor with three electrodes on it. These three electrodes lead into a container of a chemical called the electrolyte. This container is gas permeable, meaning that gas from the atmosphere can pass freely into and out of it. A small voltage is applied between two of the electrodes (called the working and the reference electrodes). When carbon monoxide enters the sensor, it reacts with the oxygen also present in the atmosphere, releasing an electron and creating a small current between the electrodes. Some sensors use electrodes coated with platinum or other metals that catalyze the reaction of carbon monoxide and oxygen, helping it to happen quicker than it would normally.
This small current is what a carbon monoxide detector is looking for. It uses this to measure the amount of carbon monoxide: the more of it there is in the air, the more current the sensor generates. Some sensors show you the carbon monoxide level on a display: a useful feature that helps to reassure that the sensor is working. When the current (and thus the carbon monoxide level) has reached a certain level, it triggers the alarm. Typically, they will sound the alarm immediately if they measure a level of above 400 ppm.
It isn't just a case of raising the alarm once the amount goes over a certain level, though. As well as warning you if the level of carbon monoxide suddenly rises, a carbon monoxide detector should also warn you if it detects a low level over a long period, because this could indicate that the carbon monoxide being produced by a heater or other combustion source is not being dissipated as it should. Typically, a good carbon monoxide alarm will warn you if it detects a level of above 20 ppm for longer than a couple of hours.

Read the full article here How Carbon Monoxide Detectors Work ,originally published on Cnet.com

Please continue reading the article at the above link as it gives even further understanding of carbon monoxide and hopefully, once again, highlights the dangers of this gas. Having a working carbon monoxide alarm is critical in maintaining your household safety, choose yours today.

Original post
can be see at this post

via Blogger How carbon monoxide detectors work

How carbon monoxide detectors work

Fri, 20 May 2016 19:30:28 +0000

How carbon monoxide detectors work
Carbon monoxide is a killer. This colorless, odorless gas is a normal side product of the combustion of things such as the gas or oil that heats your house. Normally, this is only released in very small amounts and is dispersed into the atmosphere through a vent or chimney. However, if a heater is only partially burning fuel or there isn't enough ventilation, it can quickly become a problem, because even small amounts can be fatal. That's why laws were passed that required carbon monoxide detectors to be fitted to most homes, offices and other buildings. Let's look at how these devices detect this stealthy killer.
How carbon monoxide kills
Carbon monoxide is a stealthy killer. An amount as low as 10 parts per million (ppm) can cause headaches, and 600 ppm levels can quickly lead to unconsciousness and, eventually, death. That's how it kills most people: it puts them to sleep, then kills them while they sleep. The effect of low concentrations mounts over time, with even a very low concentration causing adverse effects if you are exposed for long enough. That's because of the sneaky way it harms the body.
Carbon monoxide blocks the ability of your blood to carry oxygen, replacing the spot that oxygen takes on the hemoglobin in your red blood cells. This iron-rich compound is how your blood carries oxygen around the body, and carbon monoxide bonds to hemoglobin much tighter than oxygen alone. Over time, as more and more hemoglobin is blocked from doing its job by carbon monoxide, your blood just can't carry enough oxygen to keep your tissues going, especially the brain. They begin to fail, causing headaches, nausea, unconsciousness, and eventually, death.
How carbon monoxide detectors work

There are several different ways to detect carbon monoxide, but most home carbon monoxide detectors use an electrochemical sensor. These rely on how the behavior of a chemical changes when carbon monoxide is around.
Inside the carbon monoxide alarm is a small sensor with three electrodes on it. These three electrodes lead into a container of a chemical called the electrolyte. This container is gas permeable, meaning that gas from the atmosphere can pass freely into and out of it. A small voltage is applied between two of the electrodes (called the working and the reference electrodes). When carbon monoxide enters the sensor, it reacts with the oxygen also present in the atmosphere, releasing an electron and creating a small current between the electrodes. Some sensors use electrodes coated with platinum or other metals that catalyze the reaction of carbon monoxide and oxygen, helping it to happen quicker than it would normally.
This small current is what a carbon monoxide detector is looking for. It uses this to measure the amount of carbon monoxide: the more of it there is in the air, the more current the sensor generates. Some sensors show you the carbon monoxide level on a display: a useful feature that helps to reassure that the sensor is working. When the current (and thus the carbon monoxide level) has reached a certain level, it triggers the alarm. Typically, they will sound the alarm immediately if they measure a level of above 400 ppm.
It isn't just a case of raising the alarm once the amount goes over a certain level, though. As well as warning you if the level of carbon monoxide suddenly rises, a carbon monoxide detector should also warn you if it detects a low level over a long period, because this could indicate that the carbon monoxide being produced by a heater or other combustion source is not being dissipated as it should. Typically, a good carbon monoxide alarm will warn you if it detects a level of above 20 ppm for longer than a couple of hours.

Read the full article here How Carbon Monoxide Detectors Work ,originally published on Cnet.com

Original post
can be see at this post

Father of teacher killed by carbon monoxide poisoning calls for national campaign

Wed, 18 May 2016 20:16:53 +0000

A great concept that we wholly agree with. There is not enough awareness when it comes to carbon monoxide poisoning, especially when other things are on our mind like of the young woman in the story below. Moving abroad or just moving in general, as well as holidays can mean our guard is down when it comes to CO safety. It is important to remain aware at all times, read the article and get behind the campaign. Read our blog for more CO safety information

Father of teacher killed by carbon monoxide poisoning calls for national campaign
A man whose daughter was killed by carbon monoxide poisoning has called for greater awareness among Brits abroad.
Mark Dingley spoke at Westminster last week at an event convened by the All Party Parliamentary Carbon Monoxide Group (APPCOG).
Mr Dingley’s daughter Francesca died in Chengdu, China, in February 2015 aged 22, having just moved to the country to start work as an English teacher.
She was killed in her flat by carbon monoxide fumes from an incorrectly installed water heater.
Mr Dingley urged for alarms to be seen as “essential” travel items and for the industry to do more to encourage the public to take detectors with them when they go abroad.
He said: “People die needlessly from carbon monoxide simply because they know nothing about it.
“Educating the general population is key, the government, travel industry and energy suppliers could all do far more to raise awareness.
“We would like to see prominent and robust warnings in government travel advice, at airports and in ferry terminals, in railway and bus stations, in holiday brochures and on travel websites. Detectors should be available in the shops at airports and ferry terminals as well as in the travel sections of large retailers.”
Mr Dingley called for a national advertising campaign, and said advice on government websites must be delivered more forcefully.
On its website, the Foreign Office recommends those living in China should ensure their home contains a working carbon monoxide alarm.
David Burrowes, MP for Enfield Southgate and APPCOG member, said: "I was pleased to bring the Dingley family's tragic loss to the attention of Parliament so that vital lifesaving lessons are learned.
“We are calling for action from the travel industry to make holiday and longer stay destinations safer, and for more awareness about the risks amongst the wider population, in order to empower people to protect themselves from the silent killer, both at home and abroad.

Please read the full article here...

All of us should be remaining aware, not just for ourselves but also for friends and family. You, or someone you know is probably going on holiday some time soon. Ensure they are aware of the risks of carbon monoxide when staying in hotels or camping. You can take a carbon monoxide alarm with you. Many places do not have the strict regulations this country has or have things made to British standard and you cannot rely on the hope that other people have done their jobs correctly. Mistakes do happen, don't let this kind of tragedy happen to you. Carbon monoxide news stories here.

Source of article
can be viewed by clicking here

via Blogger Father of teacher killed by carbon monoxide poisoning calls for national campaign

Father of teacher killed by carbon monoxide poisoning calls for national campaign

Wed, 18 May 2016 19:30:35 +0000

Father of teacher killed by carbon monoxide poisoning calls for national campaign
A man whose daughter was killed by carbon monoxide poisoning has called for greater awareness among Brits abroad.
Mark Dingley spoke at Westminster last week at an event convened by the All Party Parliamentary Carbon Monoxide Group (APPCOG).
Mr Dingley’s daughter Francesca died in Chengdu, China, in February 2015 aged 22, having just moved to the country to start work as an English teacher.
She was killed in her flat by carbon monoxide fumes from an incorrectly installed water heater.
Mr Dingley urged for alarms to be seen as “essential” travel items and for the industry to do more to encourage the public to take detectors with them when they go abroad.
He said: “People die needlessly from carbon monoxide simply because they know nothing about it.
“Educating the general population is key, the government, travel industry and energy suppliers could all do far more to raise awareness.
“We would like to see prominent and robust warnings in government travel advice, at airports and in ferry terminals, in railway and bus stations, in holiday brochures and on travel websites. Detectors should be available in the shops at airports and ferry terminals as well as in the travel sections of large retailers.”
Mr Dingley called for a national advertising campaign, and said advice on government websites must be delivered more forcefully.
On its website, the Foreign Office recommends those living in China should ensure their home contains a working carbon monoxide alarm.
David Burrowes, MP for Enfield Southgate and APPCOG member, said: "I was pleased to bring the Dingley family's tragic loss to the attention of Parliament so that vital lifesaving lessons are learned.
“We are calling for action from the travel industry to make holiday and longer stay destinations safer, and for more awareness about the risks amongst the wider population, in order to empower people to protect themselves from the silent killer, both at home and abroad.

Please read the full article here...

Source of article
can be viewed by clicking here

Firefighters And Carbon Monoxide

Sun, 15 May 2016 21:01:31 +0000

Carbon monoxide does not just come from faulty fuel burning appliances, it can be generated in a number of different ways and can target various people just there to do their jobs. The following article reviews how firefighters can be exposed to carbon monoxide poisoning, more articles available here.

How carbon monoxide kills firefighters
Understanding how carbon monoxide attacks the body is the first step in protecting against it
While looking for an SOP on a large metropolitan fire department's website, I stumbled across something unrelated that caught my eye. This SOP was from a fire department I highly respect as leaders in safety and employee health.
To my surprise I noticed an SOP allowing for firefighters to remove their SCBA if the carbon monoxide level is less than 50 ppm in the sampling. It is commendable that a fire agency is addressing the exposure of CO and following OSHA's permissible exposure limit of 50 parts per million over an 8-hour time frame.
Operational SOPs really need to look at the science and at the long-term and chronic exposure issues involving CO.
There has been excellent work done to identify the risk associated with CO from a knock down or acute illness standpoint. Yet some of the finer details are often missed in the attempt to get the message across.
This is due to a lack of surveillance on exposures and patient outcomes by federal agencies. It's especially true when it comes to firefighters, as only a handful of NIOSH and NIST investigators really understand the fire service's challenges with exposures to chemicals and suppression activities.
Many of these findings don't make it into rehab policies. Therefore, the two insidious effects of exposure to carbon monoxide often go unrecognized in the fire service.
Hemoglobin geometry
The first of these relates to molecular change. Somewhere in EMT training you learned that CO has an affinity for hemoglobin 150 to 200 times higher than oxygen depending on the source.
What escapes a lot of educational programs on this is that when CO binds to hemoglobin, it also changes the geometry of the hemoglobin molecule.
The normal geometry of the hemoglobin molecule carrying oxygen and carbon dioxide is designed to travel swiftly and unobstructed through our blood vessels and capillary beds, even passing around the changes in arteries and veins as they become embedded with plaque.
The geometrical change in hemoglobin caused by carbon monoxide makes it harder to pass swiftly through the blood vessels and lends itself to clumping together, resulting often in a clot or obstruction. And the geometry change tends to make it sticky.
Couple this with someone with underlying heart disease and the other fire gases that can stop cellular activity and trigger low blood pressure, and you have a line of duty death categorized as cardiac when in fact it maybe toxicology related.
There is suspicion the extended time CO stays in the blood stream maybe be a causal factor in day-later deaths.
A radical CO
A second carbon monoxide lurking on the fire scene is known as CO in the radical form. If you have taken a fire chemistry course, one of the principle concepts is the formation of compounds or elements that are called free radicals.
Free radicals are atoms or groups of atoms with an odd (unpaired) number of electrons and can form when oxygen interacts with certain molecules. Fire often provides the environment that uses oxygen to create these free radicals.
Once formed, these highly reactive radicals can start a chain reaction damaging cells, tissue and organs. Free radicals like carbon monoxide like to attack tissue and cells.
A favorite target for the radical CO is the myelin sheath of a nerve cell.
A myelin sheath is like the insulation on a wire; it ensures the electricity or nerve impulse gets to site of where it is used. When a wire's insulation has a hole in it, the electrical signal is interrupted or delayed, often going somewhere it should not.

The full article can be read here...

Most of us only learn of carbon monoxide when we are exposed to it in our homes but it is often the fire brigade that is a port of call when these situations are triggered. Below, residents had lucky escape thanks to firefighters discovered elevated carbon monoxide levels in these homes.

Carbon-monoxide levels spike; residents 'lucky' they were out
Leominster Fire Department Lt. Jay Leblanc measures the airflow around the door of a home on 23 Fairmont St. that was found to have dangerously high levels of carbon monoxide leaking from a broken exhaust pipe on a heating unit. SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE / SCOTT LAPRADE
LEOMINSTER - When firefighters responded to a call of elevated carbonmonoxide levels at a three-family home Wednesday morning, they were relieved to find no one home after detecting extremely high levels of the deadly gas.
"They were lucky," Deputy Fire Chief Scott Cordio about residents of the triple-decker at 23 Fairmont St. "If anyone was in the home, the situation could have been very dangerous."
Carbon-monoxide levels in the home were measured by responding firefighters at 500 parts per million, he said. The state considers levels below 9 parts per million to be safe.
Cordio said the department was alerted to the problem when the homeowners went to check on the unoccupied first-floor unit after hearing the carbon- monoxide detectors going off.

Read the full article on this page
We cannot always rely on the fire service to be there for us or to find carbon monoxide leaks in time. It is on ourselves to look after our households and work places to ensure everyone in our surroundings is safe from CO poisoning and to test our carbon monoxide alarms

The full article
can be viewed by clicking this link

via Blogger Firefighters And Carbon Monoxide

Firefighters And Carbon Monoxide

Sun, 15 May 2016 20:32:04 +0000

How carbon monoxide kills firefighters
Understanding how carbon monoxide attacks the body is the first step in protecting against it
While looking for an SOP on a large metropolitan fire department's website, I stumbled across something unrelated that caught my eye. This SOP was from a fire department I highly respect as leaders in safety and employee health.
To my surprise I noticed an SOP allowing for firefighters to remove their SCBA if the carbon monoxide level is less than 50 ppm in the sampling. It is commendable that a fire agency is addressing the exposure of CO and following OSHA's permissible exposure limit of 50 parts per million over an 8-hour time frame.
Operational SOPs really need to look at the science and at the long-term and chronic exposure issues involving CO.
There has been excellent work done to identify the risk associated with CO from a knock down or acute illness standpoint. Yet some of the finer details are often missed in the attempt to get the message across.
This is due to a lack of surveillance on exposures and patient outcomes by federal agencies. It's especially true when it comes to firefighters, as only a handful of NIOSH and NIST investigators really understand the fire service's challenges with exposures to chemicals and suppression activities.
Many of these findings don't make it into rehab policies. Therefore, the two insidious effects of exposure to carbon monoxide often go unrecognized in the fire service.
Hemoglobin geometry
The first of these relates to molecular change. Somewhere in EMT training you learned that CO has an affinity for hemoglobin 150 to 200 times higher than oxygen depending on the source.
What escapes a lot of educational programs on this is that when CO binds to hemoglobin, it also changes the geometry of the hemoglobin molecule.
The normal geometry of the hemoglobin molecule carrying oxygen and carbon dioxide is designed to travel swiftly and unobstructed through our blood vessels and capillary beds, even passing around the changes in arteries and veins as they become embedded with plaque.
The geometrical change in hemoglobin caused by carbon monoxide makes it harder to pass swiftly through the blood vessels and lends itself to clumping together, resulting often in a clot or obstruction. And the geometry change tends to make it sticky.
Couple this with someone with underlying heart disease and the other fire gases that can stop cellular activity and trigger low blood pressure, and you have a line of duty death categorized as cardiac when in fact it maybe toxicology related.
There is suspicion the extended time CO stays in the blood stream maybe be a causal factor in day-later deaths.
A radical CO
A second carbon monoxide lurking on the fire scene is known as CO in the radical form. If you have taken a fire chemistry course, one of the principle concepts is the formation of compounds or elements that are called free radicals.
Free radicals are atoms or groups of atoms with an odd (unpaired) number of electrons and can form when oxygen interacts with certain molecules. Fire often provides the environment that uses oxygen to create these free radicals.
Once formed, these highly reactive radicals can start a chain reaction damaging cells, tissue and organs. Free radicals like carbon monoxide like to attack tissue and cells.
A favorite target for the radical CO is the myelin sheath of a nerve cell.
A myelin sheath is like the insulation on a wire; it ensures the electricity or nerve impulse gets to site of where it is used. When a wire's insulation has a hole in it, the electrical signal is interrupted or delayed, often going somewhere it should not.

The full article can be read here...

Carbon-monoxide levels spike; residents 'lucky' they were out
Leominster Fire Department Lt. Jay Leblanc measures the airflow around the door of a home on 23 Fairmont St. that was found to have dangerously high levels of carbon monoxide leaking from a broken exhaust pipe on a heating unit. SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE / SCOTT LAPRADE
LEOMINSTER - When firefighters responded to a call of elevated carbonmonoxide levels at a three-family home Wednesday morning, they were relieved to find no one home after detecting extremely high levels of the deadly gas.
"They were lucky," Deputy Fire Chief Scott Cordio about residents of the triple-decker at 23 Fairmont St. "If anyone was in the home, the situation could have been very dangerous."
Carbon-monoxide levels in the home were measured by responding firefighters at 500 parts per million, he said. The state considers levels below 9 parts per million to be safe.
Cordio said the department was alerted to the problem when the homeowners went to check on the unoccupied first-floor unit after hearing the carbon- monoxide detectors going off.

The full article
can be viewed by clicking this link

Awareness While Camping

Fri, 13 May 2016 11:58:01 +0000

Carbon monoxide detection around the home is something we should all be aware of but we also need to think about CO poisoning when we are on a camping trip. The article below highlights the need for awareness at all times. Most, if not all death from carbon monoxide could have been avoided and this is another one of those cases. The long term effects of poisoning is devasting, check out this link.

VERNONIA, Ore. (KOIN) — Camping season is upon us and one Oregon woman is helping raise awareness about a silent killer that left her partner dead in his RV.
Elana Brasure says her partner Daryl was the family’s rock.
“We met in the 6th grade,” Brasure told KOIN 6 News. “I paid 25 cents to kiss him and we wound up being true love, soulmates. He raised all 4 of my children as his own.”
He was also a big part of his step-grandkids’ lives. He used to take them camping in the same RV he used for a weekend of 4-wheeling with friends at Nicolai Mountain.
“He just never came home,” Brasure said.
Daryl said goodnight to his friends and climbed into the camper on a cold February night during the trip. He cranked on the furnace and went to sleep.
His best friend found him the next morning.
“We’d been in that motor home a zillion times,” Brasure said.
The family didn’t know the tasteless, odorless gas carbon monoxide killed Daryl until receiving the medical examiner’s report. Brasure says she wasn’t aware of carbon monoxide’s fatal risks and that a detector might have saved her partner’s life.

This article was originally published here.

Unfortunately, this is not the only case of carbon monoxide poisoning occuring while camping. There are numerous cases and below is another that resulted in tragedy. This story also mentions the great campaign Say No To CO which helps raise awareness and you can learn more about CO at this RSS Feed.

Loose Women speak to the man who lost his partner in a carbon monoxide camping tragedy
Tragedy struck campers Roland Wessling and Hazel Woodhams who lost her life due to CO poisoning inside her tent
Forensic scientist Roland Wessling appeared on Loose Women to warn about the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning after his partner, Hazel Woodhams, tragically lost her life.
He expressed his support for the show's carbon monoxide awareness campaign Say No To CO.
Roland told of his camping trip to Great Yarmouth with Hazel and how after they had finished with their coal barbecue and let it go cold that it was perfectly safe to bring into the tent to keep it dry.
But unfortunately the carbon monoxide from the barbecue inside the tent caused Hazel's death.
Roland said of the tragic accident: "How I survived is completely unknown. Yeah a miracle to be honest... No medical person could understand how I survived this and Hazel didn't, especially because Hazel was probably dead within 5-10 minutes."
He described how he woke up dazed and sick: "It took me a very long time to regain consciousness properly and as soon as I was conscious enough to understand there was something seriously wrong.
"I turned around and I was only lying half inside my sleeping bag and I must have tried to get out at some point in the night but I've got no recollection and Hazel was just an arm length away from me and she was dead."

Read the full story here...
Carbon monoxide is lethal and we will only stop these deaths through awareness. Taking a carbon monoxide alarm on camping trips is a great idea and will alert when there is a danger and will help to save lives, a lot of information can be read here.

Source of article can be seen here http://cheapcarbonmonoxidedetector.com

via Blogger Awareness While Camping

Awareness While Camping

Fri, 13 May 2016 11:57:00 +0000

VERNONIA, Ore. (KOIN) — Camping season is upon us and one Oregon woman is helping raise awareness about a silent killer that left her partner dead in his RV.
Elana Brasure says her partner Daryl was the family’s rock.
“We met in the 6th grade,” Brasure told KOIN 6 News. “I paid 25 cents to kiss him and we wound up being true love, soulmates. He raised all 4 of my children as his own.”
He was also a big part of his step-grandkids’ lives. He used to take them camping in the same RV he used for a weekend of 4-wheeling with friends at Nicolai Mountain.
“He just never came home,” Brasure said.
Daryl said goodnight to his friends and climbed into the camper on a cold February night during the trip. He cranked on the furnace and went to sleep.
His best friend found him the next morning.
“We’d been in that motor home a zillion times,” Brasure said.
The family didn’t know the tasteless, odorless gas carbon monoxide killed Daryl until receiving the medical examiner’s report. Brasure says she wasn’t aware of carbon monoxide’s fatal risks and that a detector might have saved her partner’s life.

This article was originally published here.

Loose Women speak to the man who lost his partner in a carbon monoxide camping tragedy
Tragedy struck campers Roland Wessling and Hazel Woodhams who lost her life due to CO poisoning inside her tent
Forensic scientist Roland Wessling appeared on Loose Women to warn about the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning after his partner, Hazel Woodhams, tragically lost her life.
He expressed his support for the show's carbon monoxide awareness campaign Say No To CO.
Roland told of his camping trip to Great Yarmouth with Hazel and how after they had finished with their coal barbecue and let it go cold that it was perfectly safe to bring into the tent to keep it dry.
But unfortunately the carbon monoxide from the barbecue inside the tent caused Hazel's death.
Roland said of the tragic accident: "How I survived is completely unknown. Yeah a miracle to be honest... No medical person could understand how I survived this and Hazel didn't, especially because Hazel was probably dead within 5-10 minutes."
He described how he woke up dazed and sick: "It took me a very long time to regain consciousness properly and as soon as I was conscious enough to understand there was something seriously wrong.
"I turned around and I was only lying half inside my sleeping bag and I must have tried to get out at some point in the night but I've got no recollection and Hazel was just an arm length away from me and she was dead."

Source of article can be seen here http://cheapcarbonmonoxidedetector.com

CO Facts And Advice

Tue, 10 May 2016 22:34:38 +0000

The following article has some great advice about carbon monoxide and some facts everyone should know. This is aimed at student but I think it is an article everyone can benefit from. You can learn more about carbon monoxide from our about.me page.

What is Carbon Monoxide and how dangerous is it? As part of The National Student's Advice Week, npower brings you the facts.
What is Carbon Monoxide - and what are its dangers?
1. Carbon Monoxide (CO) is a gas - it can be very dangerous to your health and can be fatal. It is sometimes referred to as the silent killer because it has no smell, taste or colour, which makes it difficult to detect.
2. CO is produced when fuels such as gas, oil, coal or wood do not burn fully.
3. When you breath in CO, it enters your bloodstream and mixes with haemoglobin (the part of red blood cells that carry oxygen around the body), to form carboxyhaemoglobin. This stops your blood from being able to carry oxygen which causes the body’s cells and tissue to die.
4.Every year in the UK around 200 people are admitted to hospital with suspected CO poisoning, leading to around 40 deaths.
5. Around 10-15% of people who suffer from severe or life-threatening CO poisoning develop long-term complications, such as damage to the brain or the heart.
How do you know if you’re suffering from Carbon Monoxide poisoning?
6. Initial symptoms of CO poisoning can be similar to flu, but without a fever and sometimes, can be confused with food poisoning.
7. The most common symptoms include: dizziness, headaches, nausea and vomiting, tiredness and confusion, stomach pain, shortness of breath and difficulty breathing.
What causes Carbon Monoxide to leak?
8. The most common causes are incorrectly installed, poorly maintained or poorly ventilated household appliances like fires (if the chimney or flue is blocked), cookers, heaters and central heating boilers.
Who is most at risk?
9. ‘High risk’ groups include the elderly, children, pregnant women and people with respiratory problems or chronic heart disease.
10. It is now a legal requirement for private landlords to fit a CO alarm in rooms used as living accommodation which also contain an appliance that burns, or is capable of burning solid fuel. Although there is no requirement to fit one near a gas boiler, it is still advisable as best practice.
How can you protect yourself from Carbon Monoxide poisoning in the home?
11. Install a Carbon Monoxide alarm near appliances that are capable of producing CO.
12. Look out for other tell-tale signs like:
13. Black, sooty marks on the front covers of gas fires, or sooty marks on the walls near boilers, stoves or fires
14. Smoke building up in rooms because of a faulty flue or blocked chimney
15. Gas appliances producing yellow flames instead of blue ones
16. Ensure all appliances are installed and regularly serviced by registered engineers.
17. If you have a chimney, make sure it is swept regularly by a qualified sweep.

Estate agent recommends installing the warning devices as the safety of tenants should be ‘utmost priority’

Sun, 08 May 2016 20:03:52 +0000

The following article is about having carbon monoxide devices installed in rented properties. It has been the law since the beginning of October 2015 to have an alarm fitted in a rented property by the landlord if it contains a solid fuel burning appliance. There is a belief that a room sealed boiler gas boiler cannot cause harm by carbon monoxide poisoning but this is false. Even room sealed boilers can leak carbon monoxide if there is a fault. Read the following carbon monoxide articles to find out more.
Estate agent recommends installing the warning devices as the safety of tenants should be 'utmost priority'

Dawn says if you have a gas boiler, as well as having it regularly checked, you should fit a carbon monoxide alarm

I want to raise awareness of the need for landlords to fit carbon monoxide alarms in their properties if they have a gas boiler or appliances fitted. Private sector landlords have been required by law since October 1, 2015, to have an alarm in any room containing a solid fuel burning appliance – that could be a coal fire or a wood burning stove.

Given most apartments in Canary Wharf with gas do not have such appliances, the need for the CO sensors has not been seen as a must, rather as a personal choice.

While some of my more cautious and responsible landlords have fitted them as standard, others have chosen to save their pennies, given it’s not a requirement.

However, following a recent incident I would urge any landlord that has gas and does not have one to have one fitted to do so as soon as possible.

Responding to an emergency call-out late one evening my contractor attended one of my managed properties that had a CO alarm fitted as it had gone off.

On arrival there was a strong smell of gas and it was apparent the boiler was leaking.

The contractor shut this down immediately and refused to turn it back on. The landlord was notified and a new boiler was fitted the next day.

The point of sharing this story with you is there were no solid fuel burner at this property so, had there been no CO alarm, the results could have been tragic.

Being a landlord brings with it a huge responsibility and the safety of your tenants has to be the utmost priority.

Source of article and further reading here.

An interested article that should give a wake up call to landlords to always install a carbon monoxide detector. However, as we can see from the news story below, just having an alarm isn't always enough. They also should be checked on a regular basis. The article below is one of a tragedy that could have been avoided.
The young girl hospitalized last week from carbon monoxide exposure in her home, which had killed her brother, is recovering and responding to treatment, according to the girl's mother who spoke at a vigil held for her son Saturday evening.
Crowd gathers at vigil for third-grader killed by carbon monoxide fumes At St. Mark's Park on Essex Avenue, in Linden, on Saturday, May 7, 2016, roughly 250 people gathered at a vigil for Oshiobugie Asekomhe, the 9-year-old boy who was killed by carbon monoxide exposure in his home earlier in the week. (Spencer Kent |...

At St. Mark's Park on Essex Avenue, roughly 250 people gathered at the vigil for Oshiobugie Asekomhe, the 9-year-old boy who was killed from carbon monoxide exposure in his home on Tuesday.

His mother, Sepiatu Abu, 45, said her daughter, 11-year-old Emike Asekomhe, was still in the hospital, but was responding to treatment.

Abu, who was with her two sisters, arrived toward the end of the vigil, and with tears running down her face, she thanked everyone for their support.

"Right now my daughter is doing very good ... compared to when the incident happened, said Sepiatu Abu, 45, of Linden. "She's doing much better."

She added, "She's responding good to treatment."

During the vigil, the crowd stood in a semi-circle on the basketball court at the park, and while holding lit candles, they prayed, and then collectively sang Amazing Grace.

The crowd included local officials, including the mayor, along with police officers, firefighters, school officials, members of the community, and some of Oshiobugie's teachers and classmates at School No. 4, where teachers said he excelled.

People were crying, hugging, and trying to reconcile the shock of losing such a beloved boy in the community.

Linden will hold a vigil Saturday for the 9-year-old youth who died from carbon monoxide in his home Tuesday

"So happy to see everybody out here to support us. I really appreciate each and every one of them. Because my son, Oshiobugie, really was a good kid. He was a very loving child, intelligent, easy going, and I pray God keeps him in a better place."

At around 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday Abu called police and said her children were unresponsive, police said in a previous report. Abu, according to officials, had tried CPR on both children. Oshiobugie was later pronounced dead at a hospital.

High levels of carbon monoxide were found in the home. Though there was a CO detector, the batteries were no longer functional, the report said. The house is uninhabitable, according to the report.

Read more by viewing the original article here.

A very sad story and one that is difficult to read. Our thoughts go out to the mother and family of the children involved and we hope that with more education, these stories become a thing of the past. Visit the CO gas resource page for further help.

The full article is available for viewing at ccmd

Alarms rescue families

Fri, 06 May 2016 17:56:19 +0000

Further carbon monoxide alerts occured in the Devon and Cornwall area of the country. Our first story happened near the town of Helston in Cornwall where a carbon monoxide alarm potentially saved the lives of a family. This should be a wake up call to use all to have any kind of CO monitor, learn more about them here.

A FAMILY gassed last night by deadly fumes said they might have died without their carbon monoxide alarms.

They said smoke and gas from a coal-fired kitchen range had seeped unto their 6-year-old daughter's bedroom and was filling the house.
Her dad Gavin Potter said: "We would all be dead in the morning if it wasn't for the alarms.

"I might have gone in the morning and found my youngest dead – or none of us would have woken up at all.

"It's a frightening thought – but that's what we've been thinking all morning.

"I am over the moon that we're all okay."

The family with four children aged between 6 and 16 went to bed last night at their mid-terrace cottage in Farms Common, a hamlet in Wendron parish near Helston.

Read more at the original source
Around the same time in Devon a carbon monoxide detector was activated, once again potentially saving the life of the elderly resident, read the story -
Elderly woman rescued after carbon monoxide leak in Devon

Firefighters had to rescue an elderly woman from a property in Devon after a carbon monoxide alarm activated late on Monday night.

Just before 11pm crews were sent to Sparkwell Lane, Staverton.

Two fire appliance from Buckfastleigh and Ashburton were sent to a report of a domestic alarm activating in a property.

Upon arrival crews confirmed it was a carbon monoxide alarm and they removed an elderly woman from the building.

First published at this source...
Both households luckily had installed a carbon monoxide alarm which alerted them to the presence of the gas. Without one installed, these reports could have been ones of tragedy than rescue.

Alarms rescue families
can be read at this site

The Silent Killer

Wed, 04 May 2016 17:33:36 +0000

On Tuesday the funeral will be held of a man who died from CO poisoning. This deadly gas can strike at any time causing many health problems and as you can see from the article below, unfortunate deaths.

THE funeral will take place on Tuesday of a man who died from suspected carbon monoxide poisoning at his home in Co Down.
Grandfather-of-two William Stockdale (60) was found dead at his house on the Castlewellan Road in Newcastle on Friday evening.
A post-mortem examination to determine the cause of death has been carried out, but the results are not yet known.
The death comes just over a year since a married couple in their seventies, Francis and Nan O'Reilly, were found dead in their caravan on the Tullybrannigan Road in Newcastle.
Mr Stockdale, who came from a farming background, was a long-term resident of Newcastle.
Four ambulance crews attended the scene on Friday night, with three other people in the property and two paramedics also treated in the Ulster Hospital for carbon monoxide poisoning. They were later discharged.
It is understood Mr Stockdale had been recovering at home after having stents inserted in his heart, and had initially believed the chest pain and discomfort he was experiencing was due to the operation.
John McPoland, from the Ambulance Service, described the actions of paramedics at Mr Stockdale's home as "unbelievable".
He said: "They undoubtedly saved the lives of themselves and three other people. More remarkable than all that, after they were discharged from hospital they reported back to the station to fulfil the rest of their duties."

Read more of this news article from the original publication.

These reports are a regular occurance throughout this country with many more around the world. Carbon monoxide needs to be understood be everyone, so let us learn more about this silent killer.

Carbon monoxide is an odorless, tasteless, colorless gas with nearly the same molar mass as air (CO is 3% lighter on average). This means that CO doesn’t rise or fall, but disperses evenly into the air of an enclosed space. That’s why detectors can be placed low on a wall at an outlet, or high up on a ceiling. The gas is toxic to humans at concentrations above 35 Parts Per Millions (PPM). Because of this, carbon monoxide has been dubbed the silent killer. We’ve all heard not to use a kitchen stove as a heating appliance, or not to run a generator inside the house. The reason is carbon monoxide.
The American Center for Disease Control has stated that unintentional carbon monoxide poisoning accounts for over 20,000 emergency room visits each year, including over 400 deaths. Carbon monoxide poisoning starts with a headache. It progresses to dizziness, nausea, and general flu-like symptoms. Most people think they’re just coming down with the flu, and head to bed. This is often a fatal mistake.
Biology
Carboxyhemoglobin molecule, by Rifleman 82 via Wikipedia
Carboxyhemoglobin molecule, by Rifleman 82 via Wikipedia
Carbon monoxide can always be found in small amounts in the human body. The molecule is known to have some therapeutic anti-inflammatory effects in humans. At higher concentrations though, CO becomes incredibly toxic. The most frightening part about carbon monoxide poisoning is the method in which it operates. Hemoglobin is the molecule in red blood cells which carries oxygen. Hemoglobin loads up with oxygen in the lungs, becoming oxyhemoglobin. The circulatory system then carries this oxyhemoglobin throughout the body, where it delivers its payload to muscles and organs. Carbon monoxide also bonds to hemoglobin, creating carboxyhemoglobin. In fact, the bond is over 200 times stronger than oxygen. This means carboxyhemoglobin doesn’t separate so easily. The carboxyhemoglobin essentially becomes an inert molecule riding through the circulatory system, starving the organs of oxygen.
This is where things get nasty.
Everyone knows that the treatment for carbon monoxide poisoning is to get to fresh air. However, it won’t immediately remove carboxyhemoglobin from the blood. That takes time. Carboxyhemoglobin has a half-life of 4 to 6 hours. There is a way to speed things up though. Administering pure oxygen to a victim can reduce the half-life down to less than an hour.
In extreme cases, hyperbaric oxygen treatments are used. The victim is placed into a pure oxygen chamber pressurized to three atmospheres. This forces oxygen to diffuse into the blood plasma, where it is carried to starved tissues.
neuron
Structure of a neuron, by Quasar Jarosz via Wikipedia
For acute poisoning patients, surviving the initial episode doesn’t mean the worst is over. Many patients begin to make a recovery, but between 2 and 40 days later, things change. The patients rapidly show signs of further brain damage. Balance, memory, and cognitive functions all affected. This phenomenon is called delayed neuropsychologic sequelae, and it was devastating for Molly Weber. The mechanism of neuropsychologic sequelae is still not completely understood. Research has shown that carbon monoxide damages Myelin Basic Protein (MBP), the material which surrounds nerve cells. The damaged MBP triggers the body’s immune system. White blood cells called leukocytes attack and remove the damaged MBP. The leukocytes don’t stop there though. They begin to attack healthy MBP, destroying healthy brain tissue. The result of this biological one-two punch leaves permanent brain injuries that can take years to recover – if recovery is possible at all.
In researching this article I was reminded how little we know about the brain, how it can be injured and how it recovers from those injuries. If there is one place where bio-hackers can really make a huge difference, it’s in studying and trying to understand how all this works.
Environment
Carbon monoxide is created by several different methods. Volcanoes and other geological sources release carbon monoxide into the atmosphere, as do forest fires. The major contributor though is man. Satellites such as NASA’s Terra spacecraft keep an eye on carbon monoxide in the atmosphere. Streaks are often found over cities and where crop residue and forests are being burned.
The chief way CO is created is through incomplete combustion of carbon-based fuels. If there isn’t enough oxygen present to oxidize a fuel to CO2, CO is the result. Internal combustion engines produce huge amounts of carbon monoxide. A properly tuned gasoline engine can produce as much as 30,000 ppm CO. In the United States, gasoline and diesel vehicles produced after 1975 have catalytic converters which greatly reduce CO emissions. However, not all vehicles are well maintained. Every year deaths are reported from people sitting in idling cars with faulty exhaust systems.
Small engines such as generators and power washers don’t tend to have catalytic converters, yet they still produce large amounts of carbon monoxide. Generators running inside homes kill families every year. Even running a power washer in a semi-enclosed space such as a parking garage is enough for the gas to build up to dangerous levels.
In the home, most carbon monoxide poisoning events happen due to problems with gas-fired appliances. A properly tuned water heater, boiler, or furnace will create some CO. If the air band isn’t correctly adjusted, CO levels rise. If the exhaust becomes blocked or compromised, the CO will find its way into the living spaces. Just in the last week, a home in Oklahoma filled with CO when roofers blocked the water heater exhaust stack. Thankfully, the family had a carbon monoxide detector in their home, and nobody was injured.

Read more from the original source
Carbon monoxide injuries and deaths can be avoided with a carbon monoxide alarm fitted into the home or work areas. They will alert before the gas levels become too dangerous and while deaths and injuries continue to occur, we must all continue to spread the word about what it can do. Knowledge is the key and with knowledge, everyone is more likely to get some kind of alerting device. You can learn more about carbon monoxide here.

This artiicle can be read here http://www.cheapcarbonmonoxidedetector.com

The Dangers Lie Everywhere

Fri, 29 Apr 2016 22:55:00 +0000

Another carbon monoxide scare happened a couple of days ago. Most reported occurances are from individuals in
residential situations, however in this instance it was a London office and its workers that were effected.

Five business people were taken to hospital after a carbon monoxide leak sparked the evacuation of a luxury Mayfair office block.
Hedge fund managers, art experts and property developers were all evacuated from the Grade II listed office at 9 Clifford Street at around 5pm yesterday after investigators found high levels of the dangerous gas emanating from a faulty boiler.
Ten people fled a basement conference room after reporting the smell before firefighters ordered a further 50 people to leave the £38million office block on the upmarket street just off Savile Row.
Other workers on the street were instructed by the Fire Brigade to stay inside their buildings or escape from any rear facing exits during the commotion.

Admitted To Hospital For CO Poisoning

Wed, 27 Apr 2016 00:10:18 +0000

Most of us understand the dangers that carbon monoxide can bring yet there are still instances of carbon monoxide poisoning reported in the news.

Most of these news reports are, unfortunately of tragedies that have occured but it must be noted that there are a numerous more instances of CO poisoning that do not result in death and which do not get reported in mainstream media.

[caption id="attachment_1084" align="aligncenter" width="253"] -[/caption]

Many sufferers are treated in time and there are a few instances recently that end on a happy note.

A mother and her four-year-old son needed hospital treatment for carbon monoxide poisoning this afternoon.
Firefighters were called to a home off the Crescent, near Marlow Road, in Maidenhead at about 2pm after the carbon monoxide alarm had started sounding and the pair had begun to feel unwell.
A crew from Maidenhead evacuated the property and gave them oxygen, before paramedics arrived with a breath analyser and took them to hospital.
They have apparently both now returned home.
A carbon monoxide monitor was also sent out from Reading, which recorded carbon monoxide levels of between 40 and 80 parts per million in the house. Any level above zero is considered unsafe.
The National Grid was contacted to isolate the gas supply from the house, which was then ventilated.

To read the full new article, click here...

This mother and son, fortunately, had a lucky escape and are happily back home. The correct procedures have been carried out and with the property safe, they returned home. A carbon monoxide detector will have been installed and this should prevent this family going through such worry again. You can find out more about CO symptoms here.

In the U.S recently there was another report of 3 people being admitted to hospital:

Three people from a residential high-rise downtown were taken to a hospital late Monday night as fire crews determined the building had a carbon monoxide leak.
The 15-story building in the 500 block of North Akard Street had to be evacuated late Monday night after residents smelled an “unknown odor.” Carbon monoxide is odorless, but there may have been other fumes in the building.
The exact location of the leak was not found, but hazardous materials crews believe it had something to do with the heating, ventilation and air conditioning for the building, Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesman Jason Evans said.
Three people suffering from breathing problems were taken to a hospital. The most common symptoms from carbon monoxide poisoning are headache, dizziness, weakness, upset stomach, vomiting, chest pain and confusion.

Read the full article from the source here...

Again, a lucky escape but these, happy outcomes can also, quickly turn to tragic outcomes which is why any kind of
monitor is required in every property that has or is in the viscinity of any fuel burning appliance.

Original post
can be see at this site

Video About Poisoning

Thu, 21 Apr 2016 00:24:48 +0000

This is a video about carbon monoxide poisoning and how it effects you. It is good to know how you are effected, how you may feel and what symptoms to look out for.

If you are aware of the effects that exposure to co gas brings then you can react early to do something about it and potentially save lives.

Watch the video and get to know what to look for.

The post source can be seen at this website

Family who were woken by carbon monoxide alarm had a ‘lucky escape’

Wed, 13 Apr 2016 22:53:03 +0000

A FIRE station manager said a family had a ‘lucky escape’ when their carbon monoxide alarm woke them up.

A fire crew from Delabole was alerted to what was originally thought to be a chimney fire at Pennkarn, Delabole, around 4am last Friday morning (April 8).

Delabole station manager Mark Saltern told the Post the occupants — a man, woman and two children aged seven and eight — ‘didn’t really know what to do’ when the alarm sounded.

He added: “They ended up ringing the fire brigade, which turned us out obviously. They put it down as a chimney fire. Then we saw on our print out it was something to do with a detector going off. A carbon monoxide detector raised the alarm.

“It had a reading of around 30 parts per million (ppm). When we turned up and tested with ours it was around 90ppm.”

Although Mr Saltern said the reading ‘comes into a low category’, he said the detector going off ‘gave them an early warning’: “They had a lucky escape in my mind. Without the detector, within two hours they would have felt the effects of headaches, nausea, sickness.

“With two kids as well they were lucky to have a detector.

“We have had deaths in the county from carbon monoxide. You can’t replace a life. It could have been a lot worse.”

Vanessa Pickard and her fiancé Mathew Gettings were able to get the children, Thomas and Morgan, along with their dog, out of the house before calling the fire brigade.

Vanessa said: “We are so lucky to have the local boys at the fire station who are willing to volunteer and come out in the middle of the night to help in these matters.

“We weren’t aware it was our carbon monoxide alarm to begin with and at the time we didn’t appreciate the severity of the situation.

“What struck us most is that not many people actually have a carbon monoxide detector or alarm in their homes, and those who do, like us, aren’t sure what to do when it does go off.

“I’m afraid to say we had to Google what to do next, we knew obviously to get out the house but we were unsure as to who we should call, would you know who to call?

“The Delabole fire brigade came straight out at four in the morning to assist us and both me and Matthew would like to say a big thank you to the local crew who give their time to man our local fire station. You only realise how much you appreciate what they do after an incident like this.”

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colourless, odourless, tasteless, poisonous gas produced by incomplete burning of carbon-based fuels, including gas, oil, wood and coal.

Carbon-based fuels are safe to use, it is only when the fuel does not burn properly that excess CO is produced, which is poisonous.

When CO enters the body, it prevents the blood from bringing oxygen to cells, tissues, and organs. A person cannot see, taste or smell CO, but it can kill quickly without warning.

Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service said gas boilers, stoves and heating appliances, solid fuel/wood burners and open fires pose a real danger if they are not properly maintained and or become defective.

Early symptoms of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning can mimic many common ailments and may easily be confused with food poisoning, viral infections, flu or simple tiredness.

If it is suspected that someone is suffering from the effects of carbon monoxide poisoning and/or is unconscious within their home, dial 999 from outside the property and ask for the fire service and ambulance. The fire and rescue service will ventilate and monitor CO levels on their arrival.

Do not enter the property unless it has been fully ventilated by the fire and rescue service.

Anyone who suspects they are suffering from the effects of CO poisoning should evacuate their property and seek help and medical advice immediately.

Family who were woken by carbon monoxide alarm had a ‘lucky escape’ was posted on http://www.launceston-today.co.uk

Carbon Monoxide

08 Innovative Ideas to Hide a Boiler in Your Kitchen

Why should you hide your boiler in the first place?

1- Build a cupboard

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4- Box your boiler and create a chalkboard around it

5- Cover your boiler with a mirror

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Additional Factors to Consider

Heating Engineer or Plumber? Who is More Suitable for Me?

The key difference between a Plumber and a Heating engineer

Who are Heating Engineers?

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Cost of hiring a heating engineer?

What is a Plumber?

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Are you looking for an affordable boiler insurance?

Conclusion

How Much Does it Cost to Run Central Heating Per Hour in The UK?

Running Cost of a Gas Central Heating System per Hour

Running Cost of the LPG Central Heating System per Hour

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Basic Formula to Calculate Your Energy Consumption

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The Running Cost of your Central Heating System Per Year

Which fuel source is cheaper to run a central heating system?

Additional factors affecting the central heating running cost

Tips to Lower the Cost of Your Heating Bills

Conclusion

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What is a boiler pump?

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Problems causing the need to replace a central heating pump

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The condition of your home

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Conclusion

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New Boiler Cost 2023: Understand the Price Dynamics!

How Much Does a New Boiler Cost?

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