How Safe is the Home You're Entering?

  November 22, 2018      Jeff Rosenblum

Do you know how safe the home you're entering is and how safe it is when you leave? What exactly am I talking about? Carbon monoxide.

We're in the heating season now and unfortunately we are going to be hearing stories about CO poisoning. It's an ongoing issue that we hear about every year. One story in particular comes to mind: a church had a daycare in the basement and the boiler was causing CO levels around 400ppm in the air. When all 20 children and the adults had gotten sick, they realized there was a problem. Was the CO level of this boiler ever checked?

We all know that CO is a product of incomplete combustion, but how do we know if it's incomplete? We've all probably heard that if the flames are blue then it's burning clean. That is a myth! We cannot judge the safety of the equipment based on the color of the flame—we must test with acombustion analyzer. By utilizing a combustion analyzer we can determine CO, O2, CO2, flue temp, efficiency and more. Testing the equipment can determine if there are any potential safety concerns and bring peace of mind knowing that when you leave the equipment is running correctly.

But what does running correctly mean? We like to see CO levels no higher than 100ppm undiluted and stable. Lower levels are always better, but we need to make sure that it's stable. This is just the beginning of testing, but is a good starting point. As a note, CO should be tested in the equipment, undiluted—not in the air. Testing for CO in the air has its merits, but often leaves potential unseen issues.

Let's make sure we are well equipped this winter and test everything!

Jeff Rosenblum 
Technical Support
19 Years Industry Experience
Cell (330) 962-2491
[email protected]