Interesting day and a cautionary tale (long....ish)

[Limey]

Got up this morning, having a shower and when I stepped out could hear a faint buzzing sound..quickly tracked it to the basement smoke detector..Odd cause there was no immediate sign of fire.. no smoke ..reset the darn thing and didn't give it any more mind.
Went down later to start work and thought I detected fumes..like a car exhaust..sure enough the hot water heater must have kicked in while I was showering because a cursory inspection revealed a BIG hole in the flue pipe..rotten as a carrot and must have been slowly deteriorating for years.

Called the heating service who.... I didn't realise until recently ...had included their 24 hour emergency 5 Star service in with my bill. so I thought great I'll get some benefit from it.
Called and immediately I explained the problem the girl went into 911 apeshit mode.. Evacuate the building now ..call 911..get the fire dept, ambulance, homeland security etc. etc.
Tried explaining that I had already opened the Bilco doors 2hours before and had switched on a fan, switched off the boiler.. But no they wouldn't come within a mile of my property until they had received the all clear from the Fire Dept.. fair enough in the land of law suits and liability..
So I managed to find the non emergency number for the aforesaid fire dept and quickly I got the incredulous ..when did you say the detector went off?? ..4 hours ago.. get out of the house and wait outside while we get someone their immediately. My response was along the lines of "Isn't that a bit of an overeaction? after all I'm speaking to you now..I've switched the furnace of and the basement is ventilated with a huge fan assist"...Whatever....little did he know that my main concern was cleaning up piles of extraneous wood and sawdust so that I wouldn't be cited for having a hazardous basement.
Fortunately the two fire officers and their HUGE firetruck were a little more laid back and realistic after I greeted them at the door and gave them the backgound and within a short space of time declared that there was only 1ppm CO in the basement and 3ppm outside on the street.

Phase 2..politely asked the fire officers to wait while I re contacted the heating company so that their wouldn't be any confusion that the place was safe which they graciously did..Though Lieutenant Rains was required to provide a complete list of personal details as somehow proof of his identity and he chuckled when I suggested he gave her his inside leg measurement as well :) :)..well not exactly his inside leg but close to that ;)

So the lady at the heating company gives this "as it's Carbon Monoxide issue we'll have someone their immediately if not sooner routine"

In my very best patient English manner I tried to explain that unless he came with the necessary flue parts then what was the point so wouldn't it be better for me to explain the problem and then he could save time by not rushing out completely unprepared.. don't think logic is her strong suit !! we'll wait and see know what happens!!

So my message is all of you that don't have a Carbon Monoxide detector as well as a smoke detector ..get one and fit it immediately..

Test them regularly..I've obviously been ingesting copious quantities of CO each time that I'm downstairs and the water is being heated..like laundry..good job I recycle my shorts a few times :) so the washer is only used infrequently. this hasn't happened overnight either the crumbled section is about 12 inches long and you can put your hand in it..

Maybe now I won't get so many headaches..thought it was stress related.. but it makes you think..could have been one very dead but healthily pink complexioned limey.

[rhull]

>So my message is all of you that don't have a Carbon
>Monoxide detector as well as a smoke detector ..get one
>and fit it immediately..
>

Or at least get a canary!

Glad to hear you're no worse for wear, Limey.

[mrohde]

You have been writing pretty well under the influence of CO. Now that you have a clear mind what should we come to expect?

[BradTheNailer]

I've obviously been ingesting copious quantities of CO each time that I'm downstairs and the water is being heated

That explains a lot! ...Now I understand...

Thankgoodness you are okay...you ol' limey Basturd! ;)




"I just don't understand...
I've cut it three times and it's still too short!"

[link:www.mgsawmill.com|M&G Sawmill]. Makers of the finest sawdust in Texas. Oh, did I mention we have hardwood as well?

[dcarter636]

I can here and see that person so clearly in my mind's eye.

"911 apeshit mode.. Evacuate the building now ..call 911..get the fire dept, ambulance, homeland security etc. etc."

The beauty of the telephone lies in the fact that she couldn't see the bemused expresssion on your face in place of the desired "E.T." arm waving panic.

Thanks for the laugh Limester, glad you found the leak.

[arcticfox46]

Really funny how someone who is young and inexperienced can overreact. Well, in reality, if the person that noticed the problem was not as experienced as our beloved Limey, there could be a potential REAL problem.

As to the warning of a CO detector, the point is well taken, and we can all thank God for the safety and health of our Limey.

Maybe the headaches will go away, and maybe now we will continue to hear from our Limey, and see wonderful woodworking projects.

[Breaddrink]

Yikes...

That's actualy rather horrible.

Though, you didn't mention at what point in the proceedings you were asked if you were australian.
I get that on an almost daily basis.

Glad to hear you're okay regardless.

We've got two Carbon monoxide detectors. One in the kitchen, and one upstairs in the bedroom.
Tricky finding a place to plug the little buggers in that doesn't instantly render them either useless or have them clanging away due to allowabale smoke or fume levels.
Can't have them near a doorway or window or in a garage or by a fireplace or stove...etc etc.

Not many places you can put them in fact. But I supose they may well one day save everyones life. *tuts miserably and walks away*

Rob.

[Glenmore Henry]

Everyone should have a smoke and carbon monoxide protector. Or a pet rat that's what the miners used here in PA mines. Glad to see you Limey come out of that on the good side.

[HotFlash]

>Though, you didn't mention at what point in the proceedings
>you were asked if you were australian.
>I get that on an almost daily basis.

Yes, there seems to be a certain pop-culture romanticism about an Aussies in our country, I think it was that Crocodile Dundee thing that started it, or maybe the nut on Animal Planet who likes to chase poisonous snakes :) Being British, on the other hand, is just so . . . well, proper.

Kinda makes me think of Limey's observations [link:www.woodworking.com/dcforum/DCForumID13/3976.html|over here.]

<Limester quote>So in the finest tradition of hellish reputation our seduction procedure is usually limited to sharing our bag of french fries and a treating our ladies to a small beer !!</end Limester quote>

So next time you're asked, just lie and say g'day - you'll have the ladies falling all over you and the gents challenging you to mumblety-peg with their chef's knives. :)

Erin

"How wrong it is for a woman to expect the man to build the world she wants, rather than to create it herself."
- Anais Nin (1903-1977)

[HotFlash]

>Maybe now I won't get so many headaches..thought it was
>stress related.. but it makes you think..could have been one
>very dead but healthily pink complexioned limey.

Which at the very least should earn a discount at the mortician's, but at that stage, who cares? :P

Glad you found the problem before it was too late. I hope to be able to pick your brain for a good many years yet!!!

Erin

"How wrong it is for a woman to expect the man to build the world she wants, rather than to create it herself."
- Anais Nin (1903-1977)