CO/cigarette

[LetMeOut]

Dumb question but what'd happen if I lit a cigarette inside a car with CO building up from charcoals? Could it cause an explosion or something? I know CO is flammable but I've never heard of such a thing happening

 

[ThingWithFeathers]

The Lower Flammable/Explosive limit of CO is 12 ppm which means that in terms of volume CO must be at least 12 ml in 1000 L (1 cubic meter) of air if CO has to burn in fire. Also, it must not exceed 75 ppm above which it will not burn in fire because of insufficient reaction with oxygen.

Kitchen CO detectors go off after 15ppm.

At 400 ppm, CO becomes life threatening after 3 hours of continuous exposure.

If the CO concentration is 12,800 ppm death can occur in 1-3 minutes. 12,800 ppm means CO is 12.8 litres in 1 cubic meter of air. This is very very high concentration and it's not easy to attain in daily life situations.

So we see that the combustion range of CO (12 - 75 ppm) is below the fatal level. Hence, in the presence of spark/fire CO will inflame before the lethal level is reached.

This is all chemistry and some arithmetic but the fact is that in practical circumstances the concentration is not easy to measure. Hence, how CO will affect and what it will do is a matter of chance.

CO is incorrectly touted as painless way to commit suicide. In reality, CO is often adulterated with other gases such as air, hydrogen, nitrogen or inert Argon and Helium. This mixture makes the body's physiological reaction painful, slow and unpredictable. Intense headache and vomiting are typical symptoms. It deprives the blood from carrying oxygen and the body goes into convulsions and muscular spasm as it fights to get oxygen.

Also, because it is a gas it is harder to control its flow and inhalation, hence higher chance to fail. Other factors such as surrounding temperature and pressure may affect its lethality. Moreover, it can harm other people nearby, like other family members or potential rescuers.

Problems are far worse in case the suicidal person survives. Failure to die will result in chronic cardiac problems, long-term brain damage, issues with memory and low functioning mental processes.

Consider your options wisely. Seek help regarding your issues. Best wishes. *hugs*

 

[LetMeOut]

Tried googling it but just seems to yieldf

The Lower Flammable/Explosive limit of CO is 12 ppm which means that in terms of volume CO must be at least 12 ml in 1000 L (1 cubic meter) of air if CO has to burn in fire. Also, it must not exceed 75 ppm above which it will not burn in fire because of insufficient reaction with oxygen.

Kitchen CO detectors go off after 15ppm.

At 400 ppm, CO becomes life threatening after 3 hours of continuous exposure.

If the CO concentration is 12,800 ppm death can occur in 1-3 minutes. 12,800 ppm means CO is 12.8 litres in 1 cubic meter of air. This is very very high concentration and it's not easy to attain in daily life situations.

So we see that the combustion range of CO (12 - 75 ppm) is below the fatal level. Hence, in the presence of spark/fire CO will inflame before the lethal level is reached.

This is all chemistry and some arithmetic but the fact is that in practical circumstances the concentration is not easy to measure. Hence, how CO will affect and what it will do is a matter of chance.

CO is incorrectly touted as painless way to commit suicide. In reality, CO is often adulterated with other gases such as air, hydrogen, nitrogen or inert Argon and Helium. This mixture makes the body's physiological reaction painful, slow and unpredictable. Intense headache and vomiting are typical symptoms. It deprives the blood from carrying oxygen and the body goes into convulsions and muscular spasm as it fights to get oxygen.

Also, because it is a gas it is harder to control its flow and inhalation, hence higher chance to fail. Other factors such as surrounding temperature and pressure may affect its lethality. Moreover, it can harm other people nearby, like other family members or potential rescuers.

Problems are far worse in case the suicidal person survives. Failure to die will result in chronic cardiac problems, long-term brain damage, issues with memory and low functioning mental processes.

Consider your options wisely. Seek help regarding your issues. Best wishes. *hugs*

See, if that's the case, what I don't get is how ppl accidentally die of CO poisoning... you'd think if they were experiencing these intense symptoms, they'd just run outside immediately

 

[ThingWithFeathers]

Tried googling it but just seems to yieldf


See, if that's the case, what I don't get is how ppl accidentally die of CO poisoning... you'd think if they were experiencing these intense symptoms, they'd just run outside immediately

Accidental death by CO poisoning usually happens when people are asleep and there is a leakage in their home's furnace or fireplace exhaust. Being asleep they do not feel that something is wrong right away. By the time the symptoms are strong and they wake up they have already inhaled and accumulated fatal levels of CO. Also, being asleep they are easy to lose consciousness.

Unconsciousness is one of the symptoms of CO poisoning and not guaranteed that everyone will have it. The body sometimes react differently and not it particular order.

 

[sooverallthingslife]

What about a portable generator inside a house? How quickly would you reach lethal levels?

 

[MaybeMaybeKnot]

What about a portable generator inside a house? How quickly would you reach lethal levels?

People do die that way but it all depends on the size of the room and the output of the genny.

 

[sooverallthingslife]

People do die that way but it all depends on the size of the room and the output of the genny.

Makes me scared that I might live. I read on websites to never run a generator inside because it will kill you within minutes if not instantly. I was going to run it in a room next to the room I'd go to sleep in. That room is about 4ft away. It's a 1000w generator that will ruin 5hr at 50% load. I wasn't planning on running anything off of it.

 

[a.h]

Tried googling it but just seems to yieldf


See, if that's the case, what I don't get is how ppl accidentally die of CO poisoning... you'd think if they were experiencing these intense symptoms, they'd just run outside immediately

I think the symptom lists in Internet is to scare people off from using it.
Every single news of accidents say it was peacefull, no struggle, no 911 calls etc. and many had just about 200-800ppm so they would have felt the symptoms long time before being knocked out. With about 5000ppm it is peacefull. I spent short time in high ppm of it when doing tests and I got tired and I got euphoric and was happier I remember ever feeling in this life.

I think that media tries to hide that it's peacefull at the same time that all news of accidents say it's fast and peacefull.
They can't lie in those and say all those people suffered but didn't call help.