Quote: Originally posted by chelsea girl on 08/4/2012
If it does turn out to be the BBQ it is quite worrying, as in the pictures in the Daily Mail today the BBQ looks like it had been placed a reasonable distance away from the tent, could a BBQ outside a tent say 10 feet away still cause a problem??
As I understand it, most of the deaths due to CO poisoning were from BBQ's outside the tent. I believe one was because a BBQ was taken inside for warmth and even though it was removed before the occupants retired for the night the fumes were still inside. I also believe one death was due to the fumes from a generator placed outside the tent.
Apparently the fumes, being the same density as air, drift inside the tent while the BBQ is in use and fill the SIG tent like a balloon. There it stays undetected (no smell) and is then slowly inhaled by the occupants as they sleep.
I'm not sure there is enough info in the article above to be able to comment. Clearly the exhaust of a generator does put out CO2 and in the right situation it can be pumped into a tent. I've complained on motorsport sites about (usually) caravanners putting their gennies on the offsides of their vans so that they aren't disturbed by them - usually pointing their exhausts at my tent and where we are sitting.
I don't like any form of heating inside a tent electric, gas or BBQ all of them in such a small space can cause problems leccy because of damp and the others because of carbon monoxide, I prefer more clothes, Hot water bottles inside sleeping bags.
And back to the newspapers if they had only waited a day to get their facts right wouldn't it have been so much more helpful and public spirited to give the massive headlines to the story now warning of the dangers of trying to heat a tent instead of labelling parents already going through hell as possible murderers.
My condolences go to the parents and I really hope that the young girls death does some good by making sure no one else dies in this way.
Now wanting to be rude, but its that type of terrible misinformation that causes more problems. People reading that kind of post would be panicking that bbqs kill wherever you use them
Most, in fact Id suggest ALL deaths are because the BBQ or stove were inside. To suggest most were outside is absurd.
It is highly unlikely that a bbq outside a tent can fill up a tent "like a balloon". Even if the wind is blowing that way it is also blowing fresh air in creating circulation.
Posts on forums are not enough to stop this happening, EVERY campsite has to put up a sign at checkin so every camper sees it.
I have acknowledged my mistake regarding the BBQ's being inside the tent. However, as I have stated, there has been a death in America, caused by a generator outside an RV and another caused by a generator outside a tent in the UK. Also, one of the incidents in the UK occured after the BBQ was removed from the tent.
Initial reports re the death in Cumbria also suggested that the BBQ was on the porch of the pod rather than actually inside, which is probably where I was confused in that respect.
However, you continue to risk lives by suggesting it is highly unlikely a BBQ outside a tent can fill it up with CO and I will continue to try to save lives by suggesting it can
Not read all the thread, but it is extremely bad reporting by the BBC and typical of a news story over a bank holiday. Sunday Mail story was even worse and confirmed to me it's a paper which is only good for lighting fires.
Its all speculation, there are no facts, it will take weeks to find if poisoning is the reason.
Stick to reporting news BBC and stop crystal ball gazing.
However, you continue to risk lives by suggesting it is highly unlikely a BBQ outside a tent can fill it up with CO and I will continue to try to save lives by suggesting it can
It is highly unlikely a BBQ outside a tent can fill it up with CO, indeed there are no reports of that ever happening.
Many millions of people have BBQs near their tents and the reported deaths where the BBQ has remained outside are zero, that is indeed 'highly unlikely'.
In the reported tent generator death it is not quite clear how the generator was positioned in relation to the tent, whether the tent was closed or not, but apparently the deceased's companions were sufficiently concerned to turn it off.
The RV death apparently involved a faulty vent, exactly where the generator was in relation to that is not clear. link
No doubt CO is a silent killer, but the solution is not ridiculous warnings about not having BBQs near a tent, but to get a CO alarm AND not to bring these things inside.
Post last edited on 09/04/2012 17:19:17
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