Quote:
Originally Posted by Pam Garlow
Is a CO2 detector needed if someone only heats with electric cube heater? My trailer is most definitely NOT airtight, and I always sleep with the vent cracked too.
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No, CO (carbon monoxide) is only produced as a byproduct of combustion. In other words, if you don't have any combustion (propane
furnace, stove), there should not be a problem. Your
furnace is vented to the outside and should not create any interaction with your room air. However, the CO detector is there in case there is a leak and the combustion byproducts somehow leak into the trailer. Your stove uses room air and definitely creates CO. It is not safe to be used as a heater. An electric heater does not create CO.
A
propane fridge could theoretically leak combustion byproducts into the trailer. That is why the burner is on the outside of the trailer and the access to the inside is sealed off. However, even if there was a leak, there is so much fresh air venting in the back of the
fridge that I doubt it would be a problem.
CO2 is carbon dioxide, a natural byproduct of breathing and not normally something to worry about. It is a trace gas in the atmosphere and plants need it to survive. However, it is theoretically possible in an airtight room for several people breathing to use up all the
oxygen over a period of time. That is why I always have a window vent cracked in the trailer overnight even if I am not using the furnace. The possibility of using up all the room air in one of these trailers is remote, since they are not air tight by any stretch of the imagination, but I do it anyway.
Hope that helps.
Rick G