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Carbon monoxide and ash

(9 Posts)
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Luckygirl Mon 28-Dec-20 13:31:57

Yesterday the CO alarm went off in the utility room where the oil boiler is. When I investigated the PPM (part per million) was registering very high on the alarm unit; so I took it into the living room to test the unit in there. The PPM duly went down to 0.

Taking it back in the utility room, it went up again, so I switched the boiler off and set about trying to find a boiler repairer. But when I went back the alarm unit was still registering very high CO, even though the boiler had by then been off for some time. I looked around for another source, and by the back door there was a galvanised bucket containing ash from the wood burner - I had left it there to wait till the weather was dry and I could take it out.

Off to trusty google where there were several instances of ash giving off CO and causing a problem. I put the bucket outside the door and the level of CO gradually went down to 0.

Just thought I would post this in case there are others who did not know of this danger so they can keep themselves safe. CO is a silent killer.

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Oopsadaisy1 Mon 28-Dec-20 13:33:59

You are correct, warm ash still gives off fumes, best to put it straight outside.

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Moonlight113 Mon 28-Dec-20 13:45:47

I think you should check again if you have put the boiler back on. Sounds like the CO took a while to dissipate once the boiler was off. I think the culprit was, in fact, the boiler, not the ash.

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Luckygirl Mon 28-Dec-20 14:14:30

Someone is coming to check the boiler - but I am sure it is not the problem as it has been on for a very long time now and the CO level is still 0.

As soon as the ash went outside the door the level rapidly went down.

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Moonlight113 Mon 28-Dec-20 14:51:31

Right. You just wouldn't think of that would you. Just goes to show.

Were there actual embers in the bucket, still burning?

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Moonlight113 Mon 28-Dec-20 14:52:58

I do love my wood burner, but you hear more and more against them these days. Sigh!

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absam1 Mon 17-May-21 12:07:35

As someone who has lost their daughter to carbon monoxide poisoning, I have become an expert in a world I didn't want to be involved in. Ash can be really dangerous. One of the reasons why Barbecues shouldn't be left burning near to a tent. www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-42300475

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M0nica Mon 17-May-21 13:02:35

I must say, I would never take, even warm ashes out of the burner. I wait until the ashes are stone cold. Warm ashes are a fire risk, apart form anything else.

We use our log burner on Sunday afternoons, Christmas and to supplement the CH in sub-zero temperatures. the big problem with log burners is those using them in built up areas where air pollution is already high.

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NotSpaghetti Mon 17-May-21 13:29:29

We used to have a log burner which was our main heating. We had to take hot ashes out if we were to "damp it down" and keep the fire going overnight. In winter we did this for years. It was a continental woodstove with an extra baffle system which made it more efficient. It was easy to manage the ash. This woodstove took huge logs too -which was good for us as we split all our own logs.

But we were very aware of the dangers and had a safe place for outdoor ashes to cool. I'm surprised more people don't know about ashes. I remember them being talked about as a child.

Carbon Monoxide poisoning is scary because it's silent and deadly.
So sorry for this terrible loss absam.

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