Coal Gas poisoning?????

j1987 · **Joined:** Fri May 16, 2008 11:29 am **Posts:** 46

A friend that i know has a coal Furnace in there house and when i told my dad about how they are going to use it for heat this winter he was telling about how deadly they are and how you can die from "coal gas" from poorly ventilated pipes. Now i was doing research online and i did not find much but from what it sounds like to me is that everything that i had found online about coal gas is all relating to carbon Monoxide?? So wouldn't a carbon monoxide detector just pick up coal gas or is coal gad a whole different thing

tommudd · **Posted:** Mon Sep 29, 2008 4:53 pm

If you have the stove pipes / chimney installed incorrectly I suppose there is a way , but coal gas? never heard of it, maybe something new from back when we used it.
Grew up with coal stoves, everyone around us had them, we all survived and do not have any serious problems, just a little twitch every now and again :lol:

I even went to grade school with a coal furnance in the room where we had class!

dirtykj · **Posted:** Tue Sep 30, 2008 12:02 am

Your dad has a point and he might be referring to a collection of nastiness as "coal gas" ... burning coal is pretty dirty. When coal is burned, oxides of mercury, arsenic, sulfur, magnesium and a few others (cadmium, chromium, lead?) are released into the air. A few Federal Superfund sites were created from improper disposal of ash from coal-fired power plants.

This in no way implies that burning coal to heat your house is going to create a Superfund site

but you have to look at the list of pollutants and decide if it's worth it.

VTNomad · **Posted:** Tue Sep 30, 2008 11:13 am

There is no such thing as 'coal gas'. Any hydrocarbon (i.e. coal, heating oil, propane, natural gas, wood, etc.) will produce two main gases when burned: carbon dioxide and water vapor. Both of which are harmless in and of themselves, but can displace oxygen which could result in suffocation.

Carbon monoxide can be produced when there is an insufficient oxygen supply to the fire. Caron monoxide is toxic. Hemoglobin, (the oxygen carrying part of blood) has a much higher affinity for carbon monoxide than it does for oxygen. This means that carbon monoxide will bind to and stay bound to the hemoglobin in your blood preventing oxygen from binding, resulting in a different type of asphyxiation.

Carbon monoxide will actually turn your blood brown. The body can recover from low levels of carbon monxide. However, acute Carbon monoxide poisoning requires medical attention. A chemical is administered that breaks the carbon monoxide hemoglobin bond.

Smoking will increase the effects of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Now, because coal isn't just a hydrocarbon, and air isn't just oxygen, other gases are released when coal is burned. You get some sulfuric acid, nitric acid and mercury, but the biggest corncerns are the particulates and radiation. (Coal is the nastiest thing you can burn, period.) None of which is a concern if it's going out the chimney and dispersed by the wind.

Tell you friend to get a carbon monoxide detector (which needs to be mounted low, because carbon monoxide is heavier than air and will sink to the floor), most models pulg in to an electrical outlet, which places it low enough to the floor. Unless he has some SERIOUS ventilation issues and some SERIOUS existing breathing problems, he doesn't have mouch to worry about, but that doesn't mean he shouldn't take precautions to prevent an accident from occurring.

bwtucker · **Posted:** Tue Sep 30, 2008 2:12 pm

I have a coal stove to heat my house and water in the winter. Just get a CO detector and you will be fine!!

Coal Gas poisoning?????

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