TAKE A LOOK
CARBON MONOXIDE TESTING
Cover feature
NIP IT IN THE BUD
1 Visually inspect the heater before turning it on in winter and each
month after. Is there any visible damage to the heater, the gas control knobs or buttons? If the answer is yes, shut it down and have it serviced by a licensed professional.
2 Check the appearance of radiant gas heaters in operation. If there is a flame
visible beyond the top surface of the tile, it could mean the heater is faulty. Again, shut it down and have it serviced by a licensed professional.
3 Visually check the flames of your gas appliances. Pilot lights and main
burners should produce a blue flame. If the flame is yellow or red, shut it down and have it serviced by a professional.
4 Does something not smell right? If you smell a different or unusual odour coming from the appliance, shut it down, vacate the room and have it serviced.
5 Ensure that air vents in the room are not blocked. Ventilation is critical in reducing any risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Source: Carbon Monoxide Testing Australia www. carbonmonoxidetestingaustralia. com. au
“ The signs and symptoms of CO poisoning are non-specific,” says Barbara Robertson in a 2014 article on the topic that featured in the Medical Journal of Australia.
“ Headaches, malaise, nausea, and dizziness are common, and gradual cognitive deterioration and reduction in functional capacity have been reported in low-grade chronic exposure.”
Extreme poisoning can lead to confusion, loss of consciousness, and ultimately death. Where carbon monoxide levels are extreme, loss of consciousness can occur quickly.
At highest risk are the elderly, people with heart disease or anaemia, the young, pregnant women, and their unborn babies.
TAKE A LOOK
According to Energy Safe Victoria( ESV), which this winter launched its annual“ Silent Killer” campaign, the only way to reduce the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning caused by faulty gas appliances is to ensure regular servicing.
“ Energy Safe Victoria and the Victorian Building Authority recommend getting your gas heater serviced at least every two years by a licensed gasfitter with the appropriate equipment to test f or carbon monoxide spillage,” says ESV.
The body has published a number of gas information sheets on the subject of carbon monoxide. These are freely available from the ESV website.
This includes an information sheet that details the use of carbon monoxide detection equipment to check gas appliances for spillage. Flued appliances, open-flued indoor gas appliances, open-flued decorative effect appliances, room-sealed space heaters, and central heating units are covered.
SIGNS OF A FAULTY HEATER
• Soot or discolouration around the gas appliance
• Yellow flames( unless created for decorative effect, such as gas log fires)
• The heater going out for no apparent reason
• Debris falling down the flue pipe
• A missing or damaged cowl on top of the flue pipe.
Source: Energy Safe Victoria
CARBON MONOXIDE TESTING
When in the UK on a working holiday, Victorian plumber Damien De Vincentis and his wife Dani were exposed to high levels of carbon monoxide being released from a faulty gas heater in the home in which they were staying.
De Vincentis says that despite feeling the symptoms of tiredness, lethargy, and headaches commonly related to carbon monoxide poisoning, he was unaware of the risk. The symptoms he attributed down to acclimatisation to the UK’ s short days.
“ At work I would be fine, but when I returned at night I would become fatigued and lethargic,” he says.
Damien De Vincentis has experienced the ill-effects of carbon monoxide poisoning first-hand.
August 2016 | www. hvacrnation. com. au | HVAC & R Nation | 11