Suggestion of small propane heater?
Returned home this past weekend and spent first night in Walmart parking lot. (check off bucket list!!) However, 37 was a tad chilly. I see there are small propane heaters on Amazon, but unsure if ...
Forum Discussion
A 49-year-old Hatfield woman who used a propane heater to warm her home was found dead on her kitchen floor early Monday morning.
Two more people, 57-year-old Alan W. Stevens and 22-year-old Billie Ann Luna , died of carbon monoxide poisoning in the Bondsvile section of Tuesday after using an adapted propane tank as a heater inside a trailer.
The use of unvented heaters that use fuels such as kerosene of liquid propane gas (LP gas) are illegal in Massachusetts because of the huge risk of carbon monoxide poisoning, State Fire Marshal Stephen D. Coin said.
CO, O2 depletion, C3 accumulation are all part of the problem… poor choices when using any of these heaters could have bad outcomes…
It can not be stated enough in the confined space of a RV all of the associated problems are magnified many times…
CONCLUSIONS
CPSC staff tested a catalytic heater as part of a project to document the CO emissions from
currently available camp heaters in order to determine if the heaters complied with the combustion
requirements in the voluntary standard Portable Type Gas Camp Heaters (ANSI Z21.63-2000). Although
the catalytic heater is not within the scope of ANSI Z21.63, it was included as part of the project since the
catalytic heater was being marketed for use inside tents and other indoor areas. The voluntary standard
applicable for catalytic camp heaters is ANSI Z21.62, but the standard was withdrawn in 1992. A new
standard is currently being written for catalytic camp heaters.
Although both ANSI Z21.62 (draft) and ANSI Z21.63 (2000) are for camp heaters (e.g., small
portable heaters that typically use a disposable 1-pound bottle of propane), the two standards have
different combustion requirements. ANSI Z21.62 (draft) limits the CO and hydrocarbon emissions at
specific O2 concentrations, but does not limit the depletion of O2. ANSI Z21.63 (2000) limits the CO
emissions and O2 depletion throughout the entire test.
The following is a summary of CPSC staff’s findings on the testing of the catalytic heater:
• The peak CO concentration ranged from 68 ppm to 125 ppm and the steady state CO
concentration ranged from 67 ppm to 109 ppm. Assuming a limited exposure time of up to 6.5
hours at these CO concentrations, the catalytic heater does not appear to pose a serious CO hazard
to healthy adults when the CO concentration is considered by itself.
• When the catalytic heater was operated in a closed room (ACH ~ 0), the oxygen was depleted
from an ambient concentration of 20.9 percent to 8.8 percent. Because the catalytic heater can
deplete the O2 concentration to such low levels, the heater poses a serious risk of hypoxia. The
degree of hypoxia is further exacerbated by the moderate CO concentration and by an increase in
the carbon dioxide concentration that accompanied the depletion of oxygen.
• As the oxygen decreased in the chamber, the catalytic heater became less effective at converting
the propane and oxygen to carbon dioxide and water vapor. This was reflected by an increase in
the hydrocarbon concentration in the chamber, which ranged from 1,050 ppm to 13,440 ppm (5 to
64 percent of the lower explosion limit of propane in air). The unreacted propane further
increases the degree of hypoxia.
• The heater’s catalyst did not appear to degrade over time. This observation is based on operating
two identical heaters on 100 disposable 1-pound bottles of propane (approximately 650 hours).
19
Emission tests were performed on each heater after every 20th bottle of propane (approximately
every 130 hours).
• The catalytic heater did comply with the combustion requirements currently specified in the draft
version of the standard for catalytic camp heaters (ANSI Z21.62).
• The catalytic heater did not comply with the combustion requirements specified in the standard
for infrared radiant camp heaters (ANSI Z21.63-2000). The heater depleted the O2 concentration
below 16 percent in the test chamber and also exceeded the 100 ppm limit for CO in the test
chamber.
Two more people, 57-year-old Alan W. Stevens and 22-year-old Billie Ann Luna , died of carbon monoxide poisoning in the Bondsvile section of Tuesday after using an adapted propane tank as a heater inside a trailer.
The use of unvented heaters that use fuels such as kerosene of liquid propane gas (LP gas) are illegal in Massachusetts because of the huge risk of carbon monoxide poisoning, State Fire Marshal Stephen D. Coin said.
CO, O2 depletion, C3 accumulation are all part of the problem… poor choices when using any of these heaters could have bad outcomes…
It can not be stated enough in the confined space of a RV all of the associated problems are magnified many times…
CONCLUSIONS
CPSC staff tested a catalytic heater as part of a project to document the CO emissions from
currently available camp heaters in order to determine if the heaters complied with the combustion
requirements in the voluntary standard Portable Type Gas Camp Heaters (ANSI Z21.63-2000). Although
the catalytic heater is not within the scope of ANSI Z21.63, it was included as part of the project since the
catalytic heater was being marketed for use inside tents and other indoor areas. The voluntary standard
applicable for catalytic camp heaters is ANSI Z21.62, but the standard was withdrawn in 1992. A new
standard is currently being written for catalytic camp heaters.
Although both ANSI Z21.62 (draft) and ANSI Z21.63 (2000) are for camp heaters (e.g., small
portable heaters that typically use a disposable 1-pound bottle of propane), the two standards have
different combustion requirements. ANSI Z21.62 (draft) limits the CO and hydrocarbon emissions at
specific O2 concentrations, but does not limit the depletion of O2. ANSI Z21.63 (2000) limits the CO
emissions and O2 depletion throughout the entire test.
The following is a summary of CPSC staff’s findings on the testing of the catalytic heater:
• The peak CO concentration ranged from 68 ppm to 125 ppm and the steady state CO
concentration ranged from 67 ppm to 109 ppm. Assuming a limited exposure time of up to 6.5
hours at these CO concentrations, the catalytic heater does not appear to pose a serious CO hazard
to healthy adults when the CO concentration is considered by itself.
• When the catalytic heater was operated in a closed room (ACH ~ 0), the oxygen was depleted
from an ambient concentration of 20.9 percent to 8.8 percent. Because the catalytic heater can
deplete the O2 concentration to such low levels, the heater poses a serious risk of hypoxia. The
degree of hypoxia is further exacerbated by the moderate CO concentration and by an increase in
the carbon dioxide concentration that accompanied the depletion of oxygen.
• As the oxygen decreased in the chamber, the catalytic heater became less effective at converting
the propane and oxygen to carbon dioxide and water vapor. This was reflected by an increase in
the hydrocarbon concentration in the chamber, which ranged from 1,050 ppm to 13,440 ppm (5 to
64 percent of the lower explosion limit of propane in air). The unreacted propane further
increases the degree of hypoxia.
• The heater’s catalyst did not appear to degrade over time. This observation is based on operating
two identical heaters on 100 disposable 1-pound bottles of propane (approximately 650 hours).
19
Emission tests were performed on each heater after every 20th bottle of propane (approximately
every 130 hours).
• The catalytic heater did comply with the combustion requirements currently specified in the draft
version of the standard for catalytic camp heaters (ANSI Z21.62).
• The catalytic heater did not comply with the combustion requirements specified in the standard
for infrared radiant camp heaters (ANSI Z21.63-2000). The heater depleted the O2 concentration
below 16 percent in the test chamber and also exceeded the 100 ppm limit for CO in the test
chamber.
