Generator exhaust

Buy a little high velocity fan and set it up under your camper to mix CO from generator with fresh air and blow the exhaust away from the camper. Also you do have a working CO detector right and is it going off?

CO is a product of incomplete combustion, common in neglected ovens and furnace, while high-efficiency engines don't produce much of it.
But they produce lot of other poisonous gases that you don't have sensors for, not to mention that even CO2 is not poisonous gas, but will kill you when you get too much of it replacing the oxygen.
Those who played Russian roulette with it can't post here anymore.

OP here, I do NOT have a Honda or Yamaha, This is a Onan 2500 that is in a compartment in the camper. I cannot move it without the camper. The exhaust comes out about 4 feet from the slide. Camper is an 2012 Adventurer 980 rds.The co detector goes off when running the Onan generator. I will try to do some foreign engineering with a piece of greenfield electrical tubing and some muffler wrap. Plastic pipe would be nice to work with but it would probably melt. I don't know how to post pictures but I'll try if and when I get this rigged up.

Try 1.25" EMT

Kayteg1 wrote:
CO is a product of incomplete combustion, common in neglected ovens and furnace, while high-efficiency engines don't produce much of it.
But they produce lot of other poisonous gases that you don't have sensors for, not to mention that even CO2 is not poisonous gas, but will kill you when you get too much of it replacing the oxygen.
Those who played Russian roulette with it can't post here anymore.

Sorry, but I have to hit the buzzer on this one. Not enough support this position.

1. CO is generally the product of combustion with less than optimum oxygen. All internal combustion engines produce CO-especially at less than ideal conditions such as idle. So do fuel powered space heaters. A catalyst heater will convert most of the CO to CO2. A charcoal BBQ is one of the worst appliances for producing CO and is probably responsible for most space heating CO deaths (more overseas than in US). All should have warnings about not using in enclosed and occupied spaces.

2. Please list the "lot of other poisonous gases" you are referring to. Parts per million (PPM) in generator exhaust would be helpful for this discussion. When we "smell" exhaust, we smell unburnt hydrocarbons, usually in very small concentrations. We are taught that CO and the other products of combustion are present when we smell exhaust.

3. Anytime we exchange air in our lungs at less than 21% oxygen (measured at sea level), we risk hypoxia. This could be from high altitude or entering a closed space where oxidation has taken place (sewer or grain silo). Hypoxia from too much CO2 would be extremely rare. Even pure engine exhaust is over 3/4 Nitrogen. Maybe possible if you were in a closed room where a CO2 fire suppression system was activated.

4. CO is poisonous at relatively low concentrations because it attaches preferentially to red blood cells, does not release readily, and blocks oxygen exchange in the lungs. It is not instantaneous but a cumulative effect. This is why it can be deadly over time.

I apologize in advance if this is TMI for this discussion.

FYI as a teenager, I almost succumbed to CO poisoning in a TC closed with a built in propane gas lantern. After a fellow worker was rescued from a hotel room with CO poisoning, I carry a portable CO detector whenever I am not sleeping at home (which, of course, has a CO detector) Two CO detectors in your TC is not redundant to me.

Do you really want to nitpick with fellow members life?
When generators don't require smog inspections, living in states with smog inspections I have my cars going via sniffers.
The list of inspected gases not always include CO, as this is minor concern.
Than coming from scuba-diving, I heard lot of horror stories when people died becouse of too much CO2 in closed-loop systems.
Not likely you will die from CO2 in camper, but it did happen.

Before you give up on the idea of using plastic pipe such as ABS for this, look up the Genturi system. I made one and it works great. Easily breaks down to store and quite easy to make. And no, it doesn't melt with each use.

The "trick" with the Genturi (rhymes with venturi) is that it has an air gap where the genny exhaust goes into the vertical piping. This allows cool air to be drawn up into the stack to cool the exhaust.

Genturi is brand item that uses Venturi effect to mix exhaust with cold air.
Not seeing the pictures, I believe OP might have hard time to attach it to slide.
Sure good system if you can use it.

trail-explorer wrote:

Jim@HiTek wrote:
I used electrical unions and plastic PVC to route my exhaust

Plastic exhaust pipes..... uhhh.....
not sure what to say about that.

No need to say anything, check out the link I posted of the commercial product that uses plastic pipe to vent the generators exhaust above the roof line. It's been available for a couple decades now. Note that the way it's set up is to mix cooling air with the exhaust so it's not hot enough to melt the plastic pipe. And that's how I set mine up. Copied their design with available hardware products.