Air Tight Teardrops can KILL YOU

[working on it]

In addition to my vents shown previously, I bought a cheap carbon monoxide alarm from Amazon. I'll mount it low on the wall, about 6 inches off of the floor (below where my head would normally be when sleeping) to detect any CO before the level could rise. I don't think I'll ever need it, since I always have one or more fans circulating the air thru at least one open vent or window, though. But for $12, it is a worthwhile purchase for safety.

working on it, great idea, specially if you use a generator or some type heat source that produces carbon monoxide..

Though, a carbon monoxide detector won't detect carbon dioxide, and carbon dioxide is the main worry in a sealed up camper..
The following link is a great publication on the affects of carbon dioxide poisoning..
https://healthyliving.azcentral.com/how-does-carbon-dioxide-poisoning-kill-a-human-12152576.html

*I bought the CO detector specifically for occasions where I might use my on-board generator to power my A/C; my previous experiences with CO have been unpleasant, but I walked away with a migraine, so no harm done. My fear of CO is greater than my fear of CO2, since if you're sleeping, your system won't recognize the problem, and you just won't wake up.
* On the other hand, excess carbon dioxide accumulates in the blood, causing a sleeping person to wake up to gasp for breath. It serves as its' own alarm, so to speak. I should probably get a CO2 alarm, also.

 

[Staryder61]

working on it, with your current setup, vents and fans, you always have fresh flow of air moving through.. that's whats needed to be safe..

 

[Pugwinkle-TNT]

Would this be a good option to put in the teardrop to monitor the carbon dioxide levels?
https://www.amazon.ca/Newentor-Dete...YGZK/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8&th=1

 

[Tom&Shelly]

Would this be a good option to put in the teardrop to monitor the carbon dioxide levels?
https://www.amazon.ca/Newentor-Dete...YGZK/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8&th=1

Yes, that should tell you if the carbon dioxide level is building up too much. Pretty pricey though!

Tom

 

[Tony Latham]

Since the first teardrop–-way back when-- not one person has suffocated in one. Zippo.

I rest my case.

Tony

 

[friz-TNT]

Since the first teardrop–-way back when-- not one person has suffocated in one. Zippo.

I rest my case.

Tony

I do feel like I could drown in one without proper ventilation.

Sent from my SM-S906U using Tapatalk

 

[Pugwinkle-TNT]

Would this be a good option to put in the teardrop to monitor the carbon dioxide levels?
https://www.amazon.ca/Newentor-Dete...YGZK/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8&th=1

Yes, that should tell you if the carbon dioxide level is building up too much. Pretty pricey though!

Tom

That's Canada for you. Everything is pricey.

 

[Tony Latham]

I do feel like I could drown in one without proper ventilation.

Me too. And yet, I'm still here. I think.

Tony

 

[Tom&Shelly]

Would this be a good option to put in the teardrop to monitor the carbon dioxide levels?
https://www.amazon.ca/Newentor-Dete...YGZK/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8&th=1

Yes, that should tell you if the carbon dioxide level is building up too much. Pretty pricey though!

Tom

That's Canada for you. Everything is pricey.

They are about the same price in the US as well. I actually had an O2 meter, left behind in my condo in LA after the exterminators used nitrogen in the walls to kill termites. (I tried to give it back, but they never got back to me--guess they didn't think it was so expensive to retrive it! Or, maybe they suffocated on their next job...)

As a scientist/engineer, I naturally ran a few experiments with it at the time. For one thing, I found out if you have a lit candle in an oxygen starved environment, the O2 level becomes dangerously low for humans before the candle flame shows problems. So don't use a candle to indicated problems in your environment. (I didn't have a canary to test in my coal mine.) (Actually a glass jar.)

I wanted to ressurect the device to test in our teardrop, but it no longer seems to be working.

Don't know what to tell you about teardrops. As Tony says, no one has died in one. If you wake up dizzy, or with a headache, you might want to crack the fan vent or window.

Tom

 

[Tom&Shelly]

As a matter of fact, here is a paper on the very subject (of dying in an enclosed space) from the University of Wyoming web site.

http://www-das.uwyo.edu/~geerts/cwx/notes/chap01/ox_exer.html

If I use their equation and assume a cabin of 2.5 cubic meters, for healthy people in a clean air environment (before they closed the teardrop doors) it appears it would take about 8.6 hours to lose conciousness. At best, I have a 5 hour bladder, so Shelly and I are safe!

But if you start with a polluted environment (19% oxygen in the air) and aren't perfectly healthy (need 15%), it goes down to 3.8 hours.

Oddly, the paper is silent on the subject of taking your cat with you into the teardrop (as we do). It can't possible help.

Anyway, hope I've over-analyzed this past the point of interest of anyone reading!

Tom

 

[Pugwinkle-TNT]

Would this be a good option to put in the teardrop to monitor the carbon dioxide levels?
https://www.amazon.ca/Newentor-Dete...YGZK/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8&th=1

Yes, that should tell you if the carbon dioxide level is building up too much. Pretty pricey though!

Tom

That's Canada for you. Everything is pricey.

They are about the same price in the US as well. I actually had an O2 meter, left behind in my condo in LA after the exterminators used nitrogen in the walls to kill termites. (I tried to give it back, but they never got back to me--guess they didn't think it was so expensive to retrive it! Or, maybe they suffocated on their next job...)

As a scientist/engineer, I naturally ran a few experiments with it at the time. For one thing, I found out if you have a lit candle in an oxygen starved environment, the O2 level becomes dangerously low for humans before the candle flame shows problems. So don't use a candle to indicated problems in your environment. (I didn't have a canary to test in my coal mine.) (Actually a glass jar.)

I wanted to ressurect the device to test in our teardrop, but it no longer seems to be working.

Don't know what to tell you about teardrops. As Tony says, no one has died in one. If you wake up dizzy, or with a headache, you might want to crack the fan vent or window.

Tom

That's the problem Tom. I don't have a roof vent. I have solar on my roof. So I will definitely be leaving both windows on my doors cracked. However, I am concerned about nights when there is a driving rain as I have nothing to stop the rain from coming into the windows. Do people ever use those side window deflectors you can get at weathertech for your car? I think it would be a great idea for the Teardrop but not sure if they would stick to the aluminum and I doubt I want to start drilling holes in the side of the Teardrop.

 

[Tony Latham]

Do people ever use those side window deflectors you can get at weathertech for your car?

Aren't those to deflect wind while riding with the windows down? I think 3M VHB double-sided tape would work fine on clean aluminum if you decided to install them. But don't expect to remove them if they don't work.

In nearly twenty years and three teardrops, I can't recall a driving rain coming through the windows. But we probably adjust to where one is closed and the window on the other side is open. (Plus the top vent cracked.)

Tony

 

[Pugwinkle-TNT]

Do people ever use those side window deflectors you can get at weathertech for your car?

Aren't those to deflect wind while riding with the windows down? I think 3M VHB double-sided tape would work fine on clean aluminum if you decided to install them. But don't expect to remove them if they don't work.

In nearly twenty years and three teardrops, I can't recall a driving rain coming through the windows. But we probably adjust to where one is closed and the window on the other side is open. (Plus the top vent cracked.)

Tony

Yeah I don't think I'll try those deflectors. You are probably right that I would never be able to get them back off if I wanted to.

 

[Tom&Shelly]

We do carry a pair of towels dedicated to putting over our blankets under the windows on potentially rainy nights. A few times I've woken up with wind blowing rain in. The towels keep the blankets dry enough to react appropriately, like closing the windward side window. We also carry a 10 x 10 Easy-Up, and have put it up over the tear. That usually works pretty well, giving us a few feet over each side.

Tom

 

[working on it]

Do people ever use those side window deflectors you can get at weathertech for your car?

Aren't those to deflect wind while riding with the windows down? I think 3M VHB double-sided tape would work fine on clean aluminum if you decided to install them. But don't expect to remove them if they don't work.

In nearly twenty years and three teardrops, I can't recall a driving rain coming through the windows. But we probably adjust to where one is closed and the window on the other side is open. (Plus the top vent cracked.)

Tony

Yeah I don't think I'll try those deflectors. You are probably right that I would never be able to get them back off if I wanted to.

Every time I've camped, there's been a strong thunderstorm, at least once during my stay. Seems the same as when I was tent camping in the Boy Scouts in the 60's, so I was determined to keep water out of my sleeping area (except for the one occasion where I left one door open a bit all day while I was out, the canopy drained into the opening, and I spent the night in a very wet trailer...), However, I took precautions when building to try and avoid that.

• 1) I bought awning-style windows that can remain open (a little) as long as rain is vertical, not horizontal. I put standard aluminum trair window eyebrows over them, just for a liitle help. Nothing will keep a good 'ole Texas T-storm blowing sideways out of any window.
  
  
• 2) For weatherproof ventilation, when the side windows are closed, I put in:
  
  • a) an interior-mounted A/C, with self-draining ducting out the side, that can run totally dry, even when it is locked away inside the galley, and
    
  • b) external waterproof steel vents on the sidewalls (originally designed for cargo trailer roofs, but I didn't want big holes on mine), that never need closing even when tested with a water hose. Plus, unlike thin plastic or aluminum vents, tree branches don't damage them.
• 3) I made my own wind & weather deflectors for the two side doors, to keep wind-driven rain and/or dust from trying to get past my doorseals, when driven on the highway. Other deflectors wouldn't have fit, so I used 1.5" x 1.5" aluminum flat bar stock, and screwed and glued them in place. Bulletproof, so far.
  
  
• 4) I use a pop-up canopy (8x8 actual measurement) offset over mt 4x8 trailer; it give me protection/insulation over the roof, and gives me a 4x8 "porch" outaside the main door (curbside). I put up a sidescreen on the other side (or a full sidetent if I'm camping for awhile), and I position my porta-potty teepee just outside my main door, where I can get in and out of it without getting wet.

Except for my door open incident, ther'es been zero water inside my trailer!

 

[Pugwinkle-TNT]

We do carry a pair of towels dedicated to putting over our blankets under the windows on potentially rainy nights. A few times I've woken up with wind blowing rain in. The towels keep the blankets dry enough to react appropriately, like closing the windward side window. We also carry a 10 x 10 Easy-Up, and have put it up over the tear. That usually works pretty well, giving us a few feet over each side.

Tom

I will take some extra towels and I do plan to get a 10 x 10 easy up. I just hope it really is an easy up as I will be by myself and I'm quite short (4'9").

 

[Brumasterm01]

I up and purchased a CO2 monitor. I have two 3" wall mounted side vents. One up high near the front and the second mounted on the opposite side in the back down low. I also have a small 6" maxx fan mounted on the ceiling(never used).

The little 4x8 trailer i have is well insulated. However, i lose much of my heat out of the side vents. I've neverwoke up gasping for breath or had any condensation. I thought i could use the CO2 monitor to help me further restrict airflow and retain more heat.

We'll i was wrong. With new CO2 Monitor in hand i googled unsafe levels in my 4x8 space. Google AI showed: "It will take approximately 4 to 5 minutes for levels to reach a stuffy threshold (1000ppm) and about 11 to 12 minutes to unhealthy levels(2000ppm). It then went on to predict times and levels for all sorts of unpleasant outcomes.

It then went on to ask me if I had vents. I then described my vents situation and it then went on to say that they would be somewhat ineffective without an outside breeze or temperature gradient inside. It recommendi at a minimum opening the top vent or better yet turn the fan on.

The Google data didn't seem to match my real world experience since I never ive never woke up to any unpleasant symptoms or died. So I tested it out in my trailer in my garage. Windows doors top vent closed. AND Sure enough, I reached 1500pm in 9:45 and the CO2 alarm went off. I hit 2000 ppm within 11 or 12 minutes just as google predicted. Tried it again, with the top vent open with some minor improvements. The Maxx fan ON stopped any CO2 level increases.

So what did I learn.
1. I should not further restrict my side vents and probably open my top vent.
2. No need to over Insulate. You have to pull in that cold outside air anyway. In my case -8 air exchanges per hour. At least that's what google says.
3. If it ain't broken, don't fix it. If your not showing symptoms of co2 poisoning, hang-overs or dead, don't buy a CO2 monitor. Not worth the stress.