Carbon Monoxide!?

-
Image
Weird. The smoke alarm went off, not incredibly odd when I am using the fireplace, but it wasn't the smoke detector. It was the CO alarm. I was totally surprised. It had never gone off as long as I have had one, over many many years. Yep, after resetting it a few times. It was getting a reading over 200 ppm CO. When I took it downstairs I got a reading near 300 ppm. I started getting light headed at this point. After thinking maybe the furnace heat exchanger failed and puzzling around a bit I figured out what happened. As part of the huge winter storm that recently covered almost half of the US, we lost our electricity. So, being well prepared, I rolled out the generator and started doing what I normally do. The generator (although it was completely outside) was creating CO to get in the house. Using the fireplace draft (and possibly other leaks) the whole house created a vacuum around the seal of the basement garage door. After the CO got into the house the forced air heat...
Post a Comment
-

Happy NEW Year!! It is now 2010. Aren't we supposed to be living on the moon by now? Or at least figured out controlled fusion reactions?

Man o' Man it is cold and nasty out. The llamas haven't been outside in a couple of days. You know when the temperature gets below zero the wind doesn't blow? Well the wind is blowing. We only got about 8 inches of snow but I have drifts a couple of feet deep. It is just plan nasty out. It is still a lot more humid than Antarctica, however.

DJ's Bakery is coming along. The first part of the electric is done. The work I have done conjures my experiences working in old city property in Rochester. I guess I learned a lot. It all come back. Working with the crusty/burnt cloth insulated wiring and back-fed 2-wire circuits brings back a lot of memories. I guess the rule of thumb with old house wiring is that "if it works, do it." Working in the environment gets you nostalgic. Thinking about the guy who put the fixture or the piece of wood in place makes you think what they were thinking. The work was done at a time when string was used to secure parcels and there were only flat bladed screws and nails. Seeing the different levels of craftsmanship and quality/durability of the materials is always a treat. I am reminded that new is not better. I reuse the old parts as often as possible since they are better and cheaper. I do appreciate the levels of interchangability between the new and old parts.

Comments

Todd Sheehan said…
Do you have any scones, or crumpets in that new bakery yet? I'm hungry!

It's looking good! When does the heavy machinery (stoves, mixers, etc.) move in?
9:51 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

-
Image
"Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing." -- Benjamin Franklin, Inventor I am back from Ohio. I went out almost to Cincinnati to pick up a "Tobacco Setter." I will be using it for planting blueberries this coming year. It is good for all sorts of transplant crops. It hooks to the tractor and two people ride on it placing seedlings in a spot that gets automatically planted and watered. The guy I bought it from said he has recently sold three of them all to people from NY. It was a great deal so I figured it was justified to spend some money on a nice place to stay. I learned a lot about the Amish. Of course as soon as I got back I won a great deal on a tire changer on ebay out on Long Island. I will be headed out there in a couple of weeks. Check out the Amish guy putting the stuff from Walmart in his buggy. I learned a lot. The Amish seem to like Mountain Dew. And of course, I have to get a picture of at least one of the wre...
Read more
-
Hubble vs. Webb: How Far Will They See? The phone company came and moved their wire yesterday. I am pretty much ready to backfill everything. I have had a couple of consultants in at work the last couple of days.
Read more
-
Image
My kayak trip was awesome! So what happens when three restless boys want to do something exciting in Atlanta over the Thanksgiving holiday? Shoot the Hooch. Traverse the Chattahoochee river in grand style. We did it in a combination of couchsurfer, thrillseeker, and urban explorer (mostly Couchsurfer). We met for the first time last week. The participants, one from France (a recent MBA grad from Georgia Tech), one from California (a 20 something Mechanical Engineer) and me. We put in at the Buford Dam at Lake Lanier. We put in illegally since the park was closed. (I mean who would want to use a park on a holiday?) We parked illegally at both ends of the run (not sure of the reasons, but an accumulation of a $50 parking ticket). And, we camped illegally for two nights. So, let's add some danger with two beginner kayakers, and very fast water. It is very dangerous, at least one person has died in the Chattahoochee in the last year from swift water. The risks were fully assessed. This...
Read more