Winterizing & Carbon-monoxide Posioning
 

Guys - just finished up topping my engines off with antifreeze tonight. Should have finished up yesterday, however, the evening turned out a little different than I expected it would.

In winterizing the engines yesterday, I ended up with a brush with death by not having the proper ventilation where the boat is stored. The back side of my "shed" was open, but the tight confines of it obviously allowed CO to build up, and within a VERY short time I found myself dizzy, nauseous, heart racing, shortness of breath, and slightly disoriented. Needless to say, I got out of there as quickly as possible, but as maybe many of you know, CO does not leave your blood stream since it adsorbs to your hemoglobin.

Anyway, it turned into two different emergency rooms (the first hospital wasn't equipped with a hyperbaric chamber).

I guess I'm posting this because I consider myself damn lucky, and perhaps my mistake may make others aware. I thought that having the rear of the shed open, and the exhaust blowing out, that it'd be OK, but, obviously that wasn't the case. I have a family, loving wife, and 5 kids. WHAT A DUMB, STUPID MISTAKE, that almost cost me my life, and my family loss and hardships. DON'T FOLLOW IN MY FOOTSTEPS!!!

-Mike

Wow, glad your ok.

wow glad you are okay,

Close call, and glad you are OK. Years ago, my buddy was a regional mechanic for Jiffy Lube. We used to wait until snow was on the ground to winterize; and would pull into the closest Jiffy Lube and winterize with the heaters on.

We had a couple 15' long lengths of corrugated drain tile tubing that we'd stick over the ends of the exhaust tips to run the exhaust out of the building. Tape them to the transom with shrink wrap tape. It works great when trying to run the boat indoors.

http://img.orbitbid.com/2012/07/03/3...12%20(157).JPG

Thank you for sharing. CO poisoning can cause strokes in the brain. You are very fortunate. There is Somebody that wants you around to be a Daddy.

CO is a silent killer causing dizziness, lack of ability to focus and sleepiness. It can also have long term and permanent affect. You need cross ventilation and fans to rid an area of CO. It is heavier than air and will settle in buildings corners.

Wannabe

First of all, Glad you're OK and the story has a happy ending.

Just a to elaborate a bit on the CO thing. It will naturally dissipate from your body. However it is absorbed much faster than your body can get rid of it. That's the reason why even relatively low levels given enough time can build up in your body and become toxic or fatal.

Thanks for the kind comments... Just to update you guys, the level of red blood cells that were rendered inoperable was 28%... Apparently I'm pretty lucky. Weird things have happened to me since then. Mainly, I've forgotten relatively simple words, and worst of all, ONE glass of wine makes me nauseous as all hell (major bummer)! Glad to be alive though too...

Shag: You may want to go see a neurologist. I am glad you are alive. There was a story recently about some people in Ohio who brought a generator into their garage and died from CO poisoning because they were out of power. It's nothing to fool with.

Wannabe