Check your exhaust system frequently.
Detection good, prevention better.
I know that a sudden exhaust failure is possible, but more often it's a small crack that propagates over time and causes the issue.
I pressure checked (shop vac and soap) my muffler every annual(last one 88hrs previous) Every 5-10hrs I pulled the cowl and visually inspected everything. Had I had a Sensoron or similar I would have noticed the crack immediately when it happened. Well before I had a problem.
This model has a fairly strong metal clip; I attach it to the side pocket in my cockpit where I store my checklist, charts, etc.
I don't think it needs to be in my field of view - the alarm is very loud; the whole idea is that you DON'T have to watch it, it'll get your attention if or when needed.
- Martin
Martin, I recommend having it in your field of view. Being able to see the flashing lights while the alarm is going off helps identify the alarm.
Do I need one? My cabin heat does not come off an exhaust can. (it comes from compressed air exiting the turbo).
Ie what is the chance of (incapacitating) CO entering the cabin from temporary configuration changes or taxing with the door open or an ongoing exhaust leak that finds its way through the firewall?
Generaly pressurized airplanes are much safer in regards to CO. But the recent accident of the PA46 in the English Channel shows that it can happen.
Oh
well having a properly maintained exhaust system helps too. God forbid anyone would spend money maintaining the airplane.
either way it can, has and will continue to kill people.
I agree a properly maintained exhaust system is important. I maintained my airplane to a high standard. Are you saying I didn't spend enough money doing so?
Perhaps stated in a smart assish way, but not a joke.
If the individual in the video back in the first post had been running LOP, he wouldn't have had such a great story to tell because he wouldn't have succumbed to CO. Just grumbling about the cost to fix his exhaust system. Eventually.
I was flying an O-360. LOP isn't an option, although I always leaned aggressively. Both on the ground and in the air I ran as lean as I possibly could, with the exception of TO and initial climb. I was generally at or near peak, much less CO than 50 or 100 ROP. I was full rich on the accident flight as I passed out just 4.5min after TO. In this case full rich actually saved my life. The airplane only climbed to 12.5K and burned though 22gal (what was in the left tank) in 1.5hrs. If I were leaned at all I would have went much higher and longer and most likely would have perished.
Given the topic, may be pertinent to mention that pulse oximeters do not detect CO poisoning.
Your spo2 monitor will read erroneously high in cases of CO poisoning.
I wanted to point this out during the interview and forgot to. I checked my SPo2 during the first flight of the day and noted I was doing better than my average. I falsely assumed I was going good, but the CO was causing it to read higher.
Arguably the CO detector isn't likely to be so needed in the summer when not using cabin heat....but you never know what might have not seemed like a pressing issue to someone else.
After digging into data from CO accidents over the past 40 years I discovered that only 1/2 of the accidents were caused by breaches in the heating system. So it should be taken seriously both summer and winter.
Maybe the CO is coming from the aircraft waiting for takeoff inline in front of you in the run-up area. Would say 5 minutes of that sort of diluted exposure be enough to cause lapses in judgement? I have no idea...
Small amounts from ground ops should have no effect on judgement. It's prolonged exposure that is the problem. In my case it was prolonged exposure over several flights. The half life of CO in you body is about 4-5hrs so even with breaks in exposure you can build on the previous.
The benefits of the digital CO detectors are enormous. They can pick up very small levels of CO that are not physiologically dangerous, but point to a growing problem. I have had reports of people finding small cracks in the muffler that their maintainers didn't find. One friend discovered a broken v-band clamp on his turbo, another reported finding a broken engine mount that caused a shift in an exhaust joint that resulted in a CO rise. They should be used like we use an engine monitor, looking for small changes and investigating when we do.
Cheers,
Dan
