How do you handle the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning?

@itchy
I have seen the same, alcohol burners definitely do produce CO – one absolutely need to take precautions with those as well.

 

I believe he means .....
Dig a hole in the snow and have the tent, no floor, set at the ground level. That way the floor is lower and the top of the tent is higher.

From LINK.
I thought this was a great and interesting drawing. I have never had the pillars, I just dug out a huge space underneath. I had a kitchen area and room for 2 sleeping bags. The sleeping areas were also places to sit. I used my Black Diamond Betamid.
I do miss lots of snow, but I love NC.

"snwcmpr"

 

@snwcmpr What I'm referring to is more like this:

The main point is to get the heattrap working. Then you will have about 0 degrees Celsius in the "living room" and subzero in the access area.
Picture borrowed from this site - sadly only in Norwegian.

This is basically the same construction principle as the Inuit igloos. You don't want to sleep in the coldest (lowest) part unless you have to.

 

I am just digging a hole in the vestibule. There I have place for my feet when sitting in the opening of the inner tent and with the opening of the outer tent just in front of my nose, so it is easy to get fresh air when the pot is on the stove. Besides my feet, down in the hole, I have my stove, in good distance from the tent fabric, so I do not risk any fire hazzard.

 

@afoton I have never used a tent in the winter... Just a bivuakk made of a tarpaulin (presenning) when there wasn't enough snow.

 

The heat-trap or cold-pit (canal) as we call them serves two purposes. It gives you more "headrom" so you can cook and dress standing up. If you make sure the pit can drain the cold air (the tent should be in raised so that you have an inclination from the opening), then it wil also contribute to keeping the temperature on the upper level inside the tent at a more comfortable level. If you just dig a pit the cold will accumulate and build up within. This picture should give you an idea

 

In snow I always cook outside, in a pit if it's windy. If I had to cook under shelter, I would set up a tarp over the stove -- again probably using a pit dug out on the downwind side. I have cooked next to the tent, starting the stove outside and then moving it next to the door so I could lay in my sleeping bag while cooking. Needless to say, you need to be very careful if you do this.

I like the pit idea in the tent.

If it's really pouring, you close the flaps as much as possible, and put out the fire. If it's raining you're not likely to freeze, so long as you stay dry -- which is not possible with the flaps open. Complete downpours don't usually last very long. With snow, it's usually possible to adjust the flaps to exclude most of the falling/blowing snow -- at least if you set the tipi up correctly, with door (and flap opening) on the prevailing wind's downwind side.

Just remembered another paranoid thing I did: I ran a length of 3" diameter PVC pipe from next to the stove door to the outside under the tipi fabric, to be sure there was adequate ventilation. I always checked to be sure the outside opening of the pipe was clear. (Once more, thousands of years of experience shows this was unnecessary, but it made me feel better. It also cut into the available sleeping space and meant the 2AM addition of a log meant I had to get out of my blankets.)

....Arch

 

My wife, and some other friends, lived in them in their youth. Hippies, I guess. They say the flaps didn't get closed but that the rain followed the wall all the way down. Boeing airplanes are designed to have the moisture follow the wall down to the bottom of the plane.

 

Tipis aren't at their best in a sustained rain. Water runs down the poles (the tops are outside, after all) until it gets to where you've tied on the liner - say 5-6 feet above the floor - at which point it drips. Luckily most drips are onto the liner, but still not pleasant. If the flaps are open, then there's no place that isn't getting wet. They're great in snow or dry cold. The liner keeps the heat in. With a fire or stove, it's easy to keep temperatures comfortable (shirt sleeves, maybe a sweater), even if it's below freezing outside. I've never used one in hard cold, but it has to be warmer than a tent.

....Arch

 

With isolated walls and roof, like a snow cave, igloo or a thick cotton tent, the cold pit has its mission. But with thin nylon walls, this has no meaning. The warmth get right trough the walls, and it is just the power of the stove that is holding a comfortable temperature inside. When shuthing down the stove, the temperature will drop to near outside temperature in short time, and it is the isolation of the sleeping bag that will give you a comfortable sleep. A canal out of the vestibule or flat floor, will do absolutly nothing for the temperature inside the tent.

 

Have to lay it on thick with the scouts. They are never allowed to cook inside their tents. Not only because of the CM but other fumes, spitting fat, inherent condensation and the risk of the tent burning down around their ears.
When we have a central mess tent the "double tar burner" that serves as our weapon of (no) choice is used with the mess tent's doors open and the mesh window fully exposed.


Regards
John

 

I just wanted to share a report from the Norwegian Research Establishment.

https://forsvaret.no/en/CustomContent/Carbon_monoxide_emissions_from_camping_stoves.pdf

 

This was a pleasant read, folks!
I'd just like to remind anyone who'd like to try the dug out cooking pit in the vestibule.
If using white gas for fuel, you're more likely to have fumes collect at the bottom of the pit and cause all kinds of problems next time you're lighting your stove. Goes for propane too. Stick to kero or make really sure you don't have any leaks in your equipment.

 

Good Morning, All,

As soon as I began to read this thread, I recalled an excellent article and testing about CM problems with backpacking stoves. Here's a link:

https://classiccampstoves.com/threads/carbon-monoxide-from-backpacking-stoves.85/

Lots of excellent information, and @snwcmpr , is absolutely right in stating that MSR actually redesigned, and lengthened their stove pot supports, to cut down on CM production, with the resulting lengthening of boiling times. Great thread, with lots of excellent reading. Thanks to one and all who contributed to this educational and informative thread!! CCS at it's best!!! Take care, and God Bless!

Every Good Wish,
Doc