Air Tight Teardrops can KILL YOU

Important Information and Stickies...
(Threads with essential information about building teardrops)

Re: Air Tight Teardrops can KILL YOU

Postby working on it » Fri Aug 17, 2018 8:10 pm

Staryder61 wrote:
working on it wrote: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.
2013 HHRv "squareback/squaredrop", rugged, 4x8 TTT, 2225 lbs
  • *3500 lb Dexter EZ-Lube braked axle, 3000 lb.springs, active-progressive bumpstop suspension
  • *27 x 8.5-14LT AT tires (x 3) *Weight Distribution system for single-beam tongue
  • *100% LED's & GFCI outlets, 3x fans, AM/FM/CD/Aux. *A/C & heat, Optima AGM, inverter & charger(s)
  • *extended-run, on-board, 2500w generator *Coleman dual-fuel stove & lantern, Ikea grill, vintage skillet
  • *zinc/stainless front & side racks *98"L x 6" diameter rod & reel carrier tube on roof
173193172890148599
User avatar
working on it
2000 Club
2000 Club
 
Posts: 2167
Images: 457
Joined: Tue Oct 04, 2011 9:05 pm
Location: DFW Texas

Re: Air Tight Teardrops can KILL YOU

Postby Staryder61 » Sat Aug 18, 2018 5:37 am

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



Our CTC
6' X 12' CTC = Texas Sized Tackle Box
http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=74704
User avatar
Staryder61
Silver Donating Member
 
Posts: 827
Images: 528
Joined: Mon Oct 30, 2017 5:11 pm
Location: In one of 254 Counties in Texas

Re: Air Tight Teardrops can KILL YOU

Postby Pugwinkle » Fri Sep 15, 2023 7:43 am

Would this be a good option to put in the teardrop to monitor the carbon dioxide levels?
https://www.amazon.ca/Newentor-Detector-Temperature-Classrooms-400-5000ppm/dp/B09PHHYGZK/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8&th=1
Pugwinkle
Teardrop Inspector
 
Posts: 10
Joined: Fri Jan 07, 2022 1:12 pm
Top

Re: Air Tight Teardrops can KILL YOU

Postby Tom&Shelly » Fri Sep 15, 2023 8:31 am

Pugwinkle wrote:Would this be a good option to put in the teardrop to monitor the carbon dioxide levels?
https://www.amazon.ca/Newentor-Detector-Temperature-Classrooms-400-5000ppm/dp/B09PHHYGZK/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
172912 170466
Tom&Shelly
Palladium Donating Member
 
Posts: 2174
Images: 1903
Joined: Tue Sep 05, 2017 3:27 pm
Location: Upstate New York/New Mexico
Top

Re: Air Tight Teardrops can KILL YOU

Postby tony.latham » Fri Sep 15, 2023 4:44 pm

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

I rest my case. :thinking:

Tony
User avatar
tony.latham
Gold Donating Member
 
Posts: 6874
Images: 17
Joined: Mon Jul 08, 2013 4:03 pm
Location: Middle of Idaho on the edge of nowhere
Top

Re: Air Tight Teardrops can KILL YOU

Postby friz » Fri Sep 15, 2023 8:04 pm

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

I rest my case. :thinking:

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

Sent from my SM-S906U using Tapatalk
The "Sin Bin"
150133
User avatar
friz
500 Club
 
Posts: 737
Images: 2
Joined: Mon Jan 03, 2011 10:01 pm
Top

Re: Air Tight Teardrops can KILL YOU

Postby Pugwinkle » Sat Sep 16, 2023 5:39 am

Tom&Shelly wrote:
Pugwinkle wrote:Would this be a good option to put in the teardrop to monitor the carbon dioxide levels?
https://www.amazon.ca/Newentor-Detector-Temperature-Classrooms-400-5000ppm/dp/B09PHHYGZK/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.
Pugwinkle
Teardrop Inspector
 
Posts: 10
Joined: Fri Jan 07, 2022 1:12 pm
Top

Re: Air Tight Teardrops can KILL YOU

Postby tony.latham » Sat Sep 16, 2023 10:25 am

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


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

Tony
User avatar
tony.latham
Gold Donating Member
 
Posts: 6874
Images: 17
Joined: Mon Jul 08, 2013 4:03 pm
Location: Middle of Idaho on the edge of nowhere
Top

Re: Air Tight Teardrops can KILL YOU

Postby Tom&Shelly » Sat Sep 16, 2023 1:39 pm

Pugwinkle wrote:
Tom&Shelly wrote:
Pugwinkle wrote:Would this be a good option to put in the teardrop to monitor the carbon dioxide levels?
https://www.amazon.ca/Newentor-Detector-Temperature-Classrooms-400-5000ppm/dp/B09PHHYGZK/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. :thinking:

Tom
172912 170466
Tom&Shelly
Palladium Donating Member
 
Posts: 2174
Images: 1903
Joined: Tue Sep 05, 2017 3:27 pm
Location: Upstate New York/New Mexico
Top

Re: Air Tight Teardrops can KILL YOU

Postby Tom&Shelly » Sat Sep 16, 2023 2:15 pm

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! :thumbsup:

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. :frightened:

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. :NC

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

Tom
172912 170466
Tom&Shelly
Palladium Donating Member
 
Posts: 2174
Images: 1903
Joined: Tue Sep 05, 2017 3:27 pm
Location: Upstate New York/New Mexico
Top

Re: Air Tight Teardrops can KILL YOU

Postby Pugwinkle » Sun Sep 17, 2023 5:26 am

Tom&Shelly wrote:
Pugwinkle wrote:
Tom&Shelly wrote:
Pugwinkle wrote:Would this be a good option to put in the teardrop to monitor the carbon dioxide levels?
https://www.amazon.ca/Newentor-Detector-Temperature-Classrooms-400-5000ppm/dp/B09PHHYGZK/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. :thinking:

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.
Pugwinkle
Teardrop Inspector
 
Posts: 10
Joined: Fri Jan 07, 2022 1:12 pm
Top

Re: Air Tight Teardrops can KILL YOU

Postby tony.latham » Sun Sep 17, 2023 10:04 am

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.)

Image

Tony
User avatar
tony.latham
Gold Donating Member
 
Posts: 6874
Images: 17
Joined: Mon Jul 08, 2013 4:03 pm
Location: Middle of Idaho on the edge of nowhere
Top

Re: Air Tight Teardrops can KILL YOU

Postby Pugwinkle » Sun Sep 17, 2023 4:31 pm

tony.latham wrote:
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.)

Image

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.
Pugwinkle
Teardrop Inspector
 
Posts: 10
Joined: Fri Jan 07, 2022 1:12 pm
Top

Re: Air Tight Teardrops can KILL YOU

Postby Tom&Shelly » Sun Sep 17, 2023 6:23 pm

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
172912 170466
Tom&Shelly
Palladium Donating Member
 
Posts: 2174
Images: 1903
Joined: Tue Sep 05, 2017 3:27 pm
Location: Upstate New York/New Mexico
Top

Re: Air Tight Teardrops can KILL YOU

Postby working on it » Sun Sep 17, 2023 6:56 pm

Pugwinkle wrote:
tony.latham wrote:
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.)

Image

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!
2013 HHRv "squareback/squaredrop", rugged, 4x8 TTT, 2225 lbs
  • *3500 lb Dexter EZ-Lube braked axle, 3000 lb.springs, active-progressive bumpstop suspension
  • *27 x 8.5-14LT AT tires (x 3) *Weight Distribution system for single-beam tongue
  • *100% LED's & GFCI outlets, 3x fans, AM/FM/CD/Aux. *A/C & heat, Optima AGM, inverter & charger(s)
  • *extended-run, on-board, 2500w generator *Coleman dual-fuel stove & lantern, Ikea grill, vintage skillet
  • *zinc/stainless front & side racks *98"L x 6" diameter rod & reel carrier tube on roof
173193172890148599
User avatar
working on it
2000 Club
2000 Club
 
Posts: 2167
Images: 457
Joined: Tue Oct 04, 2011 9:05 pm
Location: DFW Texas
Top

PreviousNext

Return to Essential Information about building teardrops

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests