I am not really sure why a gas burner with a ceramic flower pot over
it would lead to more carbon monoxide than a gas burner without one.
I am assuming the pot is upside down in the same location as a pot or
pan would be, and not directly down on the stove, so there wouldn't be
any more air restriction than with a pot or pan.

In any case - open flames are run inside the cabin all the time with
oil lamps, stoves, and heaters - some of which are oil fired and some
are gas. Mostly the heaters have a flue to exhaust the gases
generated.


"Charles T. Low" [withoutUN] wrote:

Carbon monoxide still kills the odd boater (as mentioned in other replies).
I wouldn't run any kind of open flame inside my cabin, even assuming you
have fresh intake air, without a CO detector (but I don't know how reliable
they are). In fact, I wouldn't run a generator anywhere on the boat without
a CO detector.

I have heard that propane will set off the CO detectors. We have the
CO detectors in our cabin(s) even though we have no heater (other than
electric) there to detect CO from any source including the engine,
even though diesel doesn't seem to generate as much CO as gas.

We don't have a genset because Bob doesn't want a gasoline one (for
reasons of flammability of the fuel as well as CO generation) and the
diesel ones are too expensive.

But what about that? Do you have a generator? Would it make sense to use one
to run an electric heater? That would keep the combustion out of the cabin
itself (although fumes can still get everywhere, and you have to be careful,
especially if there is no wind...).

OTOH, I know that on the few occasions when I've used an electric heater
while on shore power, the heat vanishes almost immediately as soon as I open
the companionway.

I don't think it is that bad, and it isn't any different for electric
heat than any other kind of heat. Although it may be that the space
doesn't get as hot with electric heat.

grandma Rosalie