Courtney Thomas wrote:

Do you know where I can find the exact combustion byproducts of an Origo
and in what amounts they are produced ?


Courtney ,

Any time you have a flame below decks you should use caution. A
CO detector and good fire extinguishers are good ideas on *any*
boat. Don't let the people who've never used these heaters/stoves
convince you that they're dangerous.

I don't know the exact proportions of gases - perhaps you can
find out from Origo. I can say that we've never had a problem
using our Heat Pal, even while we are sleeping. Alcohol is a very
efficient fuel and I think that the amount of CO produced is very
low. We've found that different brands of fuel will have more or
less smell and those smells probably mean that extra gases are
being produced. I think this has to do with impurities in the
fuel. There are some types of fuel that smell so bad we won't use
without having the companionway open. I also believe that the
quality of fuel is related to the amount of water vapor produced.
The Origo brand fuel seems to be the best, but it is very
expensive. I suspect that a filled cartridge can pull water out
of the air, so we keep ours in a plastic bag when we're not using it.

The worst problems we've ever had with our Heat Pal are running
out of alcohol half way through a two week trip, and water vapor
condensing on the aluminum hatch frame and dripping on our faces
while we sleep.

Cindy

(I should disclose that we're looking into getting a Sigmar
diesel heater.)