Hi
The subject says it all really!!!!
Do i need a carbon monoxide alarm when i'm fusing in my studio?
Thanks
Probably not for fusing? But - melting glass does give off a variety of fumes - lots of carbon dioxide, a small amount of carbon monoxide possibly, and various nitrogen oxides, and dioxides. Depending on your detector, it may not pick up any of these and even if it does you may be at a dangerously high level of fumes anyway - especially if you are lampworking without ventilation.
So - look at your ventilation first. Hope you have some? - and then read this really well written information from the ISGB - which should point you in the right direction. There's no harm in having a carbon monoxide detector - in fact, there's never any harm in having anything that may protect you - including a fire extinguisher - but don't rely on them.
Anyway - here's that article:
http://www.isgb.org/info/safety/uploads/swsafety.pdf
My grandmother died of carbon monoxide poisoning from a faulty gas fire in the 1980's......I would never, ever be without one in my house.
So, of course an extra detector was first on my list when I started lamp working. The alarm is as near as possible on the wall next to my torch.
Corinne.
I put some charcoal in my kiln for one firing and the Carbon Monoxide alarm went off! Scared the **** out of me, it was rather loud. I was sitting in my tiny studio next to the kiln at the time (and feeling a bit 'tired' so personally I'm glad I have one. Mine's so loud it can be heard the length of the garden was wondering what all the beeping was ::)
For fusing, I wouldn't think so for one moment, unless you're fusing in a gas fired kiln....
Most fusing is done with the kiln unvented, occasionally, if you're burning off organic inclusions, or using glassline paper, you should have the bung out if you have one, and if I use colloidal silica (a hardening agent), I leave the bung out for the hardening cycle.
I recently found out never to use galvanised wire (not by experience, I might add, but research) as that does give off nasty stuff from the zinc coating, but as Sal says, carbon monoxide monitors probably wouldn't pick these up anyway.
My neighbour also nearly died from carbon monoxide poisoning, the chimney sweep hadn't swept the chimney properly. She knocked on my door in a daze and said her 'smoke alarm' was going off. She didn't want to call her relatives as she said she had bothered them too much already. She said if I wasn't in she would have stayed put. The 'smoke alarm' turned out to be the carbon monoxide alarm. I dashed in there opened all the windows and ran out again. She was quite ill from it. Gave my neighbour a cuppa and called the housing association who her house belongs to.
So...me too, I'd never be without one.
I hope that was investigated by the HSE as there are clear guidelines for suspected CO poisoning.
I'm not sure what happened after, it was sone time ago, but the cause was fumes blowing back in from coal burner as flue/chimney blocked.
The batteries on my CO detector ran out this week. I've had it since I started lampworking. Turns out the batteries outlasted the useful life of the unit and it should have been replaced in November 2012. I have a new one on it's way, a 7 year one, but I obviously didn't take any notice of the warning, didn't see it at the time or forgot all about it.
They are not expensive given what they do - so I would get one. We have a couple in the house and I have one in my Beadmobile lampworking caravan, it went off the other day as I'd forgotten to open the back window - I really wouldn't be without mine. I know you are fusing but it can't do any harm :)