Last night the carbon monoxide alarm woke us, showing a level of 75ppm. As far as I could see the fire appeared to be burning normally and should have been making enough heat to keep the flue active and at the settings we always use overnight. Opening a couple of window top vents made a very slow indent on the level, but finally it appeared to be dropping sufficiently to stop the alarm tripping. I increased the air to the stove with the intention of increasing the heat and therefore the flue draft. Two hours later the alarm went off again. I decided that the best option was then to shut the fire down altogether by closing all vents. In the morning, the fire was cold, but the level was still 50ppm and only fell significantly when all windows were opened. My conclusion from these events is that carbon monoxide will pervade the whole space and serious ventilation is needed to remove it. There was an almost total lack of wind in the night and I was using the small chimney. Our full size one is insulated and might better have been used instead to keep the flue draft supported. The alarm is a potential lifesaver.
Post Script: It appeared much later that the back plate on the stove was partly detatched and probably the cause of this problem. Now a boat safety check I understand.
..and now the journey continues
Not many locks today, but a lot of cruising. First to Cosgrove, then to Wolverton for a last minute shop, then the long haul through Milton Keynes including Fenny Stratford stop lock. At Soulbury, a large team of IWA members was in attendance to operate the three locks, for a donation of course. We learned that yesterday they had collected some £200, but today, in the rain, things were a bit disappointing. Talking of rain, the day had started out dry though overcast ad the rain, when it came was very light but slowly became heavier and with the cold wind as well, not very pleasant. So gradually we had to dress up until finally we had the full monty. There was very little traffic today, mostly Wyvern boats starting out. We reached Grove Lock at 16:30, 10 and a half hours after setting out.
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