spimik
New Member
The topic of CO with a camper top has been discussed at length here and I want to thank everyone for their thoughts- it got us thinking this winter as we were adding a camper top to our '08 330.
We spent 4 hours on the boat yesterday with a highly technical IAQ meter- the TPI 1010. This is a very accurate, highly calibrated test meter that measures both CO and C02 along with ambient temperature and humidity. Our findings were somewhat shocking, at least to us.
With the center piece of window isinglass and the canvas at the walk-thru removed, and ALL of the screens in the camper top fully rolled down, we registered cockpit CO readings all day yesterday between 16ppm and 173ppm at rpms of 900-1500. (Our normal cruise rpms)
I found this information on the web with respect to CO levels:
At what level does carbon monoxide become toxic?
For healthy adults, CO becomes toxic when it reaches a level higher than 50 ppm (parts per million) with continuous exposure over an eight hour period.. When the level of CO becomes higher than that, a person will suffer from symptoms of exposure. Mild exposure over a few hours (a CO level between 70 ppm and 100 ppm) include flu-like symptoms such as headaches, sore eyes and a runny nose. Medium exposure (a CO level between 150 ppm to 300 ppm) will produce dizziness, drowsiness and vomiting. Extreme exposure (a CO level of 400 ppm and higher) will result in unconsciousness, brain damage and death.
It was shocking to see how quickly CO accumulated in the cockpit when variations to the direction and speed of the boat where made. The only time we registered a 0ppm reading was when we were up on plane and moving. The meter is factor set to alarm at 30ppm and it was in constant alarm mode pulling in and out of our slip- as soon as the engines were fired up, the CO level exceeded the 30ppm alarm setting.
It was a cooler day and we passed dozens of Sea Rays/Cruisers yesterday with ALL of the camper canvas up- I wonder what levels they were experiencing.
Our custom camper top installer told us when we asked him about the station wagon effect with a camper top- he said "As long as you have the walk thru window cracked open and the back isinglass open a bit, it will create enough air flow to clear the cockpit." He has no idea what he is talking about. I would suggest that this why Sea Ray does not offer a camper top in the 30+ foot range. They must know something about C0 levels and do not want to assume the liability.
We spent 4 hours on the boat yesterday with a highly technical IAQ meter- the TPI 1010. This is a very accurate, highly calibrated test meter that measures both CO and C02 along with ambient temperature and humidity. Our findings were somewhat shocking, at least to us.
With the center piece of window isinglass and the canvas at the walk-thru removed, and ALL of the screens in the camper top fully rolled down, we registered cockpit CO readings all day yesterday between 16ppm and 173ppm at rpms of 900-1500. (Our normal cruise rpms)
I found this information on the web with respect to CO levels:
At what level does carbon monoxide become toxic?
For healthy adults, CO becomes toxic when it reaches a level higher than 50 ppm (parts per million) with continuous exposure over an eight hour period.. When the level of CO becomes higher than that, a person will suffer from symptoms of exposure. Mild exposure over a few hours (a CO level between 70 ppm and 100 ppm) include flu-like symptoms such as headaches, sore eyes and a runny nose. Medium exposure (a CO level between 150 ppm to 300 ppm) will produce dizziness, drowsiness and vomiting. Extreme exposure (a CO level of 400 ppm and higher) will result in unconsciousness, brain damage and death.
It was shocking to see how quickly CO accumulated in the cockpit when variations to the direction and speed of the boat where made. The only time we registered a 0ppm reading was when we were up on plane and moving. The meter is factor set to alarm at 30ppm and it was in constant alarm mode pulling in and out of our slip- as soon as the engines were fired up, the CO level exceeded the 30ppm alarm setting.
It was a cooler day and we passed dozens of Sea Rays/Cruisers yesterday with ALL of the camper canvas up- I wonder what levels they were experiencing.
Our custom camper top installer told us when we asked him about the station wagon effect with a camper top- he said "As long as you have the walk thru window cracked open and the back isinglass open a bit, it will create enough air flow to clear the cockpit." He has no idea what he is talking about. I would suggest that this why Sea Ray does not offer a camper top in the 30+ foot range. They must know something about C0 levels and do not want to assume the liability.