DON`T GET GASSED

A few months ago i fitted a smoke alarm and a Carbon Monoxide alarm. Just as with many insurances you have them and hopefully never need to claim but god help you if something happens and you are not covered.
Well sitting here yesterday evening doing the blog the C. Monoxide alarm suddenly went off and after recovering from a near heart attack, boy is it LOUD, i silenced it and first went out and pushed the brush down the chimney thinking the logs i have been burning lately had caused tar to form on the inside and cause a blockage. Having satisfied myself all was ok i then checked around the joint where the chimney enters the top of the stove, i had at the beginning of winter renewed the fire cement here but worth checking i thought but no all was ok. Next the door seal, not easy to check other than looking for any breaks or overly compressed sections that might allow fumes to seep out. By now i`m mystified no explanation so i decided to shut the front doors, these were thrown open before i even silenced the alarm-- fresh air first sort it second, after 2 hours the alarm was still silent but just in case i decided to leave the fire out.
This morning after a nights sleep a closer look at the problem revealed the glass in the door had cracked and because the heat tends to craze the glass it is not as obvious as say in the clear boat windows.
Luckily i managed to get a new glass today from a boat chandlers.
I blog this not to you at home although fitting alarms is a good idea because your central heating boiler can emit C. Monoxide if not in good order, no it`s to other boaters i appeal to. Our small living space can quickly fill with fumes so please check your stove door glass carefully and fit an alarm. If mine had not been there it is a very real possibility i could have been poisoned while i slept that night.