Suffocation while cooking under an umbrella?
I was recently backpacking in Olympic National Park. I didn't have a tarp with me (was being cheap. Bought one shortly after the trip) but had a $5 umbrella. It rained a bit during one the mornings and I was cooking under my umbrella (the main reason I brought it) to protect the stove from getting wet. One thing that occurred to me as I was cooking is the umbrella was probably collecting some of the gases from the stove. Once in a while I kinda tilted the umbrella a bit to "let the gas out" from underneath.
My question: Do I risk suffocation while cooking under an umbrella?
I've thought about it more since my trip and am inclined to think no. I feel as though there is enough airflow under the umbrella and so as long as I am not sticking my head up to the very tippy top of the umbrella to breath I am fine. But curious to hear the thoughts of others.
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The answer to this is a resounding: No.
The main problem with suffocation and cookers is in enclosed spaces where there is no airflow. Suffocation when using a cooker can happen when either the O2 concentration drops below the minimum needed, or when the CO2 (carbon dioxide) or CO (carbon monoxide) concentration rises to a toxic point. In the case of cookers both scenarios can happen if the air-flow is low enough. CO and CO2 are both undetectable without specialist equipment at levels which are toxic to humans.
Under normal conditions and assuming your cooker is working properly, the cooker will be producing mostly carbon dioxide. This alone is not toxic enough to be deadly as our bodies have very efficient mechanisms for removing CO2 from our systems. If the cooker is not working properly or is without an adequate oxygen supply (as you might find in an enclosed space), then you will be generating carbon monoxide. This gas bind irreversibly to our hemoglobin and accumulates in the system, and is much more commonly responsible for deaths from enclosed spaces than CO2.
In the case of camping all it takes when you have a tent or similar space is to leave the door open. This will provide enough air exchange to maintain both proper burning of the cooker (and less CO produced).
With your umbrella, even at the peak of the umbrella, there is unlikely to be a toxic environment as the cooker is creating a constant up-rising of hot gasses, including those drawn in along with the gasses that have been burnt. These gasses mix enough that you would be unlikely to suffer any serious side effects from breathing this mix.
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I assume by "gas" you mean the exhaust from your stove? Carbon monoxide? If you're using isobutane (typical US backpacking stove fuel) CO is not normally a significant emission. Even if it were, you'd have to be cooking in a pit or an enclosed space for it to accumulate as CO is heavier than air. (It has been pointed out to me the CO is in fact lighter than air, so text relating to that has been struck out, thank you for enlightening me, SE.)
You are not in danger of suffocation from this, now fire on the other hand... just don't get your plastic umbrella too close to the flame!
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CO2 is not a problem in cooking combustion quantities AND is significantly denser (so "heavier") than air.
As fyrepenguin said
"At STP, air is 1.29 g/L, while CO is 1.25 g/L.".
Molecular weights per gram mol are
CO 28 grams
O2 32 grams
N2 28 grams
O2:N2 at 1:4 ratio 29.2 g.
I'd expect CO to JUST rise - but with open sides and even a modest thermal stream it should be absolutely fine (for most values of absolute :-) ).
If you didn't subsequently get a headache you got no significant CO input.
A headache is an indicator that you received a survivable dose that was higher than you should have allowed yourself to receive.
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