# Two people suffer suspected carbon monoxide poisoning from home brew d



## AndrewQLD (3/5/14)

This news story shows how facts and truth in reporting have no place in today's news reporting. It's very frustrating to read this sort of sensationalism.

http://www.news.com.au/national/nsw-act/two-people-suffer-suspected-carbon-monoxide-poisoning-from-home-brew-distillery-at-kingsford/story-fnii5s3x-1226903159024


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## dicko (3/5/14)

Got to agree with you Andrew, but who would buy or read a newspaper if the stories weren't sensationalised by creative writing.
It is a shame that we can't have news reported accurately.


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## geneabovill (3/5/14)

Distillation to make wine? Clearly the EMT guys and the reporters are clueless.


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## Natdene (3/5/14)

What about the bit claiming it was from "the combustion process"??


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## kevo (3/5/14)

Ruckus said:


> Distillation to make wine? Clearly the EMT guys and the reporters are clueless.


Are things like grappa etc. made from a wine base that is distilled?


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## wynnum1 (3/5/14)

Where they running a large gas burner in a confined space .


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## Red Baron (3/5/14)

The article looks legit to me- it even states it was a distillery in the title. I think kevo and wynnum have hit the nail on the head- grappa made on a gas burner in an enclosed space.......
The only sensationalism I see here is the first 4 posts in this topic.

Cheers,
RB


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## Bribie G (3/5/14)

Typical Murdoch crappy work experience reporter.


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## TimT (3/5/14)

Now I'm curious. What are the myths and what's accurate? How could a distillery produce large amounts of carbon monoxide? Obviously the bit about them producing 'wine' is silly.


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## geneabovill (3/5/14)

Red Baron said:


> The article looks legit to me- it even states it was a distillery in the title. I think kevo and wynnum have hit the nail on the head- grappa made on a gas burner in an enclosed space.......
> The only sensationalism I see here is the first 4 posts in this topic.
> 
> Cheers,
> RB


Interesting point. I'm unsure how you see any of the posts as sensational.


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## DJ_L3ThAL (3/5/14)

Its a shit article, big deal lets focus on the fun stuff!

*runs back to garage to crank up gas regulator inside a cupboard*


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## QldKev (3/5/14)

I think it is just poor sentence and paragraph structure. The article jumps around different points too much and leaves the reader not sure what aspect of the process being discussed at a given time. Stating clearly that it was co levels that were produced as a byproduct of the lpg burner that was in use with inadequate ventilation, would explain to readers the issue better and could help prevent more readers from making the same mistake.


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## AndrewQLD (3/5/14)

Red Baron said:


> The article looks legit to me- it even states it was a distillery in the title. I think kevo and wynnum have hit the nail on the head- grappa made on a gas burner in an enclosed space.......
> The only sensationalism I see here is the first 4 posts in this topic.
> 
> Cheers,
> RB


If the article was written stating all of the facts in a constructive and an informative nature I would agree, however as Kev pointed out it jumps around from wine making to distilling to homebrewing without actually stating exactly what caused the poisoning leaving the reader to make their own assumptions on just what happened. That to me is pretty crappy journalism.


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## Red Baron (3/5/14)

AndrewQLD said:


> If the article was written stating all of the facts in a constructive and an informative nature I would agree, however as Kev pointed out it jumps around from wine making to distilling to homebrewing without actually stating exactly what caused the poisoning leaving the reader to make their own assumptions on just what happened. That to me is pretty crappy journalism.


I fully agree with you Andrew- it is an article written by a journalist that does not know or understand the process he/she's reporting on. My comment about sensationalism was more directed at the fact that you titled the thread "carbon monoxide poisoning from home brew", which in itself is not an accurate representation of the article, and something that would cause members here to read the article in a different light.

Apologies for any offence caused.
Cheers,
RB.


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## shaunous (3/5/14)

dicko said:


> Got to agree with you Andrew, but who would buy or read a newspaper if the stories weren't sensationalised by creative writing.
> It is a shame that we can't have news reported accurately.


We can, read http://www.vice.com/en_au/


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## shaunous (3/5/14)

kevo said:


> Are things like grappa etc. made from a wine base that is distilled?


Yes...


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## AndrewQLD (3/5/14)

Red Baron said:


> I fully agree with you Andrew- it is an article written by a journalist that does not know or understand the process he/she's reporting on. My comment about sensationalism was more directed at the fact that you titled the thread "carbon monoxide poisoning from home brew", which in itself is not an accurate representation of the article, and something that would cause members here to read the article in a different light.
> 
> Apologies for any offence caused.
> Cheers,
> RB.


No offence was taken RB, I have edited the title for clarity, unfortunately the copy and paste from the article heading was too long :blink:


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## shaunous (3/5/14)

The article is pretty much correct, although written terribly, except the reference to CO poisoning, unless they were distilling in a car with a hose from the exhaust through the window of coarse.

They had mild asphyxiation by CO2. Maybe open a window ey fella's...


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## Camo6 (3/5/14)

shaunous said:


> The article is pretty much correct, although written terribly, except the reference to CO poisoning, unless they were distilling in a car with a hose from the exhaust through the window of coarse.
> 
> They had mild asphyxiation by CO2. Maybe open a window ey fella's...


Depends, LPG combustion will create CO but there must've been bugger all ventilation and the burner improperly adjusted.


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## GalBrew (3/5/14)

A large burner with no ventilation will produce plenty of CO. Not all stills are electric. Crap reporting though.


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## pcmfisher (3/5/14)

I see no reference to CO2 in the article.


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## manticle (3/5/14)

Maybe one bloke breathed in CO and the other breathed in some CO too?


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## manticle (3/5/14)

Cos they were m8's on a d8?

Yes my incorrect use of the apostrophe with a plural is deliberate.


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## shaunous (3/5/14)

pcmfisher said:


> I see no reference to CO2 in the article.


Ha, me either, fuk I was in the horrors.

Carry on regardless then.


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## dicko (3/5/14)

shaunous said:


> We can, read http://www.vice.com/en_au/


Jeebus mate, there is some good reading in that lot. :lol:


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## shaunous (4/5/14)

Hahaha , subscribe to it dicko, get weekly emails. I've been reading it for years. There is some fairly wild stories. Their ViceTV is also awesome.


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## Kiwifirst (4/5/14)

Okay, so yesterday's weather in Melbourne was shite; windy and cold, so I moved the burner into he shed doorway and boiled up the mash. He she'd is pretty small, say 2x3, but has two windows and the open door.
I am assuming that this is pretty much ok as any gas build up would be blown through with the windows and the fact hat I don't have a headache, despite the Shiraz.

I enjoyed brewing in the shed as it meant very little lifting and moving, but wondering if this might not be a good idea on a still weather day. But surely there would be sufficient air flow with the pot right in the doorway.

Maybe a sign of monoxide poisoning is the tendency to waffle on without greeting to a point or question?


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## mje1980 (4/5/14)

I use gas in a double garage all the time, at my old house for years it was the same. I don't open any doors. My kettle is right near a doorway, which isn't exactly airtight, and the roller doors sure aren't airtight. Never had an issue. Though, for some reason halfway through the boil that damn pixie turns up and wants to argue. He usually pisses off just after the boils done, and never cleans up, the lazy bastard.


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## Kiwifirst (4/5/14)

mje1980 said:


> I use gas in a double garage all the time, at my old house for years it was the same. I don't open any doors. My kettle is right near a doorway, which isn't exactly airtight, and the roller doors sure aren't airtight. Never had an issue. Though, for some reason halfway through the boil that damn pixie turns up and wants to argue. He usually pisses off just after the boils done, and never cleans up, the lazy bastard.


I find brewing within a meter of the kegerator helps calms the nerves and helps deal with hallucinations.


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## QldKev (4/5/14)

Carbon monoxide can be really dangerous as you don't know about it until to late. I'm happy to run my burners with the roller door slightly open, no way would I run it without ventilation. If you are going to brew with doors shut you can get an co alarm from bunnies or elsewhere.

Bunnings does one that does co and also smoke.


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## wide eyed and legless (4/5/14)

Or just get a canary


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## Maheel (4/5/14)

Kiwifirst said:


> Okay, so yesterday's weather in Melbourne was shite; windy and cold, so I moved the burner into he shed doorway and boiled up the mash. He she'd is pretty small, say 2x3, but has two windows and the open door.
> I am assuming that this is pretty much ok as any gas build up would be blown through with the windows and the fact hat I don't have a headache, despite the Shiraz.
> 
> I enjoyed brewing in the shed as it meant very little lifting and moving, but wondering if this might not be a good idea on a still weather day. But surely there would be sufficient air flow with the pot right in the doorway.
> ...


turn a pedestal fan on

but dont use wet hands on the switch.....
or be making sure yee wear thongs so yee safe


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## Greg.L (4/5/14)

I thought carbon monoxide was only produced when the gas doesn't combust properly. In the old days hot water heaters used to cause a lot of deaths when not maintained properly. A gas burner on high in a confined space will use up all the oxygen pretty quick and produce a lot of co2, which can be fatal at levels of 5% or more. These days you hear about a lot more deaths from co2 in enclosed spaces like silos.


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## TimT (4/5/14)

_Maybe one bloke breathed in CO and the other breathed in some CO too?_

On that note....

http://apocalypsemama.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/ill-have-some-h2o-too.jpg

Chemistry is dangerous!


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## mje1980 (4/5/14)

I would be worried if sat next to it and watched it for the entire 90+ minutes but once it's going I'm usually inside doing something else. I do occasionally crack the window, or prop the roller door up an inch or so. This lets plenty of air in. Pixie doesn't turn up on those days for some reason. Hmm


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## slcmorro (4/5/14)

Can get similar afflictions from using bleach in a non-vented space too. Sensationalism sells.


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## Kiwifirst (4/5/14)

Not a problem then, as I have every window open. With the burner in the doorway it means I can actually have the gas bottle outside. Having that inside worried me more than anything else. Does make it a bit tricker when stepping back into the shed, between a boiling pot on the floor and the kegerator.


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## slcmorro (4/5/14)

I have my burner in the shed, with the roller door open up the other end. I'm very confident I have adequate ventilation. In any case, I don't go sticking my head down near the burner either.


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## Kiwifirst (4/5/14)

slcmorro said:


> I have my burner in the shed, with the roller door open up the other end. I'm very confident I have adequate ventilation. In any case, I don't go sticking my head down near the burner either.


Yeah, I am probably more likely to burn the shed down by tripping over the thing than killing myself with monoxide.


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## QldKev (4/5/14)

wide eyed and legless said:


> Or just get a canary


and teach it how to brew


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## Dave70 (5/5/14)

TimT said:


> Now I'm curious. What are the myths and what's accurate? *How could a distillery produce large amounts of carbon monoxide*? Obviously the bit about them producing 'wine' is silly.


Simple.
They were powering their heatstick with a diesel generator.


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## djar007 (5/5/14)

On a serious note. My father and his little dog were killed last month sitting in an idling car with the aircon on recycle. Very sad and unexpected. The coroner found blistering on both his and his dogs lungs and the investigation is ongoing. They have blamed a leak somewhere and found no evidence of foul play or suicide. Researching this and it is not uncommon to hear of this happening and a lot of people urging to keep the aircon off recycle. Seemed appropriate to share that info here where perhaps it is a bit of a joke to some but deadly serious to others.


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## shaunous (5/5/14)

Fuk djar, thats terrible.

Good point though, I never have and will put the a/c on recycle. Others might not know any better, but its not to great for u or the car recycling the same air around and around with exhaust leaks or not. Fresh air is best (Unless following a cattle truck)


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## Dave70 (5/5/14)

djar007 said:


> On a serious note. My father and his little dog were killed last month sitting in an idling car with the aircon on recycle. Very sad and unexpected. The coroner found blistering on both his and his dogs lungs and the investigation is ongoing. They have blamed a leak somewhere and found no evidence of foul play or suicide. Researching this and it is not uncommon to hear of this happening and a lot of people urging to keep the aircon off recycle. Seemed appropriate to share that info here where perhaps it is a bit of a joke to some but deadly serious to others.


Christ mate....sorry for your loss.

Are they saying the R 134 gas was the culprit or somehow exhaust gas found its way into the cab?


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## djar007 (5/5/14)

Thanks guys. 

Not conclusive yet dave on whether it was the aircon gas or not. Coroner takes a while and have handed the case back to the police to investigate. They still ha e the car. And that's all we know at the moment.


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## manticle (5/5/14)

Really sorry to hear Djar. It was brief but I remember meeting your Dad last year.

Best wishes mate.


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## djar007 (5/5/14)

Thank you Andrew. It was actually in the side street next to the shop. Very shocking.


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## Kiwifirst (5/5/14)

Sorry to hear about your loss Djar. Certainly makes you stop and think.


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## djar007 (5/5/14)

Thanks kiwi. It sure does. Makes me appreciate the time I get with my family a little more.


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## Camo6 (5/5/14)

Sorry for your loss too Djar.


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## Black n Tan (5/5/14)

I sure I can speak for all the guys at Westgate Brewers, we are very sorry to hear about your loss Djar. 

Grant


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## djar007 (5/5/14)

Thanks Camo and thanks Grant. Much appreciated.


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