Travel Cruncher

Using gas camping stoves as heaters in your tent will lead to carbon monoxide poisoning, fire, and injuries like burns.

Safety should always come first in every trip. Enjoying other comforts, like warmth, should not compromise our safety. There are a lot of options for you on how to keep yourself warm at night in your camping trip. Using a gas stove is not one of them. Here are a few reasons why:

Causes carbon monoxide poisoning

Cooking equipment using gas produces toxic fumes like carbon monoxide. According to Wikipedia, carbon monoxide is a substance that is odorless and tasteless. It is considered deadly for all living things. Carbon monoxide is produced from machineries powered by fuel or gasoline such as motor vehicles, cooking equipment and heaters. Limited spaces like camping tents do not have enough oxygen and proper ventilation. Opening the flaps may not help promote oxygen circulation. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that opening the flaps of the tents would not be sufficient to help prevent increase of carbon monoxide produced by these cooking equipment. It is recommended for campers to use other ways in providing warmth. It is best to prepare your ponchos, quilts, blankets and other kinds of clothing that will help keep you warm and snug at night. Carbon monoxide poisoning is not something you should take lightly as this can result to paralysis, coma and even death.

Start a fire

Camping tents are made of fabrics that are highly flammable. According to Wikipedia, fabrics of tents are made up of polyester, felt, nylon and cotton. Also, the Brantford Fire Department says that cotton is the most flammable type of material followed by polyester and third is wool. Highly flammable fibers easily ignites and can spread fire rapidly. Heat from the gas stove can cause the fire. This in turn will cause forest fire.

Lead to injuries

Heat produced from these stoves can cause injuries when you touch it accidentally. This can result to thermal burns or even death if the fire becomes uncontrollable. Also, explosions from these stoves can happen if not primed properly. According to Burn Free, explosions from gas tanks of cooking equipment can result to flash burn injuries. These are injuries that vary according depth, intensity and area of the burns.

It is good to be resourceful as this is more convenient to some. However, some devices or equipment can never be replaced or substituted. Cooking equipment is best for cooking and not for providing warmth in your tents. To avoid injuries, accidents or unfortunate events, one must prioritize safety. This is one thing you can not afford to leave out. In conclusion, have fun and stay safe.

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5. 4 Reasons that Make St John an Interesting Place to Live in

Tags: brantford, camping stoves, camping tents, carbon monoxide, carbon monoxide poisoning, centers for disease control, centers for disease control and prevention, centers for disease control and prevention cdc, cooking equipment, fire camping, forest fire, gas stove, motor vehicles, paralysis, proper ventilation, thermal burns, toxic fumes, wikipedia

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 29th, 2010 at 4:41 am and is filed under camping, travel tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.