Method Finally got Malawi 2 tent - Testing CO method.

[CrownRoyal]

I tried testing the CO method prior in my bathroom, but it did not reach a high enough ppm, likely because it is a somewhat larger space and there is a vent. I thought if I covered it and it was turned off that it would be okay, but it was not.

Finally I got the Malawi 2 tent, which was recommended on this forum due to it having a 3000 hydrostatic rating and fewer vent holes. I got some plastic sheets from an arts and crafts store and some duct tape and will seal the vents. I have a carbon monoxide detector which I purchased off amazon that measures up to 5000 ppm. I will be using a charcoal chimney and some Kingsford briquettes which I will light up until they turn white, then I will transfer it to a small portable bbq grill Masterchef brand. I will bring the grill into the tent and wait for the CO to build for 45 minutes until I open it to measure the CO levels.
It is my hopes that this will be a high enough CO concentration to be lethal so that when I am ready I can do the method flawlessly. It was a pain to get this tent in Canada so I am happy I finally got it.

 

[Praestat_Mori]

I will bring the grill into the tent and wait for the CO to build for 45 minutes until I open it to measure the CO levels.

I'd suggest to place the CO meter inside the tent before you put the grill with coals inside. This way you can also see how fast CO builds up and when 5000ppm and more are reached. You will also be able to check how long lethal concentrations of CO remain and as a result how good you sealed your tent. By opening the tent to put the CO meter inside they concentration of CO will drop.

If you cannot see the CO meter you might consider filming it with a camera and keep in mind that CO is a little bit lighter than air - the concentration will be higher near the ceiling rather than the bottom of the tent - anyway the tent is rather small and should be filled easily with enough CO.

Thanks for sharing your results.

 

[ChaseTheSun]

I tried testing the CO method prior in my bathroom, but it did not reach a high enough ppm, likely because it is a somewhat larger space and there is a vent. I thought if I covered it and it was turned off that it would be okay, but it was not.

Finally I got the Malawi 2 tent, which was recommended on this forum due to it having a 3000 hydrostatic rating and fewer vent holes. I got some plastic sheets from an arts and crafts store and some duct tape and will seal the vents. I have a carbon monoxide detector which I purchased off amazon that measures up to 5000 ppm. I will be using a charcoal chimney and some Kingsford briquettes which I will light up until they turn white, then I will transfer it to a small portable bbq grill Masterchef brand. I will bring the grill into the tent and wait for the CO to build for 45 minutes until I open it to measure the CO levels.
It is my hopes that this will be a high enough CO concentration to be lethal so that when I am ready I can do the method flawlessly. It was a pain to get this tent in Canada so I am happy I finally got it.

I have a question about the CO detector.
Can this device display the CO concentration over time or does it only display CO concentration at the exact moment.

 

[FuneralCry]

I understand why you'd feel relieved, I wish you the best.

 

[CrownRoyal]

Hi everyone, I tested the CO method today with the Malawi 2 tent. I used the technique I stated above, with sealing the tent vents with plastic sheets and duct tape. I used a Weber charcoal chimney, Kingsford Briquettes, and a portable BBQ grill. I lit a ripped newspaper under the Chimney and kept adding more newspaper to it to keep the coals burning. I think olive oil on the newspaper would be useful, but I forgot.

It took quite a while for the coals at the top of the Chimney to turn white, as I used the entire Weber charcoal chimney worth of charcoal briquettes, but I was patient with it. I transferred the coals from the Chimney to the portable BBQ and lifted it by the legs to put inside the tent.

I followed a user's suggestion and placed the CO monitor inside the tent with the portable grill, sealing it before recording the buildup of ppm with a camera.

After reviewing the video, I see that 5000 ppm was reached after 32 minutes. I stopped the experiment after 42 minutes because I heard the CO detector beep. I assume this is because I forgot to turn off the auto shutdown like a dummy.

Overall, I am happy with the purchase and method. The tent seems sealed enough to be suitable for CTB. The entire process, from setup to shutdown, took approximately 2.5 hours. Sealing the tent with plastic sheets seemed to help, but I have not tested using tape only.

What I would do differently next time.

The plastic sheets were too large, as I used a larger plastic sheet I had originally intended for my bathroom vent and cut it down to size, which resulted in cracks and awkward end pieces. The cut up pieces were still too large, so when I taped the sides, it stuck the zipper, meaning I had to loosen the tape a bit to get the tent closed.

Even with the coals in the BBQ and oven mittens on, it was still too hot to grab the BBQ by the sides, so I had to hold the legs. The handle of the Chimney was hot too, when transferring, which I did not expect. Luckily, I had the oven mittens. Scissors are super crucial since plastic sheets are heavy, so we need a lot of tape.

Note, I did not install the handle on the portable BBQ or the vents; I left it open the whole time. I did not have the patience to read the instructions and set it up entirely beyond the legs, which are crucial to set up, since we do not want the BBQ to burn a hole in the tent floor.

Long story short, the Malawi tent is as good as people on the forum say.

For my Canadian friends, the plastic sheet can be purchased from Michaels, the CO detector is the TopTes CT-300 Portable Carbon Monoxide Detector from Amazon Canada. The Malawi tent was also from Amazon Canada; however, shipping takes a long time, over a month.

Everything else can be found at Canadian Tire.

I have a question about the CO detector.
Can this device display the CO concentration over time or does it only display CO concentration at the exact moment.

The device only displays the CO concentration at the exact moment.

I'd suggest to place the CO meter inside the tent before you put the grill with coals inside. This way you can also see how fast CO builds up and when 5000ppm and more are reached. You will also be able to check how long lethal concentrations of CO remain and as a result how good you sealed your tent. By opening the tent to put the CO meter inside they concentration of CO will drop.

If you cannot see the CO meter you might consider filming it with a camera and keep in mind that CO is a little bit lighter than air - the concentration will be higher near the ceiling rather than the bottom of the tent - anyway the tent is rather small and should be filled easily with enough CO.

Thanks for sharing your results.

Thanks for the suggestion this was very helpful.

 

[locked*n*loaded]

Was getting the CO analyzer that only goes up to 5000 ppm an affordibility issue, or did you not have access to one that goes up to 10000 ppm?

How hot was it in the tent?

Plastic sheeting, or Visqueen, would work just as well for sealing.

2.5 hours seems like way too long a time. How much charcoal did you use? Need to get the charcoal burning red-hot faster, somehow, and then into the tent more quickly.

It would be beneficial to be able to watch the CO analyzer, also, as the ppm rises, in order to gain an understanding of how long it actually takes to reach the 5000 ppm level.

 

[CrownRoyal]

Was getting the CO analyzer that only goes up to 5000 ppm an affordibility issue, or did you not have access to one that goes up to 10000 ppm?

How hot was it in the tent?

Plastic sheeting, or Visqueen, would work just as well for sealing.

2.5 hours seems like way too long a time. How much charcoal did you use? Need to get the charcoal burning red-hot faster, somehow, and then into the tent more quickly.

It would be beneficial to be able to watch the CO analyzer, also, as the ppm rises, in order to gain an understanding of how long it actually takes to reach the 5000 ppm level.

It was an affordability issue since there are quite a few materials to scavenge already. It is pretty hot in the tent surprisingly. I was sweating. I do not know if it would be super easy to fall asleep personally unless I get knocked unconscious by the CO.
The whole process of lighting the briquettes took maybe 40 minutes. I took a while to set up the tent and tape the vents due to laziness.
I did not measure based on kg, I used one chimney worth which should be roughly 2.5 kg I think. I did not use a whole bag which is 3.62 kg. You are right perhaps a fire starter would be useful for getting the charcoal burning red-hot faster, but newspaper is what I had, and it still worked it was just slower.

 

[locked*n*loaded]

unless I get knocked unconscious by the CO.

That's the ideal one would hope for, one would shoot for. Higher levels = faster unconsciousness, at least according to this chart, and less "uncomfortableness".