@locked*n*loaded I've not looked into the procedure yet but yes this paragraph does sound rather complicated at first glance-
OK. All I was
attempting to get at here was in regard to how much charcoal would be needed to reach a CO level of 10,000 PPM (parts per million) in the tent enclosure. 10,000 PPM is a concentration level of CO as measured against other gases in an enclosure (in this case) for a specific volume. All the space within the tent is its volume. There are other gases present in the volume, namely air, which is comprised of multiple gases. The CO level needs to reach a concentration level high enough to produce death.
Would 5 pounds of burning charcoal in a bucket produce a level of 10,000 PPM within the volume of the tent? I don't know. That's the purpose of the testing. It may take 10 pounds of burning charcoal to get to that level. The only way to know how much CO (concentration level) is being produced and if it's enough to get to that magic number of 10,000 PPM, is to measure it with a CO meter. So, I may ignite 5 pounds of charcoal, wait a bit until they get burning really well to red/white hot, place them into the tent, wait for a while, and then get a measurement.
If the level is, say, only 5000 PPM, as measured with my meter, with the 5 pounds of charcoal that I tested, on my next test, I would ignite 10 pounds of charcoal, place the charcoal into a couple buckets, wait a bit again until they are burning red/white hot, place the buckets into the tent, wait again and let the level of CO increase, and then take another measurement with my meter. If I measure 10,000 PPM, that's good. If not, I can run another test, but this time maybe I'll use 15 pounds of charcoal, ignite it, and place it into 3 buckets, and then place all 3 buckets into the tent. I'll measure again with the meter after a little time and see if I now have 10,000 PPM with the 15 pounds of charcoal.
What all this testing is really for is to make sure I'm using ENOUGH charcoal. I have a general idea that 3 buckets of charcoal, maybe 15 pounds, will produce a level of CO that is sufficient, but I need to see it (with the meter) to have confidence. CO is a method where more is better. But, there are space constraints, too, based on the tent size. It may be difficult to place 10 buckets containing 50 pounds of charcoal into a small tent, and still allow enough room for me to be in there, too. When I find an amount of charcoal that seems to produce enough CO, based on my meter readings, to get the level of CO in the tent to at least 10,000 PPM, I will repeat the test
exactly as I did when I first got the reading I needed. I need to make sure my results are repeatable. Once I see they are, I can be confident that I can repeat the results again when the time comes for actual ctb, doing the procedure exactly as I had already done.
The meter to measure levels of CO up to 10,000 PPM costs around $350.00. Other than that, charcoal (good quality) is cheap, chimney starters are cheap, a few metal buckets are cheap, and a 2-man tent is relatively cheap. Maybe some tape, or some type of sealant to seal the seams in the tent, and that is all it really takes. Oh yeah, maybe some firebrick to place on the floor of the tent to place the hot buckets of burning charcoal on. Still cheap.
It is still way cheaper than buying N, and the materials are available just about anywhere. There are no customs checkpoints to go through, so no confiscation like with illegal substances. None of the stuff needed is illegal, so no LE issues. Unconsciousness, at levels of CO near the 10,000 PPM level, should occurs within 30 seconds, which is faster than N. After that, death should only be minutes away, also faster than N. There should be no vomiting. If worried about a headache occurring within the first 30 seconds until unconsciousness, take a handful of Advil or something beforehand. It should be a very peaceful way to ctb if done correctly.
When I get to the point of doing all this testing, and get all the materials, I will be posting pictures of the EXACT tent I bought, the EXACT charcoal I bought, the EXACT amount of charcoal that I found to produce the amount of CO necessary to bring the level to 10,000 PPM in the tent (as measured with my meter), the EXACT brand and type of charcoal I used, the EXACT amount of time I waited, from when I ignited the charcoal to when I placed it into buckets and then placed the buckets into the tent. I'll post how long I then waited until I recorded a measurement of CO, at least, at 10,000 PPM in the tent. I'll take pictures of the equipment I purchased, and of the readings on my meter. I'll post all of that. Everything I do should be able to be duplicated without going through all of the testing that I will have already done.
This is all a little ways off yet, though. I'm not ready to go quite yet. I have other things to take care of first. I hope this makes things a bit more clear. It's not as difficult as it sounds, really.