Hi All. Has anyone got an H2S and O2 detector I could borrow, or a safety lamp for the O2 please? Need it for next weekend.
Been considering buying one but I'm well strapped for cash for the next couple of months.

Thanks

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If you are going somewhere there is any possibility of H2S then no way! :curse:
H2S is as deadly as Cyanide in concentration. 😠

I doubt you'll get much joy - it's a bit like asking to borrow someone's car with the price of gas detectors!

Production of H2S is produced by bacteria breaking down organic material i.e. timber in anaerobic conditions, therefore is likely to to be in any mine to a lesser or greater extent. I'd prefer to know it's there are small traces and get out than accidentally poison myself. My worst experience of H2S was in a barn with saturated rotting wood covered by plastic which I lifted off, the stench was horrendous! Mind you retreat was easy being only a few paces to the door. All gasses are deadly in enough concentration including O2.

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Owain it looks like you will very shortly be the proud owner of a yellow Canary! It will match your jacket too 😮

It would be good to source some cheaper gas detectors somehow? Anyone got any ideas?

...Lister;~)

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Had 3 gas detectors of varied expensiveness.

Really, I think they are overkill unless you're going in coal mines.

From my experience so far, the only flammables have been near rotting sawdust and near a landfill. H2S has only ever made the meter register a nadge. However, I did have one run in with gas, not sure whether it was H2S or AsH3 and was ill for several days afterwards.

The big show is low oxygen and occasionally, some CO2 (which you won't get a meter to detect unless you spend a few £k. )

I have a Davy lamp which I use from time to time and it's pretty foolproof and easy to use. It's easy to see any flammables (which may confuse a methane meter) and of course, it goes out at 15% on kerosene. I'm good to go at 15% and use a butane lighter goes out at 13% as my lower limit. If I can't light a lighter, it's time to get out. 15% is the limit for SRT.

I firmly believe a proper, calibrated 4 gas meter is more of a hindrance and will have you freaking out at an alarm, rather than taking note of how your body is and proceeding carefully.

Having said, I'm a bit gung ho, so take my advice at your peril!

Owain it looks like you will very shortly be the proud owner of a yellow Canary! It will match your jacket too 😮
...Lister;~)

It will if I spray it orange :lol:

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Having recently taken delivery of a new CO2 meter, I have tried it out in all my usual O2 measuring spots. The results have been a little disturbing.
Whilst the O2 levels were well within acceptable (ie above 19% legal), the CO2 was often above the daily working limit and sometimes the short duration limit too.
These limits are quite low compared to the old mining limits and could not be detected in any way by body reactions.

I wonder what we have been doing to ourselves for years!

http://wasg.iinet.net.au/Co2paper.html 

A good thing is to read the above, by the way.

CO2 is not a good thing to have in your system. Nor is a lack of it.

Essentially, your breathing rate is controlled by the amount of CO2 in your blood stream. If you exert yourself in low oxygen, you can initially breathe out too much CO2 and your breathing rate goes down, which adds to the oxygen deficit.

....and then you die.