CO Hot Pot: A Tool for the Standardized Testing of Carbon Monoxide and other Emissions from Gas Range Burners

The CO Hot Pot is a device which allows measurement of carbon monoxide  and other emissions from gas range-top burners. Carbon monoxide emissions may be measured in a repeatable and standardized manner with this device. Those needing to measure carbon monoxide and other emissions from gas range-top burners include natural gas utility service personnel, LPG service personnel, low-income weatherization energy auditors, and house inspectors.

    Making a CO Hot Pot
    Using a CO Hot Pot
    Gas Range CO Protocol
 

The CO Hot Pot is not for sale. We attempted to patent it, but found that the the Gas Research Institute (GRI) published a paper--Interlaboratory Program to Validate a Protocol for the Measurement of NO2 Emissions from Rangetop Burners--in December of 1994. This paper included a description and photographs of a similar, but very expensive emissions-capturing device. Because this paper was published before we applied for the patent, the GRI device is considered to be "prior art," thus disallowing our patent for the CO Hot Pot. As a result, we are not manufacturing or selling the CO Hot Pot. If you wish, you may make your own CO Hot Pot. The directions for Making a CO Hot Pot and Using a CO Hot Pot are part of this Web Site]

The device is used in conjunction with a carbon monoxide measuring meter, such as the Monoxor II, manufactured by Bacharach. Meters such as the Monoxor II measure carbon monoxide in units of parts per million (ppm). There are at least four other manufacturers of carbon monoxide measuring meters.

Carbon monoxide emissions are easy to measure for all combustion appliances except gas range-top burners. This is because all combustion appliances (except gas range-top burners) have an emissions-containing device, e.g., the vent pipe of a gas or oil furnace, the vent pipe of a gas dryer, and the vent port of a gas oven. A gas range-top burner is an open flame without a vent pipe or port to contain the combustion emissions, thus making it impossible to sample and measure various combustion bi-products with any degree of accuracy. The CO Hot Pot is an emissions-containing device that makes standardized and repeatable testing of carbon monoxide or other emissions from a gas range-top burner possible.

The CO Hot Pot is set on the burner grate of the gas range-top burner. The steel probe of the carbon monoxide measuring meter is inserted into the hole on the side of the CO Hot Pot (A grooved hex head bolt protruding into the center of the device supports the steel probe). The carbon monoxide measuring meter is turned on and then the gas burner is ignited. The CO Hot Pot directs the combustion emissions upward past the gas-intake end of the steel probe of the carbon monoxide measuring meter. The CO Hot Pot contains the emissions in the same manner as the vent pipe on a gas furnace. The stainless steel pot at the bottom of the CO Hot Pot (sitting on the burner grate) allows the gas flame to impinge upon it, thus simulating a cooking pot. The stainless steel pot at the bottom of the CO Hot Pot may be filled with water for the test (wet test) or my be left empty (dry test).

A variation of this prototype will have a teapot-type device at the bottom instead of a stainless steel pot. This variation is intended for wet tests only (a wet test more closely simulates the every-day use of a gas range-top burner, i.e., people seldom heat empty pots or pans on a range-top burner). The spout of the teapot-type device protrudes through the wall of the metal pipe. For an emissions test, the teapot-type device is filled with water and placed on an ignited gas range-top burner. The burner combustion by-products (emissions) rise inside the metal pipe, but the water vapor from the hot and boiling water in the teapot-type device exits through the spout to the outside of the metal pipe, preventing water vapor damage to the carbon monoxide measuring meter.

The CO Hot Pot can also be used to measure the "air free" carbon monoxide emissions from a gas range-top burner (wet test or dry test). To do this, a carbon monoxide sample of the emissions is taken with the CO Hot Pot and an oxygen sample is taken from the same emissions with the CO Hot Pot. The carbon monoxide sample is then adjusted to simulate oxygen-free conditions. The equation used for this adjustment is:

COaf =        COppm          
              [1 - 4.78(O2)]

Where: COaf = Carbon monoxide, air free ppm.
COppm = Measured combustion gas carbon monoxide ppm.
O2 = Percentage of oxygen in combustion gas, as a decimal.

A variation of this bowl unit has a stainless steel teapot-type device at the bottom instead of a stainless steel pot. The spout of the teapot-type device will protrude through the wall of the metal pipe. For an emissions test, the teapot-type device will be filled with water and placed on an ignited gas range-top burner. The burner combustion by-products (emissions) rise inside the metal pipe, but the water vapor from the hot and boiling water in the teapot-type device will exit through the spout to the outside of the metal pipe, preventing water vapor damage to the carbon monoxide measuring meter.

For more information, please see:
Making a CO Hot Pot, instructions for making a device for measuring carbon monoxide from gas range-top burners, and
Using a CO Hot Pot, instructions for standardized use for measuring carbon monoxide from gas range-top burners.

 



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