Is this dangerous

So I'm getting ready to do my first full boil with my new pot and propane burners.

I'm thinking about where and how I want to set up the burners for boiling. What I'm concerned about is that it is cold as hell outside and I was thinking about opening the garage door fully and placing the burners / pot halfway back in the garage so it would sheild me a bit from the cold.

Here's my question. Is this really dangerous or is that enough ventilation to clear out the fumes?

Any windows or doors in the garage to the outside? I brew in my garage in the winter and don't bother opening the main door, but have a window and an door to the backyard I keep open.

You should be OK with the door partially open. Just to be safe, you should get a carbon monoxide detector in there with you.

Well, It's as dangerous as you make it. I ran my burner in a confined space ( garage without me in it) for an hour on full boil. I placed a digital carbon monoxide detector in there with it. The detector never left 0. I open door & pulled the car in afterwards the the thing went bizerk. I made darn sure the air was adjusted correctly on the burner for a clean burn first. I'm not saying do it but if you do, make sure you have a good carbon monoxide detector in there with you.

I do this and have no problems. I put a carbon monoxide detector next to me and it has never gone off. i have the garage door open about a 1/3rd and crack a window too. beats freezing to death

I brew in my garage with the door open all year long. Summer or Winter. I have shade and ceiling fans in the summer and a shield from the wind in the winter. I usually set up the burner in the garage door opening.

Good idea. I have a carbon monoxide detector that I can use for this. It's already in the basement so that'll work out real good.

I do have a window in the garage but it's real small. I think I'll start with the door wide open and if it's too cold i'll close it down part way.

You guys acutally answered the other question I was wondering which is what is kicked off by the burner that is dangerous.

Are there fumes other than carbon monoxide kicked off?

I do not open anything in my garage when I brew. With that said my garage is drafty so I can get away with it. I would have a window or a door cracked at least if it was a well sealed area.

Hilbert said:

Are there fumes other than carbon monoxide kicked off?

Click to expand...

Not to my knowledge but if you're in a tight space you'll run out of O2 & that will kill your burner, maybe you too...

The whole key to brewing in your garage at any time of year is air flow. During the combustion process your burner is using the oxygen in the air as a fuel source to burn the propane. As the oxygen is consumed it is replaced by carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. If you don't bring in make up air you will eventually deplete the oxygen in your garage. If you don't have a door or window to open in combination with opening your overhead door, a fan will work just as well. Place the fan in the overhead door so it pulls the air out of the garage. This will help set up a slight negative pressure thereby creating a draft and bringing in enough make up air.

But as others have said get a good CO monitor and you will not have a problem.

You should be fine. I brewed last Saturday in an unheated garage! The high was, as Nigel Tufnel would say, 11. I wouldn't have brewed except that I was under a deadline. A group of local brewers will be filling a bourbon barrel with this stuff on Friday. Anyway, I kept the garage door open only an inch. I had the brewing equipment set up next to the back door of the garage. The back of the garage has a southern exposure, thank God! I was able to keep the back door open b/c the sun actually seemed to keep me warm! No problems at all.

thanks guys you made me feel better

Brew-boy said:

I do not open anything in my garage when I brew. With that said my garage is drafty so I can get away with it. I would have a window or a door cracked at least if it was a well sealed area.

Click to expand...

Same here two nights ago. I lost more brain cells from the Graff I was drinking.

All the times opening the door to the house, and taking Mash Tun out to rinse it out...no worries.

I also brew in the garage all the time. When it's cold I crack the door maybe a foot depending on how much wind comes pouring in.
I also put a windbreak around my burner.

Boil on!

Absolutly not. Don't do it. Why should you be comfortable brewing in your garage, while those of us without garages freeze our gonads off brewing outside?

oceanselv said:

...
During the combustion process your burner is using the oxygen in the air as a fuel source to burn the propane.
...

Click to expand...

I'm sorry to nit-pick here, but oxygen is NOT a fuel source. It's an oxidizer, without it, combustion will not take place. Too much of it, and combustion happens quicker. True, it is possible to deplete the oxygen, causing the fire to go out, but the room would have to be completely sealed for that to happen. Alternatively, if the room is that tight, you'd be overcome from the byproducts of combustion before the fire was out.

My pet peeve is that people say that oxygen was present, and that's what caused the fire. Nope, the presence of an elevated level of oxygen made the fire worse, not causing it to happen in the first place.

Sorry to be

I brew with one of the garage doors open. If it's too cold, I'll close it about half way.

It's gonna get steamy in that garage!

I just brewed in my garage yesterday with no windows or doors opened and it was fine. Granted, I went in and out several times to walk into the house and get gear, etc. So, it's not like it was sealed up the entire time.

I can tell you this, though, my Banjo burner puts off enough heat to steam up the windows real nice and make it nice 'n toasty in there!