O2 and a wood stove

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mkt1

Member
Nov 8, 2009
65
Central, Ok.
I have a family member on oxygen,mostly uses it while sleeping,when this family member visits we let the stove go out before their arrival and use the central heat unit that is located in the garage. We thought it would be safer than having a roaring fire going while oxygen is in use, for the added safety of no flames around it. Also for the health issues of dry air and the occasionally release of a small amount of smoke when adding wood.
As far as the fire,or explosion factor do you think this is the correct action to take?? I do, comments please, As far as the health issues I pretty much know this is the correct action. Has anyone else had this issue come up, if so how do you handle it?
 
My mom had night time oxygen in a woodstove burning house. It should not be an issue if the stove is in another room.
 
Oxygen itself isn't flamable, so not seeing an issue with it. It's just an oxidizer, so if you put a hose from that tank into the wood stove it would kick it up a few notches.

Unless they are sleeping just a few feet from the wood stove, I wouldn't worry about it.
 
As folks have said . . . this should not be an issue unless the person is right close to the woodstove and open flame source . . . heck . . . any potential ignition source. The problem with oxygen is as Nate said . . . it's not flammable, but rather it is an oxidizer which means two things -- 1) by providing additional oxygen you will cause any existing fire to burn a lot more intensely and 2) in the presence of oxygen ignition temperatures of materials can be lowered.

Where we typically see oxygen users get into trouble is when they attempt to smoke a lit cigarette while still attached to their oxygen supply . . .
 
firefighterjake said:
Where we typically see oxygen users get into trouble is when they attempt to smoke a lit cigarette while still attached to their oxygen supply . . .
Click to expand...

The mind reels!
 
Here's a little info from a welding program from a while back........
Oxygen is a catalist and aids in the burning process
Not explosive without another type of fuel, propane, acetylene, gasoline etc.
Watched the instructor put a welding torch pushing pure oxygen to the filter end of
a cigarette. It did enhance the burn process dramatically but not explosively.
Just thought i'd share that
rn
 
Thanks for the input, but probably will not change the wifes mind... if oxygen is in use no fire.In previous job have had oppurtunities to see a few impresive fires,other than oil field tank fires some of the most impressive were fish trucks.. propane fueled and carring large oxygen bottles for the fish,when the two combined the fire was very impresive.
 
At the nominal feed rate, its not going to do beans to a wood stove, even if you piped it in directly. After all, it is just enough to power a human metabolism that amounts to a whopping ~300 BTU/h, maybe double that with 'spillage'. The danger would be if the bottle developed a large leak, and flooded the space near the stove to a much higher concentration. Seems unlikely, but I would always play it safe.

If we were talking an O2 'generator' rather than a storage bottle, since a large leak is impossible, I'd prob think it was aok.
 
As others have mentioned, it should be safe provided the person does not remain near the stove. As for the humidity levels, normally people on O2 have difficult times in HUMID/SMOGGY conditions and less in the dry conditions.

As everyone else has said, O2 does not burn. It is a catalyst used in combustion. Unless there is a leak in the tank or the mask is near an open flame with the flow open, it should be all good. Trust me, I learned a few things during my studies in chemistry ;)

A
 
A fire in a wood stove is not a whole lot different than a fire in an oil or gas furnace....except that the fire in said furnace is a whole lot hotter! So I fail to see what would be a problem.
 
A night near the stove with some beer and chilli could be more dangerous.
 
I've had family members over the house that were on O2 full time, and one person living in the house uses o2 occasionally. There haven't been any concerns - the stove door is closed and the fire is contained inside the stove. Our range in the kitchen is propane - and presents more of a combustion risk to someone on o2 than our woodstove does.
 
The only problem would be if the person using the O2 also was the person filling the stove. Even if they take their cannula off, their clothing could be saturated with O2 and one spark could set the clothing on fire. Usually what happens to smokers and ashes from the cigarette; not a pretty sight. Be safe.
Ed
 
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