Technically your system won t produce carbon monoxide if your furnace is not running.
Can a gas water heater leak carbon monoxide.
Because of the leak the water heater kept running to keep up with the flow of water.
Essentially this would be the same as if a car engine was left running in a garage for several hours.
What was the cause of the deadly gas.
There are three main preventable reasons that a water heater can cause carbon monoxide poisoning.
You can work together to keep the water heater well maintained.
According to fire chief kevin farrell the carbon monoxide build up was caused by a leaky hot water heater.
The appliance wasn t installed properly in the first place the homeowner neglects it and doesn t perform proper maintenance and the surrounding area isn t properly ventilated leaving the gas with nowhere to escape should it leak.
Eventually these gases leak into the combustion chamber creating rust and holes.
That said your system can pull in co from other sources in your home your water heater or your fireplace for example and circulate it throughout your home especially if you have holes in your air ducts.
If you are experiencing issues with carbon monoxide co due to a gas water heater in your home you should immediately call a gas plumber plumber hvac technician or home inspector to investigate.
However the important thing is that you have recognized the water heater carbon monoxide danger so that you can plan to prevent it.
Without adequate ventilation combustion gases stay inside the vent pipe s wall and corrode the system.