Can a coke fire still give off carbon monoxide?
The cause of carbon monoxide production is incomplete combustion of carbon-bearing matter. This is caused by insufficient oxygen being supplied, usually because of poor ventilation in the case of a fire (of any type). Since gas & coke contain high proportions of carbon, it is vitally necessary to supply plenty of oxygen to the fire in order ot prevent carbon monoxide being formed. If the coke fire is choked, or if the fire isn’t properly ventilated, there will indeed be carbon monoxide issuing forth. Assuming it’s still burning, of course! Check the colour of the flames. The flames should be bright yellow, edged with blue. The yellow shows the presence of carboniferous particles, the blue indicates any carbon monoxide burning to produce the far less dangerous dioxide. Even better would be to buy & maintain a carbon monoxide detector, just to be sure.
