OP is doing it wrong maybe?

Try this:
Right click on the address bar, go down to edit search engines; when the box opens up, click “Add”, then type “M[c]s Search” for name, “mcs” for keyword, and:
“http://www.myconfinedspace.com/?s=%s”
For URL. Type all the above terms without quotes. Ok out of all the windows.

When you want to search mcs, go to the address bar and type “mcs Search_Term_Here”, and voila, mcs search, right from the address bar. This works for any website with a search more or less.

Also, I use ChromePlus instead of Chrome. Check it out:
www.chromeplus.org

A list of some other nifty features here:
www.chromeplus.org/product.php#features