A Solemn Reminder

[WHX?? 48,813]

So I am a big fan of Jay Leno and Tim Allen and sorry to hear about Jay's  mishap. 

Let's keep in mind that our hobbies involve the same thing their's do...

Gasoline... 

I myself is often lax when that Techy float decides to pee gas all over the shop floor and how often are we changing fuel lines and filters spilling gas all over? 

A good wake up call here. 

We're hearing about this just because he is a noted car collector but this happens way to often we don't hear about. 

A shop safety thread may be in order here but please no comments about @Pullstart and drill bits. 

 

Edited November 17, 2022 by WHX??

[8ntruck 6,998]

Not only gasoline, but carb cleaner, solvents, paints, and oils.  Some here use linseed oil as a dressing for paint.  Rags soaked in linseed oil can self ignite.  They need to be disposed of in an air tight metal can.  Wouldn't be a bad idea to dispose of solvent soaked rags the same way.

 

With cold weather already here for some of us, we must also consider what kind of heating is being used in our work areas.  If it has an exposed flame, it will be an ignition source for the fumes from the above listed products.

 

Work safe, ya'all.

 

Oh, we need to worry about a wider range of tools than drill bits when speaking about @Pullstart!

[WHX?? 48,813]

Exactly what I was lookin for 'Truck. I did not know that about linseed oil. 

[elcamino/wheelhorse 9,297]

Just make sure the Flip Flop kid stays away from dangerous items ( too long a list for RS storage capacity) 

[Mickwhitt 4,605]

The flip flop kid!  I love it.

I'm renowned in my locality for wearing flip flops well into the colder months when out dog walking. But rarely as workshop attire. 

I can tell you wearing them for using a chainsaw is a no no. I cut a piece of log to make an award mounting for our community garden and, while there were no injuries, my bare feet were buried in saw dust which was very uncomfortable lol. 

I've also had a few black toenails due to the wearing of flip flops demonstrating the law of gravity on heavy objects. Not a cool look for the committed sandal wearer.  So at the wife's suggestion out came the nail varnish and I often have nails painted in Massey Fergusson red or ferrari blue which look way better lol (im still searching for British racing green nail varnish) .

But this thread is serious, we deal with some dangerous materials and liquids and accidents can get serious real quick. Lets all take that bit more care especially with the flammable materials, I don't mind the odd black nail or leak of the red stuff but I don't fancy burning the house down!

 

 

[Pullstart 62,828]

Wow Uncle Jim, I didn’t hear!  As you know, I live under a rock and don’t get out much!  Jay is a pretty genuine dude.  Handing out cookies to the kids in the hospital?  Awesome!

[squonk 41,050]

Years ago, 2 customers lost their auto shops from gasoline fires a few months apart. First one was a fluke and the other was just plain stupidity. A gas line dripping on one vehicle built up fumes during lunch hr. When the water heater kicked on fumes has settled around and WHOOP! . The other was guy was changing a tank and had an open tub of gas he drained along with a Kerosun heater and an open bulb drop light that fell that triggered everything.

 

2 years ago a former customer who was know to scrap out cars had about 30 gal of gas in an open 55 gal drum. Ceiling heater kicked on and WHOOP! again. Another burned to the ground

Edited November 17, 2022 by squonk

[Pullstart 62,828]

And because of that, we get water heaters with safety measures that hinder longevity and performance if not maintained.  One brand, the door switch pops from a dirty arrest or and you have to replace the whole water heater!

[Racinbob 11,048]

@WHX?? Thank you for starting this thread. It's an excellent idea to remind folks. Not just in the shop but I suspect most of us here do much more around the house that play in the shop. It's so easy to get complacent and that's when something happens. 

Just yesterday I nearly had what could have been serious. I've been going through the electrical on this house, rewiring, checking every device, junction box, etc. I'm wrapping up the last of it and that would be the ceiling fans. Drop the canopy, remove fan from bracket, blah, blah, blah, right? I was standing on a 6' ladder on the.....well let's just say that if the ladder wasn't one that I purchased back in the 80's for my business it would have had a 'NOT A STEP' sticker on it. I removed the first 8-32 x 3/8" and the entire thing suddenly dropped several inches. Fortunately the wires held on enough for me to maintain my balance. For lack of a better way to say it the idiot who originally installed these apparently threw the parts away to make it a safe installation. I had already done three bedrooms and they were correctly hung. Standard ceiling height there. These last two in the family and living rooms have a high ceiling. Apparently he wanted to make it more dramatic for the stupid old retired electrician who should have known better than to assume it was done correctly. The fans are in great shape and I had no intention of replacing them but with parts missing I just said **** it and made the hour trip to get two new ones. After getting back I only got the one fan done and the living room is for today. I'm thinking I'll be more careful on this one. 

The moral of this is that most any project can have it hazards so think first and don't wait until afterwards.

[Mickwhitt 4,605]

We are experiencing high heating bills here in the UK and some folk are being rather stupid to save a bit of cash. My chimney guy told me today that he had had to submit a statement to our coroner because a man had died from Carbon monoxide poisoning. He decided it would be ok to put a steel bucket in the middle of his living room and burn wood in it to keep warm. No chimney, no flue, no ventilation.  When did he ever think that would end well. 

[sjoemie himself 3,068]

That's sad news.. probably one of those people who believe in the terracotta heater myth..

[Mickwhitt 4,605]

Oh we get those adverts constantly. 

Nasa developed this miracle heater and we know nothing about it. Ridiculous. 

[WHX?? 48,813]

16 hours ago, Pullstart said:

Wow Uncle Jim, I didn’t hear!  

Yea you don't get out much ... it's been all over the news. 

 

16 hours ago, Pullstart said:

  Jay is a pretty genuine dude.  

Yep ... he says gimme a couple weeks and be right back at wrenching. 

Story has it he was trying to unplug a fuel line and got sprayed. Didn't hear yet what sparked it but it doesn't take much. Starter brushes arcing, solenoid sparking... heck even static electricity. 

[tunahead72 2,411]

20 hours ago, WHX?? said:

... Story has it he was trying to unplug a fuel line and got sprayed. Didn't hear yet what sparked it but it doesn't take much. Starter brushes arcing, solenoid sparking... heck even static electricity. 

 

That's a sobering thought, isn't it?  How often do we all remove fuel lines or filters on our tractors, without giving it much thought?

 

[953 nut 55,155]

4 hours ago, tunahead72 said:

How often do we all remove fuel lines or filters

        Did that today, walked into the shop and smelled gas. The fuel hose on one of my  was weeping a few drops of gas. Usually I would have just done the replacement in the shop and covered the spill with oil dry but today I moved it outside (in spite of freezing temperatures) and did the job out there. Washed the gas off the floor with purple power and washed the area where the gas had dripped on the axle before bring it back inside.

[davem1111 2,030]

4 hours ago, tunahead72 said:

 

That's a sobering thought, isn't it?  How often do we all remove fuel lines or filters on our tractors, without giving it much thought?

 

 

Yes it is.  A sobering thought I should think more often.... 

 

27 minutes ago, 953 nut said:

        Did that today, walked into the shop and smelled gas. The fuel hose on one of my  was weeping a few drops of gas. Usually I would have just done the replacement in the shop and covered the spill with oil dry but today I moved it outside (in spite of freezing temperatures) and did the job out there. Washed the gas off the floor with purple power and washed the area where the gas had dripped on the axle before bring it back inside.

 

I admire your diligence, dealing with this.  I hate to admit it, but I've done things like filling my tractor or push mower or weed whacker in the garage, running it over and spilling gas on the floor, and sometimes I don't even wipe it up. Hey, it evaporates, right?  Duh. I wonder how long afterward if I lit a match it would still catch fire?   I need to be more careful with this stuff... acetone also, but that stuff really does evaporate fast.

 

 

Speaking of Jay Leno and fuel lines, I didn't get burned in this "incident" but I lost a whole car:   Back in the mid-1980's, I had a "Frankenstein" VW Beetle that I had built from 3 different cars ('69,'70, don't remember what the other one was).  Anyway, I guess after installing the engine, I plugged the gas line into the carb but never bothered to put a clamp on it.  I probably put 5000 miles on it that way, until one day on the way home from work I heard a "POP" and the engine died, so I coasted to the shoulder.  WTH?   

 

I went back and opened the hood, and flames shot out. Lots of flames.     Well duh, no fire extinguisher in the car...   I  decided that all I could do was get anything out of the car quickly that I wanted to save.  I was on the shoulder of a 4 lane, and I just tossed everything over into the grass. A trucker coming the other way stopped and ran over with a fire extinquisherbut it was too late already. Looking in though, I could see that the flames were shooting out of the gas line - it had popped off and was feeding gas right onto the engine.  In the end there was nothing left but a smoking pile of metal. 

I thought I'd share this some maybe others who might be prone to doing "not so smart" things like this, will re-think their strategies.    

 

And now that I'm reminded of this, I'm going to re-think the way I'm storing and doing some things in the garage, especially since my wife's car is in there. 

[8ntruck 6,998]

While I was still in college, I had one of the valve covers off of my 57 Chevy for some reason.  I had to disconnect the fuel line from the carb to remove the cover.  I put the cover back on, hopped in the driver's seat and fired the engine up.  The hood was still open, and through the gap between the hood and cowl, I saw something splashing.  Oops, I realized I had not reconnected the fuel line.  Kill the engine, and start mopping fuel off of the engine.

 

About that time, a friend rolls up to see what I am doing.  Cleaning the firewall, I tell him.  Oh, he says as he is pulling a cigarette out and preparing to light it.  He looked kind of shocked when I told him NOT to light up!  Then he realized why I hollered at him.

[squonk 41,050]

I 've seen a close call. Guy In the shop I was working in had a Jeep in his bay running. Drop light hanging from the hood. Well typical Jeep running like crap vibrated the drop light from the hood. Light fell and the cord got hooked by the fan. Light whipped around and caught the fuel line to the carb and yanked it right off. So you have a hot engine, Electrical sparks and a fuel pump pumping gas. I have no idea why it didn't go up in flames. 

[davem1111 2,030]

13 hours ago, davem1111 said:

 

And now that I'm reminded of this, I'm going to re-think the way I'm storing and doing some things in the garage, especially since my wife's car is in there. 

 

Quoting myself here  

 

I just remembered something that happened recently, that never should have happened. I was welding something in the bench vise, when suddenly I noticed that there was more smoke than there should be... flipped up the mask and looked down.  Oops. 

 

Just below the vise on the floor was the trash can, which had a bunch of paper in it, and it was on fire. Grabbed it quickly and tossed it out the side door, then stomped everything out.  That was dumb.