AIR LINE EXPLOSION

RBManufacturing · Dec 2, 2002

Hi guys,
Our fire captain was an industrial insurance investigator for
many years.(according to him). He is the one that made the determination of the explosion. Since I had heard this was possible,
and then he said it was the cause, I figured he knew more than I on the subject. I suppose a regulator failure was possible also.

I recently listened to a couple of experts on the cause of a problem i was having with the 351 cubic inch motor missing out on my old ford galaxie. Took it to a local mechanic i have
known for years. Good reputation. I changed the points, plugs,
rotor, distributor cap, and installed a carb kit before seeking help. Mechanic looked her over and said i had a bad valve.
Took it to a diagnostic center and second opinion was the same. Went to and old friend that is retired. Asked him if he was interested in helping me do a valve job on the ford.
He looked her over, revved it up a few times, and walked over to his ford pickup and popped the hood.
Pulled a plug wire off, and pulled one wire at a time off the galaxie while the motor was running and listened to the motor with wire off.Replaced the third wire he pulled with the one from his truck. I took her out for a drive. Ran PERFECT.
Seems sometimes the experts are not. Rick
P.S. the retired friend was never a mechanic. He retired from
the phone company.

MossRoad · Dec 2, 2002

Anonymous Poster · Dec 2, 2002

Now, I know I'm gonna get FLAMED, castigated and ridiculed for this, but, it won't be the first time.
Firepersons (used t be firemen) are often the least qualified people to deal with the situation they have responded to. They are however, the people who will show up to any emergency situation.
This is NOT a putdown of firemen, there is no way they can have more than a surface knowledge of 10% of the situations they encounter.
Unfortunately, in our society, there has come to be a reliance on the expert at hand, and usually, the Fireman is deferred to as the expert. That leads to a lot of erronious conclusions, and plenty of litigation.
Obviously, the Fire Capt who issued the original opinion did so rapidly, and without the benefit of either time to ponder the situation, or much experience with either Diesels or compressed air systems. The lesson here, check the "expert's" qualifications fully before accepting his conclusions. If you have a few minutes, check his resume and CV for credits from Columbia Paciffica and other diploma mills as well.
Disclaimer: I happen to like most firemen, and recognize they have a thankless job, primarily heavy hard work I have no desire to do. Most of the ones I know freely admit you have to be nuts to be a fireman.

hazmat · Dec 2, 2002

Franz,

As a former volunteer fireman, I'm going to agree with you. Especially in the case of a volunteer or part time department. Just not enough time or money for all the training needed... Big city is a different story.

As to the cause of the explosion. Sight unseen, I'd guess mechanical failure before "explosion". 100psi carries quite a wallup!

frank_f15 · Dec 2, 2002

HAZMAT: u are correct: 100psi does pack a wallop, still have the rust and scale particles in my hand to prove it/w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif be careful gentelman, 100 psi of anything is dangerous.