Gas blew up in my face today

[jack707]

I use diesel to start the brush fire

 

[fried1765]

Thanks, I appreciate the well wishes. I'm still in shock as to my own stupidity, and how lucky I am to have not been badly burned or killed. It could easily have gone against me in a millisecond. It's weird, I think I convinced myself the odor of the old gas wasn't that strong, so I must have concluded I'll be lucky to get this going.... Wrong answer!
Never again will I use straight gas, old or new. I almost always used to use a mix of gas and sometimes waste oil too or diesel and saw mix. I need to reassess my methods/thinking....


Thanks,

CM

You certainly are lucky that it was not one of those wonderful INTERSTATE batteries that blew up!

 

[Buxus]

Out here, even the fire company uses diesel. Not sure why. I don't like pouring any diesel on my property for environmental reasons, and I believe it is illegal. I am sure some small residue is left, and why take any risk. For me, a few balls of wadded up newspaper with vegetable oil poured on them always does the trick. The oil makes the newspaper burn more slowly, kind of like a candle. The wood then gets hot and lights. Has never failed, and I light enormous piles with it.

 

[jeff9366]

I maintain a burn pile/pit for a residential community with sixty homes. There is a LOT of yard debris put in the pit by homeowners, with Oak debris a substantial constituent.

I use only a propane torch for igniting the burn pile, attached to a 20-pound propane tank. Tank and torch are part of the everyday load in the bed of my Kubota RTV500 utility vehicle.

Flame Engineering Red Dragon VT 2-23 C Weed Dragon Propane Torch Kit *

Shop BernzOmatic Lawn and Garden Torch Handheld Head at Lowes.com

I have found the pile able to self ignite from live coals as much as five days after the ignition of a large burn.

Diesel or any other liquid could unexpectedly ignite contacting hot coals.

Propane torch ignition is safe and, if necessary, a great deal of heat can be applied to get green material to burn. The cost of filling a tank is $14 and lasts six months, even with frequent use.

GET A $54 TORCH.

 

[Sigarms]

GET A $54 TORCH.

+1

I might add, a backpack blower works wonders stoking the fire as well.

6 days in a burn unit myself. Even with the drugs, it was not fun taking the skin off.

 

[Member]

I maintain a burn pile/pit for a residential community with sixty homes. There is a LOT of yard debris put in the pit by homeowners, with Oak debris a substantial constituent.

I use only a propane torch for igniting the burn pile, attached to a 20-pound propane tank. Tank and torch are part of the everyday load in the bed of my Kubota RTV500 utility vehicle.

Flame Engineering Red Dragon VT 2-23 C Weed Dragon Propane Torch Kit *

Shop BernzOmatic Lawn and Garden Torch Handheld Head at Lowes.com

I have found the pile able to self ignite from live coals as much as five days after the ignition of a large burn.

Diesel or any other liquid could unexpectedly ignite contacting hot coals.

Propane torch ignition is safe and, if necessary, a great deal of heat can be applied to get green material to burn. The cost of filling a tank is $14 and lasts six months, even with frequent use.

GET A $54 TORCH.

The Weed Dragon is what I do now and it works great. You can put fire right where you want it rather than being restricted to where you're able to pour it in a large pile. If it doesn't start the first time you can stick the torch in a smoldering pile and it starts right back up. No contamination due to spills, etc.

Years ago I did the "Gas on a pile of leaves and then couldn't find the matches" thing. By the time I lit the pile I theorize much of the gas had the opportunity to vaporize and the pile basically exploded when the match hit it. Luckily I was standing pretty far back when I threw the match so all I had to do was explain the noise to my wife and rake it all back together into one pile of burning leaves.

 

[3930dave]

Another vote for a tiger torch....

Years ago, a friend was in the habit of using stove-oil to start bonfires. Ended up in hospital the last time. The bottom of the jeans he was wearing were frayed and he didn't notice that he had spilled some on the bottom of his pants - went up like the wick it was when he started the fire.

He survived that, but needed skin grafts for his lower leg. My wife and I visited him in the hospital - I thought she was going to lose her lunch - they had his leg propped up in bed, having taken the skin graft from the upper thigh. They used a clear wrap (I think of it as medical saran-wrap) to cover the donor graft area - allowed for inspection w/o removal, and I expect was breathable.

It's a vivid memory for sure, for everybody that was there. Under certain conditons, even relatively low-volatility accelerants can be very dangerous.

Thanks for posting CM - heal up well, and get any infections checked ASAP.

Rgds, D.

 

[CajunRider]

I'm glad you are OK now. Thank you for sharing.

 

[riptides]

Glad your somewhat OK, burns of any kind are serious stuff.

There is no such thing as "old gas" in my world. Disposal is usually in a metal container in the middle of a burn pile. IF I have any. I have not had any for years, just lucky on the use I guess.

I am a charcoal lighter and diesel starter for brush piles. And I usually start at an edge so as the burn creeps into the middle and works its way through the pile.

Like a previous poster said, gas vaporizes, and that means no telling where it is at.

 

[woody]

Years ago I did the "Gas on a pile of leaves and then couldn't find the matches" thing. By the time I lit the pile I theorize much of the gas had the opportunity to vaporize and the pile basically exploded when the match hit it. Luckily I was standing pretty far back when I threw the match so all I had to do was explain the noise to my wife and rake it all back together into one pile of burning leaves.

years ago when I was young I seen a lady pour gas in a fifty five gallon drum full of leaves only to realize she had no way to start it. she went in the house came back with a box of matches and standing back a few feet struck one, the fumes around her lit off and all the leaves we had raked up were back on the ground it almost emptied the barrel and only singed her hair she was very lucking.
Thanks for sharing it is a reminder to all of us.