Gas blew up in my face today

[k0ua]

I guess another way of looking at this is instead of "I did a dumb thing" is since that open can didn't go up and blow your azz to Mars, is that you should go buy a lottery ticket. I think you have a good chance of winning.

 

[Coyote machine]

I've noted the Silvadene creme for my burn treatment. Thanks for that. It reminds me of the other time I got badly burned. I was at work using a propane torch with a Turbotorch head attachment. It accelerates the flame and makes a wicked hissing noise due to increased orifice/fuel/flame velocity. I got my left hand trapped in a tight space when I dropped the brazing rod I was using and couldn't get my hand away fast enough. Man did that burn burn! And a blister next to my thumb and index finger. I went to the doc; he was not any real help, since he was the company's 'work' doc. I used large amounts of vitamin E liquid from capsules i got at the health food store. That helped a lot and eventually the blister, scar and everything disappeared. Man that burn hurt like crazy. It felt like my hand was literally on fire for days.

I have used the backpack blower to enhance the burn pile(s) when they were too wet to really catch on their own. I would now be much more conscious of the concern of having a gas/oil mix on my back around a fire. Just saying, wouldn't want to have to try to get away from a ball of fire attached to my back if something went wrong.

I will definately look into the propane weed burning torch at various suppliers.

As an aside, anyone have any experience with riding an area of faux bamboo? I've got this invasive thing growing like CRAZY and would like to nuke it into oblivion!

And YES, I plan to be WAY more careful, James. (I can be adopted, for a price, a pretty high one, BUT I'm willing to do yard work, but only with a Kioti with an Interstate battery in it!?)

 

[riptides]

If you have ever seen a gas can or an "oil" can go up in flames, it will definitely give you a healthy respect for petrol products.

Not to say internal combustion engines. LOL.

 

[oosik]

I get Vitamin E at the pharmacy. Comes in a 4 oz bottle - good for just about anything related to your skin. I've only burned myself a couple times & used the Silvadene. But LOOK OUT hands - I gouge, abrade, puncture, shave, pinch & smash my poor 'ol hands quite often. I go thru quite a bit of E. Pharmacist probably thinks I drink the stuff.

 

[JRobyn]

It's not really the right tool to light burn piles, but a drip torch is a SPECIAL CASE where a diesel/gasoline mix is appropriate. It is needed because the diesel is the primary (and longer-burning) fuel, but something more volatile (gasoline) is needed to both ignite and keep the much less volatile "glob" of diesel burning while it transits from the torch and onto the ground. Once burning on the ground, the diesel fire lasts long enough to ignite ground litter. As noted earlier, the fuel vapor is isolated from the open flame with both a liquid loop and small orifices for liquid and vent (and a heavy aluminum can).

All that said, my drip torch came with explicit, bolded instructions to NEVER USE GASOLINE!!!! Knowing that experienced foresters have used a diesel/gas mix for decades of anything from 4/1 to 2/1, I had to call the manufacturer and ask what was up with the warning. Their rep freely admitted that the warning was there as a CYA required by their lawyers, and yep, a 3/1 mix was ideal for most conditions.

Glad that only modest injury occurred.

 

[teejk]

As an aside, anyone have any experience with riding an area of faux bamboo? I've got this invasive thing growing like CRAZY and would like to nuke it into oblivion!

We bought a house in NY that had that stuff...dunno how much $$$/time my wife (I didn't want that house but I lost the argument so it was all on her) spent trying to get rid of it...she sprayed, pulled, dug and even injected to no avail...but we finally solved it. We moved!!!...that was the solution she got from her garden center. Those invasive species are trouble...many start as an "interesting" plant but like so many things introduced into an area with no natural controls things go bad quickly. In Wisconsin we have had wild mustard for a while. Now we are seeing wild parsnip.

 

[teejk]

If you have ever seen a gas can or an "oil" can go up in flames, it will definitely give you a healthy respect for petrol products.

Not to say internal combustion engines. LOL.

I think gasoline in it's liquid state will extinguish a match...it's the vapor that gets volatile. But does remind me of an "incident" decades ago. Lived in a place that attracted box elder bugs. A relatively cold day I decided to clean the garage and found piles of them huddled in the corners. Swept them into a pile in the middle of the garage floor and started looking for a suitable fuel to roast them. Had a can of Coleman lantern fuel and figured if they could keep it in stores it was ok. Lesson learned...DO NOT use Coleman lantern fuel to burn bugs in your garage. If you ever saw "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and remember that upward spiral of flame at the end you will know what it looked like.

 

[JRobyn]

I think gasoline in it's liquid state will extinguish a match...it's the vapor that gets volatile.....

A burning match, I don't believe. Something about that open flame and the unavoidable vapor above the liquid. Maybe if the temperature were so low that the vapor pressure of the gasoline was tiny?

But back when, a couple of good-ole-boy mechanics that worked at my dad's tire store used to shock and amaze any "audience" they could gather by extinguishing their cigarettes in the open metal coffee cans of gasoline we kept around for cleaning brake parts. I don't ever recall the gas igniting. And they were otherwise actually pretty intelligent guys!

 

[k0ua]

And YES, I plan to be WAY more careful, James. (I can be adopted, for a price, a pretty high one, BUT I'm willing to do yard work, but only with a Kioti with an Interstate battery in it!?

No, problem, I am pretty sure my little Kioti, has an interstate battery.!

 

[sandman2234]

Burns can be nasty, do try to be more careful!
David from jax