Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 16

Thread: case in point for fire extinguishers

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Nov 2014
    Location
    mid michigan
    Posts
    814

    Default case in point for fire extinguishers

    ok, the task started out by cleaning up the broken vacuum tubes that fell over yesterday while getting resistors for the flash lamp project, also the weather was nice and i thought to clean it so i can get my quad atv out from it's slumber and have some fun, turning the fuel on and trying to start it and for some reason it would not crank and i found fuel leaking, i gave some time and pulled the spark plug, started cracking more and woooooffff , the whole underside broke out into a hell of a fire, when for the fire extinguisher and discharged the whole thing and went for another, the second one got the fire out as some of the oil under the engine had now came alight.
    the extinguishers where old ones i had refilled with a mix of water and Propylene glycol so they dont freeze outside, my damn 20 pound dry chem was in the house so all i had where these reused ones that would have normally been thrown out. my ass was saved by reused scrap. had had never thought the glycol worked so dang well, normaly water ona fuel fire makes it much worse, the oily goo saved my scales, shed, and even possibly my house

    The reason i make this post is in my experience people either dont have an extinguisher or they are under a cabinet someplace dark where it never would be able to be found in a time of need
    Remember Remember The 8th of November, When No One Stood, but Kneel, In Surrender
    In a popular government when the laws have ceased to be executed, as this can come only from the corruption of the republic, the state is already lost. Montesquieu

  2. #2
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    1 hr from everything in SoCal
    Posts
    2,753

    Default

    Sounds like the float in the carb was stuck and was letting fuel pour out the overflow. I normally clean up spilled fuel with some kitty litter before continuing to work. Was anything seriously damaged by the fire?
    If you're the smartest person in the room, then you're in the wrong room.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Location
    Miami, FL
    Posts
    3,590

    Default

    keep one in the kitchen and one next to the bed by the shotgun

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Nov 2014
    Location
    mid michigan
    Posts
    814

    Default

    The floor of the shed has some markings from the fire but by gods grace i think that's all, under the quad some things are covered in soot but that stuff all ready has a protective layer of mod on them lol. I will need to clean the floor further and get the rest of the fuel with litter. I have started rebuilding the carburetor and noticed that the float was sticking, that lead to some other problems , the pin that hold that assembly in is pressed in, i broke one mounting tab but i think i can rebuild it and replace the carburetor when i have the funds. It's out side of the shed now and the doors on the shed wide open, i have had it leak before but not at this magnitude, gouging my arm going for the extinguishers means i got off very lightly. i will be adding one to our normal supplies when we go on long trail runs

    (keep one in the kitchen and one next to the bed by the shotgun)

    I do the same but the one in my bed room is Halon 1211 and i dont own a shot gun right now but i do have an Arsenal Arms SLR101S AK47 variant that's seems to go well with it
    I use hollow points for self defense as they lose energy fast after striking something solid, I wish i had fire breath but yesterday i rethought that one out, dragons that breath fire should not live in flammable houses lol
    I am making payments on a shot gun but i have to make due with what i currently have, now that i am thinking about it in my little corner of this insane asylum every hunts and is armed to the teeth, I never got the AK for self defense, i have an odd way of collecting , i wanted a rifle with a dual image, a liberator to some and a sign of oppression to some, the AR platform does not really have that image till recent times. I live in a small mobile home slum of about 50 units and my neighbors know what i have inside, what prompted me was when some one tried to kick in my back door, luckily i have a full set of rider tv service manuals he could not get past as they where blocking the door, these manuals are huge, now i leave the clothing dryer door open to slow down some one, that was scary, not as scary as the fire at that point in time though.
    Inside my lair i have 4 active extinguishers, 2 on one side including the kitchen and two others on the other end of the house. I also used to do part of the fire safety course at my one employer too, i instructed people on how to use them and what the ABC letters stand for and such
    Last edited by Draco; 11-04-2015 at 00:33.
    Remember Remember The 8th of November, When No One Stood, but Kneel, In Surrender
    In a popular government when the laws have ceased to be executed, as this can come only from the corruption of the republic, the state is already lost. Montesquieu

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Oct 2014
    Location
    Orlando, FL
    Posts
    381

    Default

    I've had a transmission line pop off my mud truck before in the woods and dump fluid onto the exhaust and start a small fire. Luckily from learning from others, I keep two fire extinguishers in my mud truck and usually one on my four wheeler. My Polaris also caught on fire on me once when I was riding it. Both were bought used real cheap and both incidents were caused by "shortcuts" by the previous owners lol
    Sincerely,
    Ryan Smith
    ScannerMAX Mechanical Engineer
    ryan {at} scannermax.com

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Nov 2014
    Location
    mid michigan
    Posts
    814

    Default

    I got the beast running again! but i think for Christmas i am going to ask Santa for a new or slightly used carburetor instead of my normal request for U235, there was a time i was on a logging road in northern Michigan that was deeper then i thought and got contaminated water inside, and that caused a second fault with the primer button. but for the time being i fixed the broken support to the float with a screw and fuel resistant epoxy putty.
    It's still sinking in on how close i came to having a huge problem. I am going to install a container and feed the breather and the overflow tube into it, i wish i had a newer unit with fuel injection that has a return line.
    I had a problem like yours with an S-10 pickup truck, an o-ring on the main fuel rail failed, the truck stalled and by the grace of god it did not the fuel spraying out did not light. and that was an oversight i made, when i reassembled the intake manifold i nicked the o-ring that fed the odd injection system that had, it went into this thing that looked like a big bug and is inside the intake manifold. it was GM's 4.3 vortec engine
    Remember Remember The 8th of November, When No One Stood, but Kneel, In Surrender
    In a popular government when the laws have ceased to be executed, as this can come only from the corruption of the republic, the state is already lost. Montesquieu

  7. #7
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    1 hr from everything in SoCal
    Posts
    2,753

    Default

    Glad to hear the damage was minimal and more importantly, that you're alright! What kind of quad do you have? Are you dunes, dirt or woods?
    If you're the smartest person in the room, then you're in the wrong room.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Nov 2014
    Location
    mid michigan
    Posts
    814

    Default

    thank you for your concern i appreciate that a lot.

    The quad is a 2001 Honda foreman 450ES it's a utility so it see's mostly mud and trails in the woods, in the winter i take it out to the local lake as long as there is not too much snow as i love sliding around a lot, the tires are mud lights that are a compromise between mud and trail riding with aluminum rims. I installed a Warn unlocker that allows 2 wheel drive when i dont need all wheel drive, makes it easier to turn, but it's main mods are to the lighting, i set it up for riding at night i replaced the stock headlights with Hella micro DE Xenon HID modules and put a cheaper Xenon HID lamp with an adapter so it would fit into the center handlebar mounted light. i whent with the normal fill for the HID lamps for the maximum output of about 3200-3400 lumens per light. aside from the huge gain in efficiency i had to stay with in the quads limited electrical capacity so i can run all the lights and still have enough power to recharge the battery during trips and an improved front bash plate, the rest is just stock even though the light output with cause a vampire to explode rather then just a slow burn. lol

    oddly it's the only vehicle i bought brand new so i am still it's first victim
    Last edited by Draco; 11-05-2015 at 00:48.
    Remember Remember The 8th of November, When No One Stood, but Kneel, In Surrender
    In a popular government when the laws have ceased to be executed, as this can come only from the corruption of the republic, the state is already lost. Montesquieu

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Nov 2014
    Location
    mid michigan
    Posts
    814

    Default

    I got it all back together and even though i had to make some new parts from epoxy putty the thing drives just like nothing happened, i even drove it to the gas station for some fresh fuel , here you can ride them along the side of the road but i usually cut across a field that has some dirt bike trails, I am still going to leave the doors on the shed open for a few more days untill all the fuel smell in gone, I cant use kitty littler for that as the floor is made up of over lapping tiles so in a sence there is fuel in between the tiles
    Remember Remember The 8th of November, When No One Stood, but Kneel, In Surrender
    In a popular government when the laws have ceased to be executed, as this can come only from the corruption of the republic, the state is already lost. Montesquieu

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    New Hampshire
    Posts
    3,513

    Default

    I seem to be following you around this forum, but well anyway. Ive been giving a lot of thought to this now that I'm sending blasts of plasma inches away from methanol and ethanol. What is best? A 20 lb CO2 or Halon? The dry chemical will really mess up the machines and instruments. CO2 is cheaper and is rated for class B (liquid).

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •