Word to the wise!!! DON'T weld around gasoline!

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Back when I was younger I worked for years in the oyster and clam business.One of the guys in my boat would sit on the gas tank smoking,with ashes falling on tank.:eek:I always thought he would cause a fire.
Nothing ever happened,but it was a stupid thing to do anyway.
I was glad when I got a bandit reel spot on offshore snapper-grouper boat and got away from that guy.[cl
 
My Dad told me a story years ago about two guys who were cutting out a model a gas tank with a chisel and a spark ignited it and blew them half way down an alley. We also had two older guys locally killed a couple of years ago when they were using a shop vac in the bilge of a boat to clean out debris. Shop vac motors are NOT ignition protected and a spark caused the fumes in the bilge to explode. Not only were they killed but the boat burned to the waterline.

Nasty stuff gasoline is.

Don
 
we got lucky

A couple of months ago I was at a buddies shop, and he was talking to a friend about how easy it was to weld and my buddy dan grabed the welder and tried it. But didn t realize there was a bucket of gas under the truck and lit. Up the pail thank god foir a fire extinghiser. We just got lucky.


Had another friend building a derby car and decided to spark a torch up and lit the whole shop up that the fire department had to come out ! It happens way to fast
 
I have been questioning this topic lately

I have done grinding work and some welding on the lower side of trucks. Also have welded in the shop with a vehicle in there. but gas is nasty and I dont want to make it mad. So are you guys pulling the gas tank every time you work on something ? I kinda find that hard to believe. if its a good sytem ( no leaks) seems it would be safer to leave it alone instead of opening it up.?
 
i have responded to two big garage fires in the last six months.First was a fellow building a derby car and decided to cut the straps and drop the gas tank like he had done a hundred times before.This time the gas tank blew out,throwing him 15 feet out the door and burning the shop to the ground.Probably a 40x50 shop,a couple cars,his pull truck.Fortunetly got away with some burns to his arms and some throat damage.Second one was a fellow working on the fuel system of his truck,dis connected something he shouldn't have and spray himself down with fuel from head to waste.Fuel then ignited and he managed to find his way outside ablaze all the way.Rolled in a puddle to put the fire out but not before 2nd,3rd degree burns to half his body.He is still hospitalized and struggling to recover.The large double door shop then burned,right up to the time the 100lb propane cylinder inside the shop bleve'd and reduced the shop to toothpicks.They found the remains of the cylinder 3 blocks away.In my younger years i burnt the engine compartment up on my jeep as i forgot to tighten a clamp after changing the fuel filter.It ran like a champ for a minute of so until the fuel hit a spark.Three thousand dollars of repairs later it was good as new,ooppss!
 
I get the willies every time i have to torch a bolt off an old beater. especially when you don't know the car an don't know if there's a rust hole in the tank giving off fumes. Try to make sure the sparks go away from the tank
 
Grinders scare me the worst, they throw sparks farther than the welder, not to downplay any safety precautions.
Never, ever keep gasoline setting around the shop. If you have to store some for the small engines, keep it in a proper metal enclosure. And for you knotheads still washing parts in gas, just go buy some solvent, it isn't that expensive. I saw a whole shop and everything that was in it burn to the ground from washing parts in gas.
Also don't forget to firewatch. If you are going to have to weld on a trailer hitch or something that's in close proximity to the fuel tank, have the fire extinguisher there and a person to run it. Always stay in the shop for at least 15-20 minutes (I think IMSHA says 30 minutes) after you have stopped all welding, cutting, grinding activity; and even smoking. That gives any smoldering rag back in the corner time to be noticed.
 
when im sparkign or flaming in the shop I set my lawnmower cans outside far and away
 
Welding mistake

Man, I am sorry that this happens too often. [P When I was a kid working as a maintenance man at a travel trailer plant, I burned a brand new 24 foot trailer down to the frame. I will never forget how uncomfortable I felt doing it in front of the company owner, head of maintenance dept. and the folks that drove out from Michigan to pick up their new trailer.
It had just been undercoated. The new perspective owners and the plant owner were observing the undercoating process. The guy buying the unit noticed there had not been any leveling jacks installed as he had ordered. The company owner made a call to the maintenance super to get someone over to the undercoating shack and weld on some jacks. I got the task.
After much discussion and uncomfortable arguing the plant owner said to me in front of all a fore mentioned " Do you work for me or him.[S (the super) I got the nod from my super stuck an arc[;) and woosh. Got it off the rack and let her go up in smoke in the parking lot. I will never forget how stupid and stubborn that arrogant POS plant owner looked.:eek::mad: I quit that week.
Point is, you have to THINK. I could have been injured by somebody else's stupidity. I screw up enough on my own I don't need much help in that department.:rolleyes:
 
Soreback said:
Point is, you have to THINK. I could have been injured by somebody else's stupidity. I screw up enough on my own I don't need much help in that department.:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Point is, it's dangerous working for morons. You did the right thing quitting and moving on!

ISore
 
Common sense should prevail

Whenever using anything that throws a spark....I move every trash can or anything flamable out of the working area when I'm doing anything that creates a spark....kind of strange that I read this post today...have a friend visiting from Scotland....older gentleman, (yeah older than me)....he was smoking a cigar while in my barn and flicked the ashes into the large trash can....(full of paper shop towels and boxes....got a bit miffed when I told him not to do that and grabbed the bag and moved it outside....I don't take chances with fire...4 extinguishers, one at every corner of the barns working area and one in the storage side......I'm a cop...not a fireman...fire scares the crap out of me....:eek:
 
Lucky?

Seems I've been lucky (watched over, more like) many times.

(1) Before the shorty wagon was shortened, the carb caught fire twice, but I was able to put it out without damage (typical Chrysler product :rolleyes: )

(2) Started up my little Buick Skyhawk for the first time in about 6 months. Smelled something odd - gas was shooting out of a hole in the rubber fuel line and washing down the side of the transmission.

(3) Couple of years ago, my wife calls me from the mall - says she smelled gas when she parked our '94 Chrysler Concorde. Went there - one of the fuel line disconnects had popped off, soaking the transmission with gas. Figures, car has full coverage and didn't catch fire.

(4) Was MIG welding a few winters ago, smelled something burning - my torn flannel jacket was on fire.


I'm probably forgetting numerous other carb fires, but none have burnt me or a car down. Maybe my late brother Jeff (also an incurable gearhead) watches over me?

I need fire extinguishers and about a 50' garden hose before I start welding or using the torch at my new garage.

440shorty
 
Small repair shop 1/2 mile up the road fromme burned to the ground about 15 years ago. The original owner (now passed away and hi son runs it) brought in a farmers tractor to weld the front bucket up. Tank on the back had a pin hole in it. Garage and everything in it was a total loss. No insurance either. Town got to gether and all of the local builders nuilt him a new shop (free labor) and the lumber company gave him the materials at cost.
 
I'm bad about welding while wearing jeans with frayed cuffs...have caught them on fire more than one time.

Also changed my carb on my '27 last year...in the process, obviously spilled gas on the intake and threw a shop towel on it to help soak it up. In the process of hooking up the new carb, I happened to notice that my alternator bracket was broken. No big deal, I can weld it right there on the car. Didn't even think twice about the gas soaked shop rag sitting on intake manifold. Whooosh....went up immediately as i screamed a Homer'esk scream. Oops.

Also,
Had a neighbor/friend who moved out of state, then decided to move back a couple of years later. While they were house hunting, we let them stay at our house for a couple of weeks. The wife and I were out in the '27, came back and were exhausted from the heat, wind, and noise (long drive), so we decided to take a nap. When I awoke, i happened to notice that the backyard was a bit smokey...figured the friend just started a fire in the fire-pit - didn't think anything of it. I walked out into living room to see him running out the door while on the phone - still didn't think anything of it - figured that maybe one of his kids was getting too close to the fire pit. Looked out into the backyard and saw it going up in flames. I ran out to see him beating the flames with towel (that was also on fire). He was on the phone with 911 hollering at me to give him my address. I gave it to him, and quickly grabbed the water house and proceeded to put the fire out. Lost 2/3's of my backyard. Still am not sure why he didn't just grab the hose in the first place.

His daughter asked him to start a fire in the fire pit, so he did...he grabbed a bottle of charcoal lighter fluid to help get it going...held it straight over the flames. Fire tracked the fluid up the stream, and caught the bottle on fire. He freaked out and threw it in the yard where it proceeded to go off like napalm....taking the yard with it. Got it stopped about a foot away from fence line. Whats annoying is that I have a 20+ foot concrete patio where the fire pit is in the dead center of it. If he just dropped the bottle there, it would have been fine - just eventually burned itself out - concrete doesn't burn too well. Instead, he threw it in our yard. At least he didn't throw it towards my house.
 

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