Set Myself on Fire Lolz

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SteveHGraham
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Set Myself on Fire Lolz

Post by SteveHGraham »

I kind of set myself on fire today.

I had a couple of tons of hurricane wood piled up, and setting fire to the dry leaves didn't get me anywhere. I put about a cup of gas in a bottle, poured it on the pile, and lit it with my arm stretched out as far as possible.

I have burned gasoline before, so I thought I knew what it would do.

It did not light and burn. It exploded. It went WHOOOFFF, and a rather large ball of flame shot out at me. This was surprising.

I lost a good deal of the hair on one ankle. I suppose I can live without it, although it will be hard to explain. Drove to the house to check, and I still have eyebrows.

I'm thinking next time I should use charcoal lighter fluid, but I'm wondering what everyone else uses. I am new to the giant brush pile burning game.

I've seen people use diesel, which is probably cheaper than lighter fluid.
Every hard-fried egg began life sunny-side up.
spro
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Re: Set Myself on Fire Lolz

Post by spro »

Glad you were not hurt badly. Gasoline is wild that way but does create enough heat to actually begin the burning process on green wood. It should have soaked a bit.
Last edited by spro on Sat Sep 16, 2017 8:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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GlennW
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Re: Set Myself on Fire Lolz

Post by GlennW »

The girl that works for me told me about her husband doing the same. He had a bigger pile and more gas. It didn't stay lit so he dumped more gas on it and it WWOOOFFF'ed as soon as he lit the match.

It left him standing there with no eyebrows, eye lashes. hair on his arms, half his hair gone, and smoldering.

She threw him in her truck and drove him to the fire department.

Gasoline isn't the best choice...
Glenn

Operating machines is perfectly safe......until you forget how dangerous it really is!
Ken Schroeder
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Re: Set Myself on Fire Lolz

Post by Ken Schroeder »

Get yourself a propane weed burner & a 5 gallon bottle.
John Hasler
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Re: Set Myself on Fire Lolz

Post by John Hasler »

SteveHGraham writes:
> I'm thinking next time I should use charcoal lighter fluid, but I'm wondering what everyone else uses.

Diesel, kerosene, or fuel oil. A *small* amount (an ounce) of gasoline is ok. Do not apply liquid fuel to a fire that started and then went out (or to one still burning). If you spill any liquid fuel on yourself do not light the fire until you change your clothes.
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Harold_V
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Re: Set Myself on Fire Lolz

Post by Harold_V »

GlennW wrote:Gasoline isn't the best choice...
It ISN'T a choice. No one in their right mind uses gasoline for anything but fuel for intended appliances. It has properties that make it too dangerous for other uses---but folks who fancy themselves clever think I'm wrong, or it won't happen to them. Maybe they're right, and maybe not, although it brings to mind the moron who was washing parts in his basement--next to the water heater. He's dead now.

It's not worth the risk. There are other perfectly safe fluids that can be used. Stoddard solvent, as an example. Sure, it burns, but it isn't easy to ignite, and the flame travels slowly compared to gasoline.

I don't recall the speed at which it (the flame front) for gasoline travels once ignited, but it can't be outrun, not by humans.

H
Wise people talk because they have something to say. Fools talk because they have to say something.
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SteveHGraham
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Re: Set Myself on Fire Lolz

Post by SteveHGraham »

Harold_V wrote:No one in their right mind uses gasoline for anything but fuel for intended appliances.


I plead hurricane-induced insanity.
Every hard-fried egg began life sunny-side up.
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warmstrong1955
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Re: Set Myself on Fire Lolz

Post by warmstrong1955 »

SteveHGraham wrote:
Harold_V wrote:No one in their right mind uses gasoline for anything but fuel for intended appliances.


I plead hurricane-induced insanity.
What Harold said....I too know too many burn victims. The gasoline doesn't getcha, it's the vapor.
Insanity? Yup...no doubt!

For the burn barrel, I use a hand held propane torch at the bottom thru a vent hole or two.
Big piles, I use the weed burner.
If it's wet, used motor oil helps a bunch if you let it soak a bit, or diesel.
I have used diesel fuel and kerosene for big brush piles. Also helps to let it soak in, just like lighting charcoal.

You need to change your Avatar, to 'Flash....the Human Torch'.

;)
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John Hasler
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Re: Set Myself on Fire Lolz

Post by John Hasler »

> I don't recall the speed at which it (the flame front) for gasoline travels once ignited, but it can't be outrun, not by humans.

On the order of 30 ft/sec. Gasoline is quite volatile at normal temperatures. A mixture of air and gasoline vapor containing as little as 1.4% gasoline will ignite so quite a large volume of flammable fuel-air mixture quickly forms over wood soaked with it. Ignite that and all of it burns in a fraction of a second, expanding rapidly because its hot. This is summarized by saying that gasoline has a flash point of -50F (so you can safely use it to start fires in parts of Antarctica). Diesel and kerosene are much less volatile and so have flash points well over 100F (so you guys in Arizona may need to watch out in the summer).

I use a propane torch to start fires.
TomB
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Re: Set Myself on Fire Lolz

Post by TomB »

Last week I had a logger take down 6 100 foot + White Pine trees. This is in VT so everything is very green. I helped him pile on branches that he had trimmed off. Once he had lite a couple of dead sticks he reached for a 5 gallon pail with a couple of gallons of something in it. He stood back 10 or 15 feet and flung the liquid out of the pail onto the pill of branches in about a 10 foot arc. It made a loud enough "whoom" that my SO came out of the house (100 feet away and within a minute the whole pile was starting to burn. After a couple more buckets were thrown on it was burning well. I asked him what he was using for an accelerator and he said "scrap gasoline". Seems the local equipment seller and repairer gets in chainsaws, weed eaters, mowers and snow machines with gas in the tank. He saves that gas to give it away to the local professionals that need to burn debris. My logger said he as gone through about 90 gallons of the stuff this year. I actually had about 3 gallons of ethanol gas in a red can that was several years old which I promptly volunteered since I had been wondering what to do with it. We used it to start another pile of brush the following day. The safety trick was throwing the gas out over the fire. To use my 3 gallons he poured it out into two of his 5 gallon pails.
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NP317
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Re: Set Myself on Fire Lolz

Post by NP317 »

Steve:
First: I'm glad you weren't burned more. That was close!
Second: I use waste oil from vehicles, and light the soaked pile with a portable hand-held propane torch.
So far, so good.

This discussion will hopefully save someone else a trip to the burn unit. Very painful!
~RN
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ALCOSTEAM
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Re: Set Myself on Fire Lolz

Post by ALCOSTEAM »

years ago I came home from work one day and it was like we had had a volcanic eruption in the neighborhood as there was ash all over everything. The idiot next door had a huge pile of old lumber, tree cuttings, and just junk and trash he thought would be good to burn. He SOAKED the pile with gallons of gasoline then walked back into the house and grabbed the matches then headed back towards the pile. He figured he could throw a wooden match plenty far enough from the pile so as he was walking towards the pile he strikes a match on the box. His kids (might have learned a lesson) watching said it was almost instantaneous as he struck the match that the pile blew up. He had also splattered himself with gas as he soaked the pile,, did I mention he had shorts on. His legs got some serious burns and arms got some smaller burn spots.

A friend of mine is a retired fire fighter. There is a never ending saga of people using gasoline stupidly.
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