Technical I just got the "Ever Living" scared out of me...

That’s not true, I met a guy who survived 3rd degree burns to 90 percent of his body and he wasn’t stronger.
He said that he would have been better off to have died.
So your old cliche isn’t funny.

 

From a thread I posted in 2015.
CFL Saved My Life
I was removing the gas tank in an OT vehicle to replace a bad fuel sending unit. I had pulled the fuel pump relay, and ran the engine until it quit from lack of gas to relieve the fuel pressure. I was under the car undoing the clips that hold the fuel line to together. When I pulled the clips, the fuel line connection blew apart and sprayed gas all over my hair, face, shirt, and my trouble light. Had I had an old incandescent bulb in the trouble light, it would have popped and set me the car and my shop on fire. I live out in the country and my wife was not at home. It would have ended badly for me for sure. Just a heads up, put a CFL or an LED bulb in your trouble light to save your ass if you do something stupid like I did.

 

Had something along that line happen to me while grinding. I since then have a really not so nice scar on my left thigh. Been leery of the thin cutting wheels since.

 

Seems a lot of the replies here assume it was the fuel line that blew.
Brake hose crimps are a sealed chamber in themselves. As said by previous replies, even an “open” hose will pop off violently if you put heat into the area of the crimp. Not dangerous if expected, but I can understand the thought process when working near gasoline. Even with the precautions you took to avoid putting heat near the fuel line.

 

Probably 15 years ago the son of a guy I used to work with got a job at an auto wreckers here in Canada. He was a dismantler. One winter he and another guy were taking the gas tanks out of vehicles inside a building. The building was heated by a furnace of some sort (probably natural gas or propane) ... the furnace was in a separate room in the building. Welp, they spilled some gas, the fumes made their way to the furnace room, they heard a big WOOOOOSH and ... FIRE. I don't believe anyone was injured but that building (and possibly others nearby) burned to the ground.

He found new employment elsewhere

Edit: just found this on the internet .... "On March 11, 2003 Dom’s Auto Parts experienced a devastating fire, which destroyed the main office and garages. Two years later, through hard work, dedicated employees and industry wide support, our new state of the art facility was opened".

 

When I was young I stuck a wire brush in a die grinder. It flared when I squeezed the trigger and the tips turned red as it polished the hell out of a combustion chamber. Second time I squeezed the trigger it blew wire from one end of the shop to the other. Guess the wire brush wasn't rated for 18K RPM.

 

In the intent of this thread, you shouldn't be taking offense to what he said. OP wasn't injured. Sorry for your friend, but his situation and to the person you replied to, are apples to oranges.

 

Safety doesn’t care if you’re an apple or an orange and it’s not a matter to joke about.

Offended, hardly. If someone can learn something and stay out of the hospital because of the experience or close calls of others that is what counts.

 

I made the mistake of working on something under my suburban, without jack stands, when it slid off the jack. Obviously I survived! It dropped down far enough to pin me but not far enough to crush me. It took me about an hour to get my phone out of my pocket and I phoned my wife to come save me. Never again do I get under a vehicle without jack stands..

 

If you need to scrape undercoating, heat the scraper, not the part/panel. Glad you're ok.

 

A guy escaped prison a county over. 2 days of chases and missed connections. He stole a cop car and ended up in a ditch off a gravel road. A bit later, the roll back showed up while a few officers were about. The guy jumped out of the truck when Ka bang. Everybody jumped. The tire blew on the truck unexpectedly.

 

I've survived a lot of near misses, one day my time will come.

I used to use 1/8" thick cut 3" off wheels in an unguarded die grinder to clean up stuff to weld. They worked great until one day. I started the die grinder (with an already used wheel on it) and was getting ready to clean up some metal when I heard a strange noise and something hit my face. The wheel came apart, and a piece of it split the nose piece of my safety glasses in 1/2! It broke the glasses in two pieces right on the bridge on my nose, between my eyes. No injuries at all! That one required a few minutes of sit down time as the realization of what happened and what could have happened sank in. My Guardian Angle was working over time that day.

I still use the thick 3" cut off wheels to clean up steel, but these days, the wheels are 3/16" and the grinder has a guard.
I think there "reminders" are sent to remind us just how dangerous this stuff we play with can be. They tend to slow us down a bit to think about what we are about to do, and possibly consider a safer way to get the job done. Gene

 

Let me clarify.
There was no gasoline ignition. No gas was lit.

There was very little chance of a gasoline ignition. I'm not going to say zero chance because there's no such thing. There's always a chance. .

What popped was the brake hose out of the hose fitting.

The hose was disconnected from the steel brake line. As a poster stated, a brake hose will pop out of the fitting if heated hot enough, vented or not. Now I know.

A '51 Ford vents out of the filler. The gas tank was not leaking so, no fumes, no leaky fuel connections. Plus there was plenty of ventilation. Having a set of tail pipes installed at the muffler shop is more "dangerous" than what I did.

The jest of it was I was holding the fuel line in my left hand, making sure it was out of the way and not getting hot. I was heating the bracket with my right hand. The gas tank is above my lap. Then the brake hose pops. Surprise!

 

I agree. No real danger as long as there are no gas fumes present. Had to torch some bumper bolts near the gas tank on my IH Scout. Was a bit nervous, but kept flame pointed away from tank, no smell of gas and all was good. About 10 yrs ago, a student was killed at the local college when the shop teacher decided to use some old “empty” 55 fuel drums to make a barbeque.

 

Likely they cut into those with a OA torch. Acetylene is funny stuff. It cant be compressed neither can Carbon Monoxide. Both gases are explosive when compressed.
In case anyone asks, Yes acetylene comes in a bottle that shows pressure but these are special bottles with a fiber material inside. It's weird, to over simplify or put in to layman's terms, acetylene makes it's own pressure.

Grinding can cause a bleve (boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion) as well. Lets say there are flammable materials in said barrels. The mixture is too rich for it to burn and it's too cool. Grinding produces a lot of heat. The sparks are super heated. There's as many sparks on the inside as the outside. Not only are sparks being forced into this rich fuel laden environment but air is too. With heat, and oxygen being forced into a vessel with a fuel load, eventually...Boom!

These are things to think about when you use a OA Torch or grinder.

 

To Critique my incident yesterday....

After much thought I realize that I was indeed very fortunate. Things just fell into place. I'm blessed.

The main hazard was not the gasoline. Really the gasoline and the gas line can be considered a non issue.

The true threat, the true hazard was...

The Brake Fluid.

The lines were empty, pretty much. There was some residual fluid but the brake system had been, for the most part drained.
What if it was not drained?
.
Lets look at this further...

Brake Fluid is a hydrocarbon like gasoline or motor oil. Brake fluid has a high flash point and ignition temperature. What happens when you heat a hydrocarbon?....You raise the temperature to or above it's flash and ignition temperature. There's no difference between gasoline and really hot brake fluid. The latter statement may be over simplistic but you get the point.

I was covered in greasy clothes, mainly axle grease, brake fluid, some oil, transmission dope. Not a lot but my clothing was soiled. I was holding a lit torch.

If it was hot enough to pop the end off that brake hose, it was hot enough to ignite any and all brake fluid in that portion of the hose. There may not be a lot of brake fluid burning, but enough. It would not take much.

The way I was laying, I could have gotten a face full of burning brake fluid. Remember, I'm holding a torch. I have a small amount of flammable liquid now on my face and chest.

Am I going to remember to turn off that burning torch and secure it? Maybe...Maybe not.
What about that burning brake fluid on my clothing?

This of course is hypothetical. In my opinion the true threat, the realistic threat was the Brake Fluid, not the Gasoline.

I post this not to look like more of a Dumbass, I post this for you, to think and be aware.

Any hydrocarbon heated is volatile and potentially deadly in the right circumstance..

 

200% Guaranteed that heating a fitting near the brake hose will pop the hose. I sometimes don’t realize or forget that everyone doesn’t know that.
And it don’t matter where the gas tank is.

Cut the steel line and work from there. You can make a new steel line, you’re going to need to get a new hose if you heat the fittings

 

As mentioned above, that is always what happens when you heat old brake lines with a torch. The brake fluid boils and pressure blows it apart. We were ready for it at a shop I used to work at.

 

F1 your on the right side of the dirt to share your tale. This is a good thing, lesson learned, sure it aint gonna happen again.
Many shops, especially exhaust shops go under with torches, welders etc. Best thing most likely not.
I have done same as before, no blow ups as brake fluid was most likely long gone.
Once upon a time I was welding on a rear quarter of a 47 Chrysler, old back seat caught fire.
It was December, out came fire extinguisher, rolled car right outside, and yanked out smoldering seat and threw it into a snow bank. Pushed car back in and continued welding lesson learned.
Glad yall are fine...

 

It’s not the brake fluid that causes it. You can put heat to a brand new/ never used brake hose. It will do the same thing. It’s the crimp bubble area that causes the line to eject. It is an un-intended combustion chamber. Heat gets the rubber boiling, and once the rubber can't maintain it’s resilience in the crimp, it pop’s itself out at an alarming rate.

 

Was thinkin' vapors, thanks. ^^^

 

- good to help us all think more about stuff that we take for granted

 

It’s not even necessary to heat the rubber that much to make it happen.

Heating any enclosed space like that fitting bubble will cause an increase in the internal pressure of the space.

That pressure has to go somewhere so it leaves by the easiest route taking the rubber hose with it.

Anyone who has tried to seal up a piece of tubing for example by welding the ends shut will have experienced the impossibility of completing the final weld as the pressure is leaving the tubing and always leaves a hole in the weld.

That’s why people in the know always drill a small hole somewhere on the tubing to allow for that.

 

I'm stayin' the hell away from ALL you guys...too much "ESPLODIN" stuff for me

 

^^^ Always liked that cartoon. One of Larson's very best........

 

Hey guys love the far side
You know what they say...