Register now to get rid of these ads!

Hot Rods Beware!! Propane shop heaters are devastating! Pics of the carnage.

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by curbspeed, Nov 16, 2012.

  1. A fire broke out with a leaking propane garage heater at the home shop of Bud Burke in Bakersfield, Calif. recently. Just a warning to all you guys using these things in your shops. Make sure the fittings don't leak. You don't want to be the guy having to deal with this tragedy. My bud Squeak Bell is good friends with him and is going to help him get some things straightened out after the insurance adjuster gets through. It was a glass car. It was in the process of being built. Fresh Buick motor should be able to be saved. Fire dept. got there pretty quick from what I was told. Winters upon some of you and be careful please. Always good to have a reminder once in awhile.
     

    Attached Files:

  2. 3banjos
    Joined: May 24, 2008
    Posts: 480

    3banjos
    Member
    from NZ

    Heart-wrenching
     
  3. propwash
    Joined: Jul 25, 2005
    Posts: 3,857

    propwash
    Member
    from Las Vegas

    no open flames on heating devices - too many errant fumes in a garage.
     
  4. 32koop
    Joined: Jul 17, 2008
    Posts: 41

    32koop
    Member

    man that sucks . hope no-one was hurt ..
     

  5. Only his pride I'm sure. I know I would be sick to my stomach with that to look at.
     
  6. Jalopy Joker
    Joined: Sep 3, 2006
    Posts: 31,179

    Jalopy Joker
    Member

    X2 - only time & $$ will heal this mess
     
  7. Propane is heavier than air. Imagine filling a vessel up with the propane gas and when it reaches the level of a flame, KA_POW! This is why boats blow up constantly. I hope it was insured.
     
  8. MERCURYGUY
    Joined: Jul 30, 2009
    Posts: 2,802

    MERCURYGUY
    Member

    Oh my God ! The worst fear anyone of us can have. I hope no one was hurt. Also beware of old drop lights. I had a good friend that just about lost all his cars and almost his life when he was checking under his car and the light dropped and started a fire. GET RID OF THOSE TOO.
     
  9. fsae0607
    Joined: Apr 3, 2012
    Posts: 872

    fsae0607
    Member

    Ouch...

    Damn I'm even paranoid with my electric heater.
     
  10. Damn, there have been too many fires lately. Scary stuff.
     
  11. Von Rigg Fink
    Joined: Jun 11, 2007
    Posts: 13,418

    Von Rigg Fink
    Member
    from Garage


    I couldnt have said it better

    I lost my Garage and projects and almost my life due to a broken bulb and fumes being ignited by one of those incandecent light bulb "trouble" lights back in 1989..took me a long time to get back to where I am today, and I never completely recovered from it

    theres a reason they are called "trouble lights" they are nothing but trouble

    use florecent, and flashlights..I will never allow another incandecent light bulb fixure in my shop after what I witnessed..caged or otherwise..its the type of bulb that is the problem, it acts like a fuse, and if the glas globe around the filiment is broken and you have any source of fuel look out!..also if fuel ever spills on the hot incandecent bulb ..Boom!

    So sorry to hear of Bud Burke's misfortune, sounds like at least he has insurance, and he didnt get hurt..thats a plus
     
  12. JLeather
    Joined: Sep 25, 2007
    Posts: 129

    JLeather
    Member

    I dunno how he's filing this, but I hope he had the car tagged/reg'd. My insurance agent told me that there's no way to cover car "parts", not even collectible ones like vintage speed stuff and not even whole cars that I take apart for restoration work. He advised me that even if I'm working on something that can't be driven for months/years that if I want it insured against fire/flood/whatever I oughta tag for limited mileage it and get comprehensive insurance. The car insurance will pay out for the fire damage, but he said my home policy won't and there are no riders available for that sort of thing.

    Glad he didn't get hurt, and it looks like it didn't burn too hot. Hopefully he gets paid and can salvage a lot of the good stuff.
     
  13. Raven53
    Joined: Jan 12, 2009
    Posts: 442

    Raven53
    Member
    from Irwin Pa

    Wow sorry to hear this news with winter coming it's something we all have to be aware of. We want to keep working on our projects so you have to have some heat in the joint for the late night wrenching. I dont know what insurance company he has but I do know Hagerty will cover projects in process for an agreed value. I just sent them pics to up date progress on major steps and they up the amount. I bought it hoping I never have to use it I have 2 running cars with them they are really nice to deal with....
     
  14. Kevin Lee
    Joined: Nov 12, 2001
    Posts: 7,582

    Kevin Lee
    Super Moderator
    Staff Member

    Man. I recently pulled the gas tank in my truck and was using a clamp-on light with a 100w bulb... There was a little spillage and it did cross my mind, but I wasn't overly concerned. That thing is going in the trash as soon as I get home today.
     
  15. 48FordFanatic
    Joined: Feb 26, 2011
    Posts: 1,335

    48FordFanatic
    Member
    from Maine

    I'm about ready to finish the interior of my garage and have been thinking about installing a simple sprinkler system for just this reason. If you don't have to worry about pipes freezing a wet system is easy to install. If freezing is a problem a dry system is still fairly easy and cheap.
     
  16. haring
    Joined: Aug 20, 2001
    Posts: 2,335

    haring
    Member

    What kind of heater is best for the garage?
     



  17. The bulb in an old drop light didn't need to be broken. Just a spark from the switch on it could spell disaster. Trust me on this subject.:eek:
    Yeah, I survived, but barely.
     

    Attached Files:

  18.  
  19. dad-bud
    Joined: Aug 22, 2009
    Posts: 3,884

    dad-bud
    Member

    Yowser - sorry to hear of such a tragic event.
    I just hope no one got hurt (other than someone's pocket - obviously).
    Cheers.
     
  20. 34toddster
    Joined: Mar 28, 2006
    Posts: 1,482

    34toddster
    Member
    from Missouri

    Damn Sunfighter, how long ago was that?
    Hope you are back to normal now.
     
  21. 48FordFanatic
    Joined: Feb 26, 2011
    Posts: 1,335

    48FordFanatic
    Member
    from Maine

    That's good question . The absolute best would seem to be one where the firebox itself were in a fireproof room separate from the garage with only the heated media ( water or air ) entering the garage. Probably not practical for most of us , but safe.
     
  22. fsae0607
    Joined: Apr 3, 2012
    Posts: 872

    fsae0607
    Member


    I have one of those parabolic electric heaters from Cosctco. IMO they're safer than gas heaters, since you don't also have the carbon monoxide hazard and open flame to contend with.

    If you're really paranoid, layer up on clothing.
     
  23. bout 40 years now. Normal???? that would depend on who you ask.:D
    To this day, skin still sheds off my arms at the elbows and cold weather really drives up the pain, but, still better than a dirt nap, right?
     
  24. junk
    Joined: Mar 15, 2008
    Posts: 200

    junk
    Member

    Glad no one was hurt.

    Guys are asking about heater types? I went electric in floor heat. I didn't want any open flames to possibly catch fumes on fire. A secondary for the in floor heat is it doesn't create air movement and stir up dust for when a person is painting.
     
  25. haring
    Joined: Aug 20, 2001
    Posts: 2,335

    haring
    Member

    Haha, I do wear a pair of winter bid overalls.

    Thanks for the warning on incandescent bulbs. Scary stuff.


     
  26. Fenders
    Joined: Sep 8, 2007
    Posts: 3,921

    Fenders
    Member

    I have what is called a direct vent propane furnace...

    Propane tank is outside...
    firebox in the furnace (in the garage) direct vents to the outside...
    it has a fan and heats the air in the garage, controlled by a thermostat on the wall, that's all.
     
  27. Mopar Jack
    Joined: Jan 24, 2010
    Posts: 1,363

    Mopar Jack
    Member

    That sucks bro....
     
  28. Makes ya sick to see these photos,,hope he had builders insurance. HRP
     
  29. fourspd340
    Joined: Feb 23, 2009
    Posts: 46

    fourspd340
    Member

    Sunfighter and Von Rigg Fink,
    Thanks for your posts. As of this evening I am putting my super old Appleton metal trouble-light into retirement. This thing is older than me and has been in several of my garages over the years. It is one of those things that when you put it up, it kind of says "Now, this is my garage." It has always been very faithful but I always felt she had an evil side.

    Stan
     
  30. Mr48chev
    Joined: Dec 28, 2007
    Posts: 33,861

    Mr48chev
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    That is really terrible to see. I'm glad he wasn't in the shop at the time to get hurt in the fire though.
    The cold weather coming on serves notice that we should check any and all heating sources we have for the garage/shop and make sure that they don't have fuel leaks or other things that need attended to such as having a chimney cleaned or replaced.

    I've had one of those 32 led rechargeable lights with a magnet base for years and it's great. No cord, and no burned neck when it lays against the side of my face when I'm under a car working. We have one by the back door that gets used in the house and outside and one in the garage that I use outside. I'm lucky in that I've never had a big fire caused by one of the old style drop lights but I have broken bulbs in every way you can figure out how to break one and have been burned and shocked by them more than once.

    One more thing, Carbon Monoxide: It's that season for many of us when we work in a closed up garage for a few months and sometimes even have something laying across the bottoms of the big doors to keep the drafts out. The temptation to bust off the new engine and run it for a few minutes without opening the garage door or without piping the exhaust outside so it doesn't accumulate in the garage. We don't need a thread saying "Hamber's wife finds him in garage dead with his new engine still idling away beside him".
     

Share This Page

Register now to get rid of these ads!

Archive

Copyright © 1995-2021 The Jalopy Journal: Steal our stuff, we'll kick your teeth in. Terms of Service. Privacy Policy.

Atomic Industry
Forum software by XenForo™ ©2010-2014 XenForo Ltd.