On Thu, 21 Jan 2010 08:17:33 -0800 (PST), the infamous Hoosierpopi
scrawled the following:
On Jan 20, 11:33*am, RonB wrote:
Remember when fuel cans were simple? *Pop the cap off the end, tip it
The thing that caught my attention was the subject line "Government
Inspired."
I think it was "inspired" by citizens who were concerned with they
reported accidents involving gas and other flammable materials over
the years.
Private Industry brought us the Pinto Crematoriums that immolated the
occupants in a rear-end crash as the impact froze the doors closed,
broke the gas tank and flooded the passenger area with fuel as a
consequence of several design failures that Ford decided were cheaper
to settle on a case by case basis than to recall the existing cheap
Pintos that were so prone to the particular failure and horrific
consequences.
I, for one, wouldn't want to have been in a Pinto (or any other small
car) which was rear ended at freeway speeds. I was a Ford technician
at the time and I personally installed the "fix" on many a Pinto,
later owning one (automatic, while recovering from a back injury.)
The fix was a 1/8" thick nylon shield (a whopping 9x16" IIRC) which
went under the gas tank straps.this ensured that two differential
bolts couldn't puncture the tank when the car was in a horrendous
collision directly from the rear. They slid on the nylon instead. You
know, don't you, that in all the hundreds of thousands of Pintos
produced and in accidents, only 27 people died as a result of the gas
tank fires? The NHTSA said the problem wasn't that bad and did not
warrant issuing a recall. Yeah, that it was a financial move was not
a good thing, but that happens on a daily basis around the world.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Pinto
While we are on the subject, a small gloat. I had an old Gerry Can
with a rusted flex spout and saw the new version at a hardware store
in NC - for $50!
I took the company name off the new can and called the company to ask
if I could buy "just the spout."
Three days later, I had one on my doorstep - no charge!
It pays to ask.
I broke my Load Handler and called in for replacement parts. They
didn't hesitate and got the new parts to me, free of charge, later
that same week. I mentioned that the one broke because the other
didn't have a stabilizer, so they sent a stablized version. note the
bumper clip on the lower left in the pic (see link), missing from the
right side. It was tension in that area which rolled the thing up and
broke the plastic fork at the top of the tailgate. With the new clip
on both sides, it'll unload the heaviest bedful of gravel or compost
with ease in under a minute. I barely work up a sweat with this
thing. I love it! The week after I spent $70 on mine, they went on
sale at BiMart for $40. sigh
http://www.loadhandler.com/images/lh2000art.gif
http://www.loadhandler.com/lh2000.php How they work. (great, IMHO)
Standard disclaimer applies.
--
The greatest fine art of the future will be the making
of a comfortable living from a small piece of land.
--Abraham Lincoln