Had a bit of excitment today. Photos at:

http://neme-s.org/Fire/a_hot_time_in...town_tonig.htm

Mower for sale, cheap. Handyman special.

Errol Groff

Instructor, Machine Tool Department
H.H. Ellis Technical High School
Danielson, CT

Errol Groff wrote:
Had a bit of excitment today. Photos at:

http://neme-s.org/Fire/a_hot_time_in...town_tonig.htm

Mower for sale, cheap. Handyman special.

Whoa! Not too good! Plastic gas tank and hardened rubber hose that
cracked? I've seen that before, even got off lucky once, gas was
running out in pools on the garage floor, but it didn't ignite. (The
engine was cold.)

Jon

Errol Groff wrote:

Had a bit of excitment today. Photos at:

http://neme-s.org/Fire/a_hot_time_in...town_tonig.htm

Mower for sale, cheap. Handyman special.


Determine point of failure? Only two gallons?

Wes
--
"Additionally as a security officer, I carry a gun to protect
government officials but my life isn't worth protecting at home
in their eyes." Dick Anthony Heller

Errol Groff wrote:

Had a bit of excitment today. Photos at:

http://neme-s.org/Fire/a_hot_time_in...town_tonig.htm

Mower for sale, cheap. Handyman special.

Errol Groff

Instructor, Machine Tool Department
H.H. Ellis Technical High School
Danielson, CT

I hate when that happens... Think diesel for the next one...

"Errol Groff" wrote in message
...

Had a bit of excitment today. Photos at:

http://neme-s.org/Fire/a_hot_time_in...town_tonig.htm

Mower for sale, cheap. Handyman special.

Errol Groff

Instructor, Machine Tool Department
H.H. Ellis Technical High School
Danielson, CT


A highly respected teacher in my area ( Charlotte, NC ) was killed not to
long ago in a similar incident when he attempted to refuel a hot mower.

Hank wrote:

"Errol Groff" wrote in message
...

Had a bit of excitment today. Photos at:

http://neme-s.org/Fire/a_hot_time_in...town_tonig.htm

Mower for sale, cheap. Handyman special.

Errol Groff

Instructor, Machine Tool Department
H.H. Ellis Technical High School
Danielson, CT


A highly respected teacher in my area ( Charlotte, NC ) was killed not to
long ago in a similar incident when he attempted to refuel a hot mower.

How on earth do you get killed doing that? Worst I can see is a *boom*,
drop, roll, *expletive*, "do I have any hair left?" sequence.

On Thu, 15 May 2008 18:29:41 -0400, Errol Groff
wrote:

Had a bit of excitment today. Photos at:

http://neme-s.org/Fire/a_hot_time_in...town_tonig.htm

Mower for sale, cheap. Handyman special.

And people looked at me funny when I bolted a bracket and a 1A-10BC
Dry Chem Extinguisher on the back fender of our old riding mower.

If I had a nickel for every brush fire, building fire and forest
fire that could have been stopped small if only the person running the
power equipment or welding torch had been a little prepared for it...

One squirt at the beginning, and you wouldn't have to A) wait for
the FD to put it out and B) buy a new mower. Stop it fast, and
repairs are simple. But wash off the ABC powder (Ammonium Phosphate)
fast, it's corrosive as heck - BC powder (Bicarbonate of Soda) is
fairly benign, but less useful.

Note: Conditions have to be perfect to get gasoline to go BOOM!
Worst that can happen is the tank melts and dumps it all out at once
and you get a WHOOSH! as the little fire gets big in a hurry.

You can safely get into extinguisher range from upwind, and if it
does go WHOOSH! on you just slam the handle and dump the whole
extinguisher in a cloud in front of you, then retreat fast - the cloud
of powder blocks the radiant heat amazingly well.

If you have time, a second extinguisher, and a second body that
knows how this works, use teamwork. You go in to put out the fire,
and the Safety Person stands by one or two steps behind you with a
fresh extinguisher, ready to do the 'cloud cover' if needed.

-- Bruce --

"Errol Groff" wrote in message
...

Had a bit of excitment today. Photos at:

http://neme-s.org/Fire/a_hot_time_in...town_tonig.htm

Mower for sale, cheap. Handyman special.

Errol Groff

Instructor, Machine Tool Department
H.H. Ellis Technical High School
Danielson, CT

The same thing happened with my mower when I had a nephew down visiting
using it. He was about 13 and had been in Cub/Boy scouts for several years
and
handled it very well. Ran to the house and told my wife to call the fire
department
ad then went back and shoveled dirt on it and put it out.

Carl Boyd

Dang the bad luck. Just when the 3 day weekend sales are about to start!!

Martin
Martin H. Eastburn
@ home at Lions' Lair with our computer lionslair at consolidated dot net
TSRA, Endowed; NRA LOH & Patron Member, Golden Eagle, Patriot's Medal.
NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder
IHMSA and NRA Metallic Silhouette maker & member.
http://lufkinced.com/


Errol Groff wrote:
Had a bit of excitment today. Photos at:

http://neme-s.org/Fire/a_hot_time_in...town_tonig.htm

Mower for sale, cheap. Handyman special.

Errol Groff

Instructor, Machine Tool Department
H.H. Ellis Technical High School
Danielson, CT



----== Posted via Pronews.Com - Unlimited-Unrestricted-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.pronews.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 100,000 Newsgroups
---= - Total Privacy via Encryption =---

guess you won't be needing to mow that bit of lawn for a while!

russ
"Errol Groff" wrote in message
...

Had a bit of excitment today. Photos at:

http://neme-s.org/Fire/a_hot_time_in...town_tonig.htm

Mower for sale, cheap. Handyman special.

Errol Groff

Instructor, Machine Tool Department
H.H. Ellis Technical High School
Danielson, CT

Pete C. wrote:
Hank wrote:
"Errol Groff" wrote in message
...
Had a bit of excitment today. Photos at:

http://neme-s.org/Fire/a_hot_time_in...town_tonig.htm

Mower for sale, cheap. Handyman special.

Errol Groff

Instructor, Machine Tool Department
H.H. Ellis Technical High School
Danielson, CT

A highly respected teacher in my area ( Charlotte, NC ) was killed not to
long ago in a similar incident when he attempted to refuel a hot mower.

How on earth do you get killed doing that? Worst I can see is a *boom*,
drop, roll, *expletive*, "do I have any hair left?" sequence.

The usual sequence:
Fire flashes right in front of you.
Startled intake of breath, consisting of vaporized burning gasoline
blistered lungs
death within hours or days.

On Thu, 15 May 2008 18:29:41 -0400, Errol Groff
wrote:


Had a bit of excitment today. Photos at:

http://neme-s.org/Fire/a_hot_time_in...town_tonig.htm

Mower for sale, cheap. Handyman special.


When the fire started (small gas leak which got out of hand) I went in
the house and got the extinguisher. My wife was afraid that the thing
would blow in a giant ball of fire like a movie scene so she wanted me
to stay well away from it. I have not been married for 42 years
without learning a thing or two so I listened to her. That plus I
never really liked that mower anyway.

Never having had the opportunity to photograph a flaming mower before
I got the camera and started shooting the conflagration.

The fire guy asked if we had a hose and when my wife said that she
thought one does not put water on a gasoline fire. He replied that
they do it all the time with car fires. Live and learn.

All in all, no one was hurt, except the mower, I got some nifty photos
and an interesting tale to tell.

Well, tomorrow we are off to the grand re-opening of the Saugus Iron
Works National Historic Site. Photos from a previous visit are at

http://neme-s.org/Iron_Guild_2006/iron_guild.htm

Regards to all,

Errol Groff

On Fri, 16 May 2008 16:08:00 -0400, Errol Groff
wrote:
On Thu, 15 May 2008 18:29:41 -0400, Errol Groff
wrote:

Had a bit of excitment today. Photos at:

http://neme-s.org/Fire/a_hot_time_in...town_tonig.htm

Mower for sale, cheap. Handyman special.


When the fire started (small gas leak which got out of hand) I went in
the house and got the extinguisher. My wife was afraid that the thing
would blow in a giant ball of fire like a movie scene so she wanted me
to stay well away from it. I have not been married for 42 years
without learning a thing or two so I listened to her. That plus I
never really liked that mower anyway.

Oh, jeez.... Go tape the "Mythbusters" episode where they debunked
all those "Car shot in gas tank and blows up in a Huge Fireball" movie
myths, and show it to her. They were TRYING to get a tank of gasoline
to go Boom! for them, setting up the 'perfect storm' conditions with
the air/fuel ratio flammability bands inside the tank, and while it
did catch fire rather easily it flat out would not go Boom.

The worst that's happened is Adam losing an eyebrow and a bit of
hair from a flash fire once, and that was a different show...

They had to add a little Black Powder bomb under the tank to get the
required "Jamie wants a big BOOM!" finish.

Now watching them measure flame spread from the "hole shot in the
tank, and the fuel acts as a fuse" movie myth was a hoot. If they
went over about 15 MPH they could A) outrun the flames and B) make the
trail too weak to even continue burning. And even when the flame
caught up and all the access holes in the tank were open, it wouldn't
go Boom! Looked like a big Tiki Torch, but it was controllable
flames.

Never having had the opportunity to photograph a flaming mower before
I got the camera and started shooting the conflagration.

The fire guy asked if we had a hose and when my wife said that she
thought one does not put water on a gasoline fire. He replied that
they do it all the time with car fires. Live and learn.

It's not the best stuff for the job, but mass quantities of water
will do the deed. If you cool it down, it goes out. And for two
gallons on a lawnmower, a garden hose is enough.

Where it's bad on large flammable liquid fires is the water floats
the fuel away to where it can cause more trouble, like into a storm
drain or into the creek. Most people don't think to grab a shovel and
make a dike to trap the runoff.

The FD guys can push a magic button on the pumper and add a
surfactant "foam" to the output water, and that helps it float on top
of the gasoline and put it out easier.

And where using water on flammable liquids can get the FD guys in
big trouble is where they set themselves up for a "Boilover". They
try putting out a storage tank fire in a big tank of burning fuel with
water (even with foam) aiming at the top of the tank from a distance -
the water sinks to the bottom of the tank at first. Until it gets
heated above boiling and then flashes to steam, and ejects the burning
fuel out of the tank rather violently.

All in all, no one was hurt, except the mower, I got some nifty photos
and an interesting tale to tell.

Well, tomorrow we are off to the grand re-opening of the Saugus Iron
Works National Historic Site. Photos from a previous visit are at

http://neme-s.org/Iron_Guild_2006/iron_guild.htm

And then you get to go shopping for a new mower you like. Look at
the Zero Turning Radius ones with the joysticks...

-- Bruce --

Errol Groff wrote:

-snip-
When the fire started (small gas leak which got out of hand) I went in
the house and got the extinguisher. My wife was afraid that the thing
would blow in a giant ball of fire like a movie scene so she wanted me
to stay well away from it. I have not been married for 42 years
without learning a thing or two so I listened to her. That plus I
never really liked that mower anyway.

Hehe- Thanks for the details. I was thinking you were either a
youtube wannabe, an idiot, or an insurance scammer.

Now I've got you pegged as a guy who's been married long enough to
know when to say 'Yes dear'.g ['oh, and BTW, honey, now that
filming is over. . we need a new mower']

Jim

"Errol Groff" wrote in message
...

Had a bit of excitment today. Photos at:

http://neme-s.org/Fire/a_hot_time_in...town_tonig.htm

Mower for sale, cheap. Handyman special.

Errol Groff

Instructor, Machine Tool Department
H.H. Ellis Technical High School
Danielson, CT

You should have went for the fire extinguisher instead of the camera.

On Thu, 15 May 2008 18:29:41 -0400, Errol Groff
wrote:


Had a bit of excitment today. Photos at:

http://neme-s.org/Fire/a_hot_time_in...town_tonig.htm

Mower for sale, cheap. Handyman special.


When the fire started (small gas leak which got out of hand) I went in
the house and got the extinguisher. My wife was afraid that the thing
would blow in a giant ball of fire like a movie scene so she wanted me
to stay well away from it. I have not been married for 42 years
without learning a thing or two so I listened to her. That plus I
never really liked that mower anyway.

Never having had the opportunity to photograph a flaming mower before
I got the camera and started shooting the conflagration.

The fire guy asked if we had a hose and when my wife said that she
thought one does not put water on a gasoline fire. He replied that
they do it all the time with car fires. Live and learn.

All in all, no one was hurt, except the mower, I got some nifty photos
and an interesting tale to tell.

Well, tomorrow we are off to the grand re-opening of the Saugus Iron
Works National Historic Site. Photos from a previous visit are at

http://neme-s.org/Iron_Guild_2006/iron_guild.htm

Regards to all,

Errol Groff
You can't go to no Historic Site... Ya still got grass to MOW !!!!!
Ken.

Errol Groff wrote:

Had a bit of excitment today. Photos at:

http://neme-s.org/Fire/a_hot_time_in...town_tonig.htm

Mower for sale, cheap. Handyman special.


A couple cans of spray paint, an hour' work on the bench, and sell it
on Ebay!!!


--
http://improve-usenet.org/index.html


Use any search engine other than Google till they stop polluting USENET
with porn and junk commercial SPAM

If you have broadband, your ISP may have a NNTP news server included in
your account: http://www.usenettools.net/ISP.htm