Almost burned my world down.

[Harold Hubbard]

Two weeks ago Monday, got a great start to the day. I got out in good time , for me, jumped on my Farmall 504 and hauled a wagonload of firewood to my house. I dumped the load and went back to cut another one. As I backed up to the wood conveyor the tractor ran out of gas. I went back to my shop, got my pickup and a can of gas. Poured the gas in the tractor, took the pickup back and parked it. When I returned to the tractor, gas was running a stream out of the carburetor. I shut the gas off at the tank, pulled the air intake hose off the carb, and drained maybe a pint of gas on the ground. I tried starting it but the engine wouldn't turn over, hydrolocked. OK, I will be very careful here, I removed the spark plugs, left the ignition switch off, and hooked a push button to the starter solenoid. Hit the switch and the world went up in flames. You know the ignition resistor bypass circuit, the one that is energized by the starter solenoid? OOPS!!!! So now I have flaming gasoline blowing from the spark plug holes, dripping on to the gas already spilled on the ground, running into the usual collection of oil-soaked trash around the engine. Grab the fire extinguisher, another oops. "We don't need no stinking fire extinguishers!" Until you do. Stomped out the fire on the ground, beat the burning trash off the engine with my gloves, and waited to see if that was all. No damage, except to my nerves, and a waste of maybe a quart of gas.

It could have been much worse, no rain here since early August, dry grass, lots of dry wood chips and sawdust, and my firewood processor sitting right in the middle of it.

I should have turned the gas off before I filled the tank, and figured out a way to turn the engine by hand, instead of using the starter.

 

[timbertime2]

That is frightening, glad it did not get worse.

 

[SweetFeet]

Two weeks ago Monday, got a great start to the day. I got out in good time , for me, jumped on my Farmall 504 and hauled a wagonload of firewood to my house. I dumped the load and went back to cut another one. As I backed up to the wood conveyor the tractor ran out of gas. I went back to my shop, got my pickup and a can of gas. Poured the gas in the tractor, took the pickup back and parked it. When I returned to the tractor, gas was running a stream out of the carburetor. I shut the gas off at the tank, pulled the air intake hose off the carb, and drained maybe a pint of gas on the ground. I tried starting it but the engine wouldn't turn over, hydrolocked. OK, I will be very careful here, I removed the spark plugs, left the ignition switch off, and hooked a push button to the starter solenoid. Hit the switch and the world went up in flames. You know the ignition resistor bypass circuit, the one that is energized by the starter solenoid? OOPS!!!! So now I have flaming gasoline blowing from the spark plug holes, dripping on to the gas already spilled on the ground, running into the usual collection of oil-soaked trash around the engine. Grab the fire extinguisher, another oops. "We don't need no stinking fire extinguishers!" Until you do. Stomped out the fire on the ground, beat the burning trash off the engine with my gloves, and waited to see if that was all. No damage, except to my nerves, and a waste of maybe a quart of gas.

It could have been much worse, no rain here since early August, dry grass, lots of dry wood chips and sawdust, and my firewood processor sitting right in the middle of it.

I should have turned the gas off before I filled the tank, and figured out a way to turn the engine by hand, instead of using the starter.

Glad it wasn't worse.

 

[hoghollow]

"stuff HAPPENS fast glad you have minnor damage

 

[Mcrafty1]

Your lucky day, glad there wasn't any real damage.

 

[RobRightmyer]

Thanks for the story. Scaring the bejesus out of me is always good as it keeps me moving slow as well.

 

[Randyscottsboro]

Murphy on the job that day. Glad you fired him in time.

 

[Fordy20]

Had a similar thing happen to my 620 JD. Needle and seat leaked, filled the crankcase and one cylinder. I pulled the spark plugs and turned it over by hand using the belt pulley. Gas shot out the left cylinder. Glad I didn't try to start it - gas allover and electrical sparks aren't a good combination! Now, every time I shut off a gravity fed tractor I turn off the gas.

 

[Tgrasher]

Anymore, when I'm fooling with gasoline, I think "now what could go wrong here". I've heard too many horror stories like yours.

 

[DanielW]

I never had a fire extinguisher or anything handy for most of the last several years. The best I'd do was to maybe drape an old suede welding jacket over a gas tank if I was welding on a vehicle. Only if I thought of it and had the jacket nearby. But then last year I was helping my brother do his shocks and control arms on his old Honda Element. 20 year-old Honda with 400k on it driven here in the salty winters: You can imagine how rusted/seized everything was on it. Grabbed the torch to heat one of the shock nuts without even thinking about it. In the process of heating in that awkward spot, I heated one tiny spot on the lower corner of the old (almost-rusted-out) shock just enough that it finally gave out at a pinhole location. The oil shooting from that little pinhole ignited on my torch and created a 3' flamethrower, shooting directly under the vehicle and around the gas tank. I was scared sh!tle$$. Smart thing to do would probably have been to just run. Or maybe if I'd thought of it and knew where the leak was I could have blocked it with a leather glove - but at the time I didn't know what the heck I had done to create such an intense flamethrower. I thought I must have cut a fuel line or something with the key on and the fuel pump still pumping away.

Grabbed the nearby fire extinguisher which had been hanging on the wall (untouched) for two decades. Nothing happened when I squeezed the handle. Slammed it on the ground a few times because I'd heard that's how you break up the powder in them if it solidifies from sitting. No joy. Ran to grab one I knew was in my father's sailboat close by. Same story. And the flamethrower I'd created just kept on going. it must have been the tiniest pinhole leak, but it was one heck of a flamethrower. Because the shock was under pressure from the internal spring, it just kept forcing its way out.

Finally my father came running with a newer extinguisher he kept in a utility trailer, and it (thankfully) worked and put it out. No idea how I didn't blow myself up or burn down the car. A few vacuum hoses needed patching and that was it. Now I'm much more careful, and always keep a newer extinguisher close by.

A good reminder that just because you have an extinguisher, doesn't mean it's working. The powder can settle in the bottom and solidify - sometimes to the point where it can't readily be broken up again when you need it.

 

[joeysmith]

I never had a fire extinguisher or anything handy for most of the last several years. The best I'd do was to maybe drape an old suede welding jacket over a gas tank if I was welding on a vehicle. Only if I thought of it and had the jacket nearby. But then last year I was helping my brother do his shocks and control arms on his old Honda Element. 20 year-old Honda with 400k on it driven here in the salty winters: You can imagine how rusted/seized everything was on it. Grabbed the torch to heat one of the shock nuts without even thinking about it. In the process of heating in that awkward spot, I heated one tiny spot on the lower corner of the old (almost-rusted-out) shock just enough that it finally gave out at a pinhole location. The oil shooting from that little pinhole ignited on my torch and created a 3' flamethrower, shooting directly under the vehicle and around the gas tank. I was scared sh!tle$$. Smart thing to do would probably have been to just run. Or maybe if I'd thought of it and knew where the leak was I could have blocked it with a leather glove - but at the time I didn't know what the heck I had done to create such an intense flamethrower. I thought I must have cut a fuel line or something with the key on and the fuel pump still pumping away.

Grabbed the nearby fire extinguisher which had been hanging on the wall (untouched) for two decades. Nothing happened when I squeezed the handle. Slammed it on the ground a few times because I'd heard that's how you break up the powder in them if it solidifies from sitting. No joy. Ran to grab one I knew was in my father's sailboat close by. Same story. And the flamethrower I'd created just kept on going. it must have been the tiniest pinhole leak, but it was one heck of a flamethrower. Because the shock was under pressure from the internal spring, it just kept forcing its way out.

Finally my father came running with a newer extinguisher he kept in a utility trailer, and it (thankfully) worked and put it out. No idea how I didn't blow myself up or burn down the car. A few vacuum hoses needed patching and that was it. Now I'm much more careful, and always keep a newer extinguisher close by.

A good reminder that just because you have an extinguisher, doesn't mean it's working. The powder can settle in the bottom and solidify - sometimes to the point where it can't readily be broken up again when you need it.

Extinguisher guy always told me if you don't have them serviced yearly at least turn them upside down an beat the bottom with a rubber mallet.
Never had one not work but try to service them every few years

 

[Turkeyfoot]

Two weeks ago Monday, got a great start to the day. I got out in good time , for me, jumped on my Farmall 504 and hauled a wagonload of firewood to my house. I dumped the load and went back to cut another one. As I backed up to the wood conveyor the tractor ran out of gas. I went back to my shop, got my pickup and a can of gas. Poured the gas in the tractor, took the pickup back and parked it. When I returned to the tractor, gas was running a stream out of the carburetor. I shut the gas off at the tank, pulled the air intake hose off the carb, and drained maybe a pint of gas on the ground. I tried starting it but the engine wouldn't turn over, hydrolocked. OK, I will be very careful here, I removed the spark plugs, left the ignition switch off, and hooked a push button to the starter solenoid. Hit the switch and the world went up in flames. You know the ignition resistor bypass circuit, the one that is energized by the starter solenoid? OOPS!!!! So now I have flaming gasoline blowing from the spark plug holes, dripping on to the gas already spilled on the ground, running into the usual collection of oil-soaked trash around the engine. Grab the fire extinguisher, another oops. "We don't need no stinking fire extinguishers!" Until you do. Stomped out the fire on the ground, beat the burning trash off the engine with my gloves, and waited to see if that was all. No damage, except to my nerves, and a waste of maybe a quart of gas.

It could have been much worse, no rain here since early August, dry grass, lots of dry wood chips and sawdust, and my firewood processor sitting right in the middle of it.

I should have turned the gas off before I filled the tank, and figured out a way to turn the engine by hand, instead of using the starter.

How many keep a fire extinguisher on your tractors or other equipment? Someone posted an image of a tractor in a shed the other day and it had a small extinguisher mounted on the rear fender. Seems like a good idea. Any recommendations on type/size that would be useful in instances like the OP describes? I have larger ones in the shed, workshop and around the house, but they are too big to mount on an old tractor, I think.

 

[Janicholson]

There is a lesson hard won. Jim

 

[olddavid]

How many keep a fire extinguisher on your tractors or other equipment? Someone posted an image of a tractor in a shed the other day and it had a small extinguisher mounted on the rear fender. Seems like a good idea. Any recommendations on type/size that would be useful in instances like the OP describes? I have larger ones in the shed, workshop and around the house, but they are too big to mount on an old tractor, I think.

I was working an Allis Chalmers WC with a lot of oil on the engine. Well, that caught on fire. I had no fire extinguisher of course. I tried to smother it with my jacket, but it wouldn't go out. There was a pond about 100 yds away so I grabbed the exhaust cover can and ran down and filled it with water and ran back, threw it on the fire and that put it out immediately. Frankly I was a little surprised that that small amount of water did the trick.

 

[Caryc]

No explanation needed.

 

[John P.]

Wow, you were lucky!

 

[37 chief]

How many keep a fire extinguisher on your tractors or other equipment? Someone posted an image of a tractor in a shed the other day and it had a small extinguisher mounted on the rear fender. Seems like a good idea. Any recommendations on type/size that would be useful in instances like the OP describes? I have larger ones in the shed, workshop and around the house, but they are too big to mount on an old tractor, I think.

I keep two on my mowing tractor. One water, and one power. They fit between the seat and fender. I have started several fires in my 30 or more years mowing, by rock strikes. One I started before I started caring extinguishers was next to a factory where a extinguisher company was exchanging bottles. He grabbed a couple bottles and put the fire out. I started another, and it was just about out of control. A couple gardeners came running to help put the fire out. That one would have made the 5 o'clock news. No need to go a doctor for a heart cheek just start a fire. Stan

 

[Turkeyfoot]

I keep two on my mowing tractor. One water, and one power. They fit between the seat and fender. I have started several fires in my 30 or more years mowing, by rock strikes. One I started before I started caring extinguishers was next to a factory where a extinguisher company was exchanging bottles. He grabbed a couple bottles and put the fire out. I started another, and it was just about out of control. A couple gardeners came running to help put the fire out. That one would have made the 5 o'clock news. No need to go a doctor for a heart cheek just start a fire. Stan

Thanks for the reply Chief. I looked around a little after making my post yesterday. I think I'm going to get 2.5 lb ABC extinguishers for mine. I do have a couple of 2.5 gallon water extinguishers that you charge with compressed air. I always have them handy when I am burning outside. They are quite effective for grass fires.

 

[Gambles]

About 10 years ago, I had quite the fire scare. I was starting a carbureted car that had sat for some time. I put some gas in the fuel bowl and had a fire extinguisher nearby. There was gas in the tank. I cranked it and there was a fireball out the top of the carb and some fuel ran down the side of the block. There was a fire both on top of the block and on the floor under the engine. I grabbed the fire extinguisher and…nothing. This was a new fire extinguisher and it was a dud. Luckily, I had a bucket and a hydrant nearby and I put it out with water. This building had 5-6 gas vehicles in it. It could have been bad.
After that, I always do a fresh start outside away from anything burnable and have two extinguishers by my side.

 

[SweetFeet]

No explanation needed.

Have never seen a white exringuisher.
I thought they were all red.