Lesson Learned... The Hard way

[L.C.Gray]

Got me some education the hard way. Sometimes little things happen that lead up to an accident. They don't seem like a problem at the time, but let someting change in the formula and you'll get bit!

I did the p'rade thing yesterday. I had the '34 C all dolled up including a big red white and blue bow on the front. After the p'rade I elected to road it back across town to the trailer at the staging area. On the way there it started getting hot, so I stopped to remove the bow from the front to help it cool. The bow was tied on the bail that holds the cap on. While trying to undo the bow the bail flipped and the cap blew off with a violent eruption of antifreeze. Shouldn't have happened on an un-pressurized system.

Someone before me had made a gasket for the cap, I guess to keep it from slobbering and making a mess, but theres still an overflow tube right? I haven't looked yet, but I'm nearly sure what got me. We have an insect around here that loves to nest in any hole it can find in anything. It always packs both ends if its nest with mud. They can be quite stubborn to get out, sometimes requiring a ram-rod or digging it out when even high pressure air won't dislodge them.

I never thought the gasket could lead to that problem, but I never thought of the possibility of the overflow getting plugged up either. I wound up spending part of my Independence Day captive in the ER. I had burns on my right hand and arm, worst was on my hand where the glove was soaked and I just couldn't get it off fast enough. Its all bubbled up nicely.

I did learn though.... I'll be checking the drain tubes occasionally, and that gasket is history!

 

[NEsota]

This happens so much. Some very small variance in the way machinery was designed, if not restored, leads to a significant problem. Countless times I have made a little mess worse by not correcting it. Thanks for posting and giving me the opportunity to make this point. Burns are no fun.

 

[Anonymous-0]

I had a similar experience in that I was burned by hot engine coolant almost 20 years ago. Bought a K-10 chevy with a snow plow, buddy helping me, said nah, leave the plow on, mind you it was close to summer time, well it started to overheat, me not wanting to be confrontational, went along with leaving it on, but figured it best to have removed the radiator cap so it did not build pressure, and I did so with no problem before we were on our way, still having trouble, ( I knew the plow had to come off and be placed in the bed, and figured I'd get someone else so as not to argue with a friend ) and it being at night, I decided it best to park the truck and get it the next day, so I parked it and so as not to lose the cap, why not just put it back on the radiator where it belongs, well just as I'm doing just that, reaching over the neck of the radiator to put the cap on, it blew, the thing blew like I had the cap on and let it build up pressure, then removed it, which I was not dumb enough to ever try. It blew in my face, but instinctively, as if someone was throwing a punch at my face I used a forearm block and cut off the path of that hot burning fluid. Best I can figure is that there was an internal blockage and it cleared, was a small block chevy 350.

My face was unscathed, but my forearm was burnt nicely, and it hurt like h$ll, got into the vehicle, friend was laughing and unbelievably so was I, he said I must have ran 100 yards. I rode home with my arm out the window to cool it, suffered the rest of the night, then the pain went away completely, it looked real nasty, eventually skin hanging off etc. but I took care of it and when it started healing up, applied Vitamin E, cocoa butter etc. not even a hint of a scar or discoloration, not sure why, but I think it was due to the type of burn, hopefully yours will do the same thing, hot radiator and cooling system ain't nothing to fool with even if you think its safe to do so, certainly can attest to that !

 

[Anonymous-0]

That happenrd to my Dad. I made a nice gasket for his radiator cap, over flow got plugged somehow. He opened the cap by flipping the bail up, and got the direct flow in his face. that was over 20 years ago. To this day I never stand in front of any radiator when checking the level. Stan

 

[old]

Yep and things like that happen not only like what you had happen but with all sorts of other stuff on the farm. Just the other day I and a friend where working on a NH271 baler to see if the knotters will work. I had him turning the flywheel as I watch the knotters action. Well he got if little finger between the flywheel and the baler frame. So now he has a funny looking little finger. Guess you could say you always need to look at what your doing 3 times before you do any thing of it may jump up and bite you in the butt
Hobby farm

 

[BarryfromIA]

I have found that cooling a burn with ice till it is numb can sometimes end up pain free. Any way you can cool a burn will reduce the depth of the burn. Don't forget infection enters through broken skin. Be careful out there.

 

[Anonymous-0]

That sounds like something my dad would do =)

 

[jeffcat]

Same thing happened to me about 1964. I was blowin hay into the mow with an Allis Chalmers blower. My dad is a great one for pouring dirty water into a radiator with straw dust dirt in the bottom of a bucket ,etc.. It was running hot and I took off the cap. The whole bottom of my left arm went to second degree burn. Lucky the milk house was only about 30 feet away. I plunged my arm into the icebuilder on an old Cherry Berrel tank. A few weeks later I took the radiater apart and rodded the core out. It never ran hot again.Very lucky my arm is fine 43 years later! jeffcat