Technical FLAME THROWER FAIL

"Waiting for a video. "

in the mean time -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFRVYxHl-0Q

 

I have heard of flamethrowers as far back as the 40s. They got bigger in the late 50s and 60s with the kustom scene.

Here’s an old thread on the HAMB talking about the “traditional” way (which sounds like an awful idea) and another guy saying they used Model T coils to ignite the fuel back in the 40s…

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/need-info-flame-thrower-exhaust.8017/

Definitely see them on rat rods but also tons of old school kustoms. "Traditional" in that they're a must-have gimmick for every old school build?... no, but they've been around and are certainly a crowd-pleaser.

 

Interesting that the majority of the folks commenting on that thread haven't posted for a decade or more. There are some videos of successful runs-I wonder what percentage of fails are not shown? As for "manliness", the HAMB's got an aging population and most of us got to this point by being lucky when we did something stupid and avoiding things that were Totally Stupid. Most of us.

 

I don't believe the negative replies have anything to do with hate for flamethrowers, I believe it has to do with the engineering going on here. I'm spraying gasoline, I have spark, why isn't there any fire? Study some fire behavior. It's a lot like a carburetor, you have the too rich side of things, the too lean side of things, and the oh yeah that's just right, get a fire extinguisher and roll Johnny around a little bit side of things lol. I agree, I'm a hoodlum, so hammer down on it, worst that can happen is you destroy things, but hey, you've got insurance.

 

They aren't even legal in my state, and I am not talking no fenders (nobody cares) not legal.

We have had wildfires here larger than the entirety of other US states.

Granted, most of those are due to poorly maintained electrical equipment by a poorly regulated utility, or by gender reveal parties involving explosives.

The local authorities have little tolerance for huge open flames, and rightly so.

One of our recent biggest blaze was started by single downed power line in November 2018. It burned 153,336 acres, destroyed 18,804 structures and killed 85 people. That wasn't even in the top 20 biggest.

These are not just wilderness fires. Google Coffey Park Fire, and you will see what happens to a dense neighborhood.

This is not about being a big tough hoodlum, versus the safety police. This is about knowing the potential consequences of your actions.

All the aforementioned parties thought they had what they were doing under control, until they didn't.

 

Haven't heard from Clik about how his trials with this are progressing. Hope he's ok...........

 

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0VRUsiwX-0IHPEKmVSGT6BBaA#Biloxi
Saw this at Cruisn’ the Coast a couple years ago. The flame was definitely propane a you could smell it as it drove by. Right at the end of stinger on the rear of car was an open flame pilot. Don’t know how propane was controlled (manual valve or electric valve) but driver seems to control bursts. When large picture appears tap on small picture to play video.

 

They haven't told him the wifi p***word in the burn ward yet.

 

Welllllll, on the positive side of things, he is on the East coast where the average price of gas is about a dollar per gallon less than in California. Maybe there's a little envy from the West, maybe?

 

I have friends that died in the fires. I have other friends that lost homes. I have yet still other friends that lost their businesses. And then there are the ones who lost whole car collections.

Fire is not funny out here.

 

"Majority?" Really? Majority means more than half so are you saying that over half the people who have posted on this thread have NOT posted for a DECADE or more? Sorry, I gotta call B.S.

 

He's talking about the people who posted in the thread from 2004 that I linked in the post he quoted haha

 

All I see is a joke about the difference in fuel prices. Death by any means is not particularly funny. So why not call out all the people “joking”about the OP ending up in a burn unit. I’m guessing that’s OK?

 

They are calling out the folly of doing something that could put someone in the burn unit.

Why would I call them out about calling out the doing of something stupid? That makes no sense.

 

I didn’t think it would make sense, to you anyway. Do you really think they are doing it out of concern. I kind of doubt it.

 

That's on them. I cannot expect to control the thoughts of others, including you.

 

Thank you, that’s a relief. I went blank there for a while and you had me worried.

 

The vehicles in this Pic absolutely justify my point, lol....

 

Could this be our boy? Look at his avatar...

 

Setting your car on fire will get all the attention you crave, and then some.

 

While I think the flame thrower thing is stupid, I have had a friend that was into it. It was a big thing at a lot of shows before the rat rod days.
There were different systems for various reasons. He used propane tanks with back flow valves, thru nozzles. There was a constant spark to keep the fire going. Other guys used kero or fuel oil, with a set-up similar to an oil burner. A tank, oil pump, oil burner nozzles and the transformer from the oil burner.
The wrap the back of the cars with fire proof blankets to protect the paint.
Both could put flames out 50 feet in the air.
It was nothing like the old days of pull out the choke and light the exhaust with a spark plug for a little **** of flame.
I watched it one time, Never again. I always feared something tragic could happen.

 

I wasn’t around in the old days, but would welcome any 80 year olds on the HAMB to let us know how many cars they knew of back then with flame thrower exhaust. And were they really cut down trucks with skulls on the roof, or fordor Oldsmobiles as pictured here?

 

We used to do **** like this when we were younger and just getting into this stuff. Sure it's kind of cool. It's really not that difficult either. My buddies made a "hot box" which was a basic points distributor mechanism, and mounted it to a 12v. fan blower motor. That was mounted in the trunk, a coil, and 2 spark plug wires to 2 plugs in the tail pipes. Pry open that plug gap to the get the spark to jump and use big tail pipes to slow the exhaust velocity down. That would be used with a mechanical choke, and you'd get the flames barking. Other guys that wanted more fire used a momentary switch and injected raw gas into the tail pipe upstream of the plugs. Another dude used a forklift propane tank and used NOS system fogger nozzles in the tail pipes. That was honestly the most effective, and got the fireball effect that the raw gas couldn't. He melted the tail light lenses out of the car a few times and bubbled the paint on the deck lid.

That being said....

That was a different time, and others, especially @gimpyshotrods have correctly pointed out some of the many reasons this is a bad idea. The choking of the engine and rich condition causes engine damage. There is obviously a heightened risk of fire and explosion when incorporating these systems into your car, especially so with separate systems for injecting fuel as opposed to the old choke method. This put both you, your car, your p***engers, and others at risk, and especially so if there is a risk of wild fire in your geographic area. Your insurance will probably disclaim coverage for any loss involving use of the flamethrowers. You also run the risk of criminal/quasi-criminal prosecution for using them, and it's obviously highly illegal to do. On a personal note, as time has gone on, I've taken the opinion that I'd rather have my car and I garner attention for being nice and well styled, as opposed to some gimmick.

Personally, moreso than anything, I think about how the hobby or events could be negatively affected if you use them and something goes wrong. No different than the losers with Mustangs that do burnouts and holeshots leaving Cars and Coffee events an then lose control and go plowing into crowds of people. If the **** happens, there is going to be a scaling back. I like to think that the traditional crowd has gotten into the good graces of the public and law enforcement by not acting like clowns, unlike the import crowd that gets their balls broken incessantly at events like H20, even when they're not doing anything wrong. But that built-up good will can be gone in an instant if someone is out ****ing around, burns a kid, causes an accident, etc. You have to think about whether it's worth it, and it pretty much never is.

 

Be Prepared.

 

^^One of those should be in every car. But they are not.

 

You're gonna need a bigger "boat"

 

People, mandatory catalytic converters cause most of the automobile related fires, not these flame throwers. Kind of hard to burn down a forest from a drive-in resraurant or movie. Please get a grip on reality.

 

Several years ago in one of the Detroit suburbs a girl was graduating from high school and wanted to have a party with a bonfire. Her 19 y/o brother set it up, pouring a can of gas (unknown how big) over the pile. He and his sister were standing near the pile when he set it off. The resulting fire ball/explosion killed them both instantly. I don't f--k with gasoline. I don't clean parts with it and I don't play with it. When you consider the volatility of gas it's more dangerous than dynamite. First time I saw napalm in use gave me an appreciation of that.

 

Well if there were as many 'flamers' as catty converters, your argument may hold water.

Gas is more dangerous than dynamite? Sorry, I won't sign that.

I'm not worried about danger. I just think they're dumb. However, that's just my opinion, and I definitely respect anyone who wants to do what they dig. So at some point hope to see the op post his working.

And doesn't danger kind of come with the territory of driving an old car? Somewhat?

 

This article from Purdue University says that a gallon of gasoline has the explosive power of 83 sticks of dynamite:

Farmers should use extra caution with gasoline
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Farmers who are accustomed to using diesel fuel should remind themselves of the increased danger when using gasoline, says Purdue University farm safety expert Doug Kingman.
Most farmers use diesel fuel to operate tractors, trucks and other farm equipment. But gasoline still is needed for older farm machinery and lawn equipment.

"Diesel fuel is not only more economical to use than gasoline, it is also safer to handle," Kingman said. "But farmers who use diesel fuel daily can become indifferent to the hazards ***ociated with other types of fuel, such as gasoline or liquid propane gas."

Already this spring, a White County, Ind., farmer was killed while loading gasoline into a fuel tank that ignited. Kingman said that far more fires on farms are caused by gasoline than diesel fuel, even though diesel is more commonly used.

One gallon of gasoline can vaporize and fill a 250-gallon fuel tank with explosive vapor; that single gallon of gasoline has the explosive energy of 83 sticks of dynamite. "Gasoline vapors are three to four times heavier than air and move about fuel tanks and unventilated areas like a fluid," Kingman said. "On a warm day, an uncapped gasoline storage tank may release several gallons of fuel.

"These lingering vapors can easily be ignited by items such as a nearby welder, water heater, or even by sparks from something such as a weed trimmer."

Diesel fuel is much less volatile than gasoline. The flash point of gasoline (the temperature at which it becomes explosive) is minus 45 degrees; diesel fuel has a flash point of 110 degrees. Gasoline will vaporize at 0 degrees, while diesel vaporizes at 100 degrees.

"A farmer who routinely hauls diesel fuel in large, portable tanks or small containers in the back of a truck may unknowingly begin to disregard safety procedures when handling gasoline," Kingman warned. "Unsafe practices such as smoking or using power tools are much less forgiving when they are done around gasoline."