I would never start a car for the first time, or with a temp fuel line, in the garage, push it out, get help if you need, bad to lose anything,but better to lose the car then the garage and everything in it. also a couple of buckets of dirt or cat litter are a good supplement to the extinguisher, five gallon buckets, great for smothering fires.
Another day we were working on a friends 35 pick up ,took the front bowl off the holley ,touched the power cable on alternator with the bowl the fuel still sitting on the manifold sparks lit it up nicely ,i went for a large rag we had there in the panic but the labrador thought it was playtime in the flurry of the moment the dog grabbed the rag for tug of war ,meanwhile burning fuel was running down the back of block ,the dog was quickly relieved of the rag and we put the fire out ,another note to self ,,,disconnect the battery during works,,
Good to hear every thing is ok I always carry one in all my cars ever since I read on here about a guy that was moving a project car across the street and some how he was trapped in the car while it was burning.. he was ok but it was enough to scare me to buy one.
a screwdriver? really? oh man...i have one of these... also guys, the car sized extinguishers are $15-20 at most auto parts stores. dont mess around!!
Well like i said it was 35 years ago and can think before acting now ,i tell my son regulary about these things to hopefully make him think with his projects ,with fuel you dont always get a second chance ,hell when i was an apprentice plumber my boss taught me to freeze copper pipes with upside down liquid propane bottle ,outdoors only of course but gees how dangerous was that ,you would get your **** kicked today doing that,,,
Ive got huge fire extinguishers all over my house..and shop.. my shop is only 1000SF and i must have at least 5 or 6 in there! but than again..ive already had 2 devistating fires in my life, so i learned not to play with it, or take it for granted. especially after spending time in Detroit Burn center and every year take you ABC fire extinguishers and tip them up side down and back a few times..it loosens the powder..and makes them work better when that bad day you need them comes. glad you saved it
Another good thing to have around is a good old Fire bucket always full of water. Glad you learned the easy way and only your ego was hurt. Duh.. master builder.
Glad you got the fire out & nothing (except pride) was hurt . At our restoration shop , we have an extinguisher by every door . At least if you have a fire & you're running out , you can take one look back to see if that extinguisher will put it out .
Being a retired fire official. Like he said. Pressure water and limited but great for paper/ash fires. Liquids all they will do is spread the fire. ABC's are great the one draw back is the clean up and the chemical is corrosive. So the sooner you clean up the better. Halotron are real nice. put the fire out and no clean up. If you are going with a ABC or Halotron fire extinguisher make sure you go 5 lbs or larger. A 2 1/2 lb you are only kidding your self. I would go with more then one. In may garage I have one on each wall. one at the entrance door, on the welding cart (10 LB), at each over head door and one outside between the overhead door. In the house I have one on each floor and one in the kitchen between the stove and the way out. Also one on the patio for the gas grille. Also make sure the path to the fire extinguisher are care and easy to access. Time does matter in a fire . NFPA 10 - requires that all portable fire extinguishers shall be check and serviced annually. Monthly checks shall be conducted to make sure fire extinguishers are not missing are in need of service. You can do this yourself unless your a business. Check the gauge every month and once a year take them down ABC and BC extinguishers and turn them upside down a couple of times to make sure the powder stay loose. Also after using the extinguisher either get them recharged or replace them even if the gauge reads full. If they are 15 years or older either get them checked be an extinguisher company or replace them. I hope this helps.
Very scarey business, bad things can happen to good people too you know. I've been thru this a lot and i have one rule, never, ever fire a motor for the first time after dark! What happens is this: You've worked on the car all day and then you realize if you rig up a few lines and dummy that up you can fire the motor. Well, you are tired and your judgement isn't what it should be, your work is a little sloppy, you cut a few corners etcetc. You had a fire, others lost a motor because oil was running out of a bad seal around the oil filter and in the darkness you couldn't see the oil, a motor burned up because they didn't think to connect the kill switch for the magneto, a driveshaft (unconnected to the pinion yoke) spinning and tearing **** up because the motor was in gear and all the safety stuff byp***ed - and that is just dumb**** that i have done. Never, ever start a motor for the first time after dark. I get them ready to start, get a good nights sleep and go over evrything in the morning and you'll be amazed what you missed the night before and light it off.
In Florida in our truck shop we are required by OSHA to have a fire extinguisher at every exit and entrance to shop,even the DOT requires us to install the extinguishers on the outside of the trucks,and it has to be a 20lb unit.no more in cab units even if installed by truck builder.busted knuckles heal,but fire will f**k you up for life,glad you are ok.
they even come in handy for mock up... ive got like 5 or 6 of these ****ers around, and some smaller ones too..I know im a bit over kill, but its just how i roll after being thru it
Fire extinguishers, water, and baking soda are your friends. I have three extinguishers in the garage, one in each car, three in the house, etc. Keep them in a place that's easy to remember, in plain obvious sight so even strangers can find them, easy to reach, and far enough away from any potential fire sources so you can still get them in a blaze.
Fire is my biggest fear in the shop, I have 4 huge up to date extinguishers in the shop and a big one I carry in the Merc. on back floor. Everyone ask's why such a big fire extinguisher in your car and I tell them. " I wired it "
Red Baron's got it right! Take the time to sweep up, put tools away have a beer, whatever, just don't walk away and lock up for the night after throwing sparks around! Dan Stevens dba, Steelsmith
I cannot tell you how many times i've busted *** to reach a goal of seeing something amazing happen "by the time i leave"... Then it turns into the middle of the night, I'd be shot, skip corners to get the the "goal", and go to bed PISSED/Couldn't sleep thinking of the **** I now had to fix, or I had a new set of proplems that would leave me baffled. -Mostly suspension related stuff, but same point in general Thanks for the reminder to Get a boatload of fire extigushers and PAY ATTENTION to what's happening!!
Dude I am glad you are ok. Why didn't you call me not just for safety but to hear "Said Beasty" come to life for the first time? Hope all is good I bet the garage smells like ****.
bugz once again you're so right........I ****. But Iwouldn't even dream of you not being there for the first time it MOVES!!!!! Drive shaft, front brakes, gas pedal/linkage, radiator hoses and we're ready to roll!!! I spent tonight cleaning up and s****ing the red comforter of the driver side header-that REALLY stunk-I don't know what the hell that thing was made of but it baked on solid!!! SOOO much good advice here and I appreciate the empathy. Mother in law is coming in town friday night so I should get some SERIOUS work done!!!!
Black soot water all over floor, all rubber lines/hoses gone, some frame paint gone, p***enger side header covered with toasted-on blanket material(looks like it was covered in heat tape) remote starter done, cieling sooted up. Not much else-still believe in God!!!
HAHAHA, well at least its still a good thread. Glad to hear you got it in time, and that nothing too terribly happened. Next step-fire extinguisher, haha
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