something every shade tree mechanic should read

[Redbird]

Glad you're ok
And yes, fire is nothing to play with.

On a somewhat related note... be careful of using an incandescant bulb work/drop light around flammables as well. Long time ago I read a "follow up" article in a magazine about a Pro-streeted '69 GTO Judge that they featured an issue or two before. They were working on it in their garage one night, doing something (i forget now) with the fuel system. They had an average, everyday drop light under the car, when fuel spilled onto the ground near it. The heat from the bulb ignited the fumes. The resulting fire destroyed the car and half the garage.
DTT'ers that work on their rides indoors should also consider appliances with pilot lights (like natural gas water heaters), as a source for ignition when working with fumes. For example, cleaning carbs, painting, etc. Even something like an HVAC thermostat (or a light switch) can throw a spark when it cycles on/off.

 

[Kanticoy]

This is exactly why I bought vapor proof fans for the paint booth and will have an extinguisher in every corner. Glad all parties are good to go.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[crazypj]

Your lucky you managed to get car moved, sorry to hear about your arm.
Your also lucky the water didn't cause fire to spread asgas floats on it then continuse burning.
I've only ever set fire to one bike (Brendon's ;D )
Didn't connect up gas tank and there was enough vapor that spark from open points cover was enough to get things going
Luckily I knew where I stashed fire extinguisher.
No damage except fuel lines got a little blistered
White powder gets EVERYWHERE and is a bugger to clean up, but, preferable to cleaning up a burned down house

 

[4eyes]

You guys that haven't yet had the "opportunity" to use an extinguisher, here is a little tip: Don't waste the stuff by shooting it at the flames, aim at the base of the fire where the fuel is.
They hold a lot less than you would think, and it's easy to run one dry. And you will want a little extra in case of re-ignition.

 

[djelliott]

You guys that haven't yet had the "opportunity" to use an extinguisher, here is a little tip: Don't waste the stuff by shooting it at the flames, aim at the base of the fire where the fuel is.
They hold a lot less than you would think, and it's easy to run one dry. And you will want a little extra in case of re-ignition.

That's good advice. Short controlled bursts to the base of the flames. Happy to say I followed through finally and got my ABC rated extinguisher all mounted up in an easily accessible area for the garage or house. I then replaced my float bowl gasket on my leaky carb. I feel much better now.

 

[SwissGuy]

I have an Extinguisher mounted on the transmission tunnel in my MG, one in my Kitchen, and one on my back porch. I got pretty badly burnt as a child because I stole some two-stroke mix from my pops and went out into the woods to have a little bonfire... Next thing I know I've got flames running up my chest. Managed to get away with just some bad 2nd degree burns because I ran about 100m at the speed of sound and jumped in a creek.

Yea, the rule of thumb is give any spilled gasoline/alcohol at least 15min to dissapate vapors after the spill is cleaned up, better safe than sorry.