Close shaves with petrol? Fess up

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Close shaves with petrol? Fess up

78 posts & 63 voices | Started 1 year ago by mcmoonter | Latest reply from asc73

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mcmoonter - Member

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-17560534

This is pretty shocking, but probably not as isolated an incident as you'd believe.

We built a bonfire at the bottom of the walled garden using mostly Laurel prunings. Its pretty windless within the garden and the petrol vapour seemed to be held within the 'igloo' of the bonfire pile. We poured some petrol onto it and laid a trail to ignite it from a safe distance. The fuel fuse reached the pile then exploded shaking every window in the house perhaps 70m away with an almighty explosion.

I can't imagine what a fuel vapour explosion would be like in a kitchen.

Anyone else fancied their chances as the God of Hellfire?

Posted 1 year ago #
Stoner - Member

Fuel air bombs (Thermobaric bombs): An accident waiting to happen...

Posted 1 year ago #
mcmoonter - Member

www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5M--0CSZ1I

Posted 1 year ago #
Klunk - Member

we used to go to a rusty old water tower in some woods, used to have a walk way inside halfway up. We would light a fire on the floor under the walkway and from the outside standing on the domed roof throw milk bottles filled with petrol onto the walkway through the top hatch. The petrol would form an aerosol type spray before hitting the fire. A friend had to explain to his mother why he had lost is eyebrows and most of his fringe. Made a great bang and fireball though

Posted 1 year ago #
bigyinn - Member

I remember my dad lighting a bonfire in a steel bin on a warm muggy summer afternoon. He put a bit of petrol on it and then standing about 8ft away ficked a match towards the bin, cue exploding petrol vapours 3ft from bin and singed eyebrows!

Posted 1 year ago #
IHN - Member

I, er, know someone who tried to light a woodburner with about an egg cup full of petrol. He won't try that again...

Posted 1 year ago #
hairyscary - Member

Similar bonfire type story but with a smallish pile of garden waste........wouldn't light so I gave it a dash of petrol, stood well back and threw a lit match........the small pile exploded and I lost a lot of body hair on one side.
It turns out the petrol I had been using was my mates high octane race fuel for his TT bike. I did wonder why the lawn mower was revving so high and used three tanks to do the lawm......he wasn't best pleased as it was about £70 quid a gallon. Oooops.

My mate had also nearly burnt down the rented house we were in following a similar incident with coal fire. We had to replace a rather burnt carpet!

Posted 1 year ago #
wwaswas - Member

I'm always amazed that people will use enough fuel to move a ton and half of metal 40 miles to try and light a few bits of wood and then be surprised by the fact there's 'quite a big bang'.

Posted 1 year ago #
al2000 - Member

www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQF57w9qAZw

Posted 1 year ago #
GlitterGary - Member

I once sucked a mouthfull through a blocked carburettor on my motorbike.

Posted 1 year ago #
BoardinBob - Member

Not petrol but I pulled the hose off a gas tap in a science class when the bunsen burner was lit

A jet of flame shot out from the gas tap and I tried to blow it out which then set the periodic table of the elements poster on fire

Posted 1 year ago #
grum - Member

As a drunken teenager I had a moment of clarity when realising I was holding a half full petrol can, surrounded by a ring of burning grass from where we'd been dicking about lighting it.

Posted 1 year ago #
IanMunro - Member

I remember one time I was having a bonfire as kid, when things weren't burning as well as I expected, so I went to the shed and got the lawn-mower petrol can to slosh a bit of petrol on. Was quite impressed, surprised and terrified at the rate the flames shot up from the bonfire to the can.
Can't remember what happened next, but I imagine it involved and imaginatively unconvincing excuse as to why the petrol can was now a charred lump.

Posted 1 year ago #
mu3266 - Member

Yep guilty although not the one who got too close.

We were lighting the burns pit (getting rid of all the gash including the toilet bags as Afghan doesn't tend to have running toilets). We were using phosphorous pen flares to light it, after firing two into the pit and nowt happening my oppo decided to use a match, lighting a bit of paper and placing it on. Cue explosion & him being covered with yesterdays digested meals. Being the good egg that I am, I had already taken cover before said incident. One experience as a kid was enough to spark the memories and take the proper precautions.

Posted 1 year ago #
Drac - Moderator

Nope but picked up a few people who've lit BBQs and bonfires with petrol, they seem suprised that we cab guess what they did when we see them.

Posted 1 year ago #
kayak23 - Member

De-coking my two-stroke exhaust. Pour petrol down the exhaust(off the bike obviously) and light it, and get rid of those pesky carbon deposits...

Knocked me clean off my feet onto my ar*e...!

Posted 1 year ago #
munkster - Member

All I have is my recollection of my Art teacher (circa 1988) coming into school without his beard one day after bonfire night...

Posted 1 year ago #
molgrips - Member

I once siphoned petrol out of a tank (that we owned) as a kid, got some in my mouth. The effect was impossible to describe really in terms of taste, but I was belching petrol for a few days and I stank of it all over.

My brother in law stripped wood panelling out of his bathroom and we made a brazier out of an oil drum to burn it all. I put maybe a couple of tablespoons of petrol in it and tossed in a match.. well my natural prudence served me well since even that much when contained in our giant mortar was enough to blast splinters a good 20ft in the air with a powerful whump.

Posted 1 year ago #
D0NK - Member

A guy I knew at sixth form tried making napalm in the bathroom sink while his parents were away. Sugar and petrol mixed in the sink, put a small amount on the window sill and lit it, needless to say the whole lot went up, fortunately only needed a new bathroom not re-constructive surgery.

Posted 1 year ago #
GrahamS - Member

Played with a can of petrol in my dad's garage when I was a young teenager.

Made a little puddle on the floor then lit it and watched in horror as the flames chased straight back to the open petrol can!

Fortunately it had some kind of anti-massive explosion insert in the cap, so when I ran back in and poured a bucket of water from the fish pond over it I wasn't horribly killed.

Posted 1 year ago #
bigyinn - Member

Makes me want to burn shit this does.

Lobbed an old deodorant can onto a bonfire and ran. BOOM! Et voila, no fire, not even embers.

Got hold of some detonators from a train once, split the case open and emptied the gunpower out. Makes quite a flash and scorches woodwork, as I found out subsequently.

"I am the god of hellfire and I bring you.... two policemen and a massive bollocking!"

Posted 1 year ago #
sweaman2 - Member

As above really. Teenager - Made a small bonfire.... poured petrol on... stood downwind but about 5ft back... lit match...lost eyebrows....explain to mother what exactly had happened.

Posted 1 year ago #
richmtb - Member

Not petrol but...

As a teenager living on the windswept ayrshire coast building bonfires on the beach made for good entertainment of a summer evening.

We used to look around the shore for "interesting" stuff to put on the fire - old aerosol cans etc. One night we found a butane tank. Confident that it was pretty much empty and it might make a bit of a bang at most we stuck it on the bonfire but retired to a "safe" distance just in case.

The resulting explosion blew the bonfire out and scattered hot embers all over the beach. How we avoided getting burnt as fire rained from the sky I'll never know. We promptly scarpered the distant sounds of sirens in our ears.

After that sticking stuff on the bonfire didn't seem that interesting anymore

Guess it wasn't that empty

Posted 1 year ago #
Tat Wink - Member

Yep.

Having a less than succesful bonfire I sprinkled (Thank god I didn't chuck it on!!!)petrol around the base then lit it.

WWWWOOOOOOMPPPH!!! The flames exploded about 3 feet in the air and scared thne shit out of me, luckily only burnt my eyebrows.

Other half leant out of the window and said "You've got it going then!"

Posted 1 year ago #
IanMunro - Member

Stuff should be left to the professionals.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrsdrtEcHfs

Posted 1 year ago #
rkk01 - Member

Glitchy posting before I'm finished nonsense

Posted 1 year ago #
rkk01 - Member

Well, I'm known as "mr pyro" to my mates

A full catalogue of fiery annecdotes and singeworthy stories

Posted 1 year ago #
wwaswas - Member

Well, I'm known as "mr pyro"

and "mr doublepost"

Posted 1 year ago #
rkk01 - Member

and "mr doublepost"

Computer keeps posting before I have finished typing. For some reason, one of the keys seems to shortcut to "send post"

Posted 1 year ago #
deus - Member

My mum spent 11 days in intensive care after lighting a damp bonfire with petrol.
The 40ft fireball was most impressive.

She still says it makes her look 10 years younger.

Posted 1 year ago #
project - Member

When i worked in a steelworks the foreman droped a 5 litre can of turps on the wooden floor,i said as a joke just chuck a match on it and it will evaporate like meths does on your hand, he did, it didnt evaporate, large fire, with him standing in the middle of it, flames burning his boots and trousers, luckily fire hose near by, squirted water on to the flames and a river of fire then flowed down the workshop,quickly followed by me with a dry powder extinguisher.

We both learnt that water on a fuel fire spreads very quickly.

Posted 1 year ago #
deadslow - Member

Yep also had a mispent youth building bonfires on the beach.......the best fun was aerosol cans just like richmtb. No matter how empty always guaranteed an explosion!
Our best moment was a half full can of lighter fuel!! Same result raining fire and no trace of the bonfire! Once you have done that everything else is tame.
We also made Molotov cocktails and practised throwing them into disused WWII sentry boxes! Hours of fun.

Posted 1 year ago #
molgrips - Member

fortunately only needed a new bathroom

Lol!

"Err.. mum...?"

Posted 1 year ago #
thegreatape - Member

Not petrol but I pulled the hose off a gas tap in a science class when the bunsen burner was lit

On a cold winter's day our chemistry teacher Mr Larkham used to light all the gas taps to heat the lab up.

It was like walking into the intro to Apocalypse Now.

Posted 1 year ago #
nick3216 - Member

Knew a thick lad in Widnes twenty years ago who tried to help a bonfire along and welded his nylon tracksuit to his front.

Sadly his bollocks remained in full working order and he was able to breed.

Posted 1 year ago #