I suppose if we’re being technical then most of these fluids are combustible, and yup! That’s why I mentioned the vapor specifically!
(It’s technically the fuel-oxygen mixture, which is also why kerosene is super-hard to burn but a lantern with a wick works fine)
Edit: And not to be nitpicky or anything, but the point I was trying to get across is that it’s more complicated and multifaceted, and you never want to just assume a flammable liquid isn’t going to have the prerequisite conditions to suddenly become dangerous just because it hasn’t the last twelve times. That’s dangerous shit and it’s super reckless to have ANYTHING that can trigger an ignition around something that can ignite that quickly if there’s a chance it can spread and escalate. Open air is a very uncontrolled environment…the inside of an engine is not.
And this is totally unconnected to the Mythbusters/cell phone thing. That’s a quick and weak spark and far less likely to ignite anything than a burning cigarette, ember or not. If you had thrown a cigarette into that glass box it could easily have gone up (the wind rushing by the cigarette’s ember can occasionally be enough to create a tiny flame in the paper or loosened tobacco that’s warm enough to trigger it) unless they had oversaturated it to the point where there was insufficient oxygen…and in the real world the wind will bring more oxygen to the table.
A friend of mine (he was the CDT teacher at my school, once upon a time) used to throw his fag butts in the bucket of diesel that he put the parts in, whilst stripping engines.
As he put it at the time, the coal on the butt won’t ignite the vapour before the liquid extinguishes it.
someone catches their nozzle on fire, 9/10 times they’ll pull it out of the car,
Is this something that happens in America? The flaming nozzle I mean. It’s just that I can’t recall ever hearing of it here on the other side of the pond.
Mmm but the thing is, they all burn when atomised - and burn well. And often in an accident situation, fuel gets atomised. Near London Paddington, a train accident about … 15 years ago - diesel atomised and the thing lit up quick.
Any ways - seems ignition temp for gasoline is just over 230 deg C … I see anyone smoking near it, I yell. Actually, I have done so in the past. Very,very loudly! Probably at someone who has gone on to vote for a Brexit.
It happens occasionally. I’ve never seen it in real life, but there’s plenty of gas station security videos showing some bozo filling up a jerrycan in their truck bed, spark happens, whoosh. They freak out, pull the nozzle out of the can, start spraying flaming gasoline everywhere, drop the nozzle, run around, that sort of three stooges stuff.
Right, you’ll just look like someone who truly loves life.
Someone who truly loves life and gasoline and cigarettes and washer fluid and really fun times like being booked and held, coming up with bail, going to court, maybe breaking parole (who knows).
Ah… fun times.
Oh and probably mandatory counseling for smiling like a malevolent baboon in your mug shot. What, I ask you, could ever be better?
