Subaru Darwin Award contender?
 

At the vets just now, a guy turned up in a fairly modded looking Impreza (x reg); it had STI bits but not sure it was genuine.

Anyway he lit a fag, then decided to pop the bonnet of the very hot (heat waves everywhere) car and "inspect" it while smoking; I'm fairly sure done ash went into the very hot, very combustible engine bay.

I held my breath waiting for a boom but all was fine.

My word...

Some seriously thick people around, Matt. His types will say - "all was fine, so there was no risk". :freak3:

I remember a post from someone speed freak here on extreme speeding. He was defending extreme speeding on public roads like Clooney's wife defending human rights. said that he was highly skilled to warp speed his scooby on public roads without causing harm to self or others, and it's all about how skilled one is, in driving. I thought that was equally dense.

"I'm fairly sure done ash went into the very hot, very combustible engine bay."


...... Suggesting it was combustable suggests theres a fuel leak, in which case the "very hot" nature of things would see a fire anyway..... the fact he was smoking while looking at his engine should have very little bearing over and above this.

Assuming theres no leaks and everything is as it should be, what part of a hot engine bay do you think is a potential cause of fire?

Sorry, im not picking sides here as im not a smoker, but I think your making up a safety case here without really thinking about what your saying.

He was an amateur compared to this fellow...

some of the petrol attendants in Italy still smoke as they fill your car

which I find sweet/amusing and terrifying in equal measure

And the problem is? :wonder:

My thoughts too. There will be heat sources in the engine bay significantly hotter than the spent ash (which will be practically cold by the time it drops in.

But don't worry, the fags will probably kill him, so he gets the Darwin award for smoking full stop...

Anyway - how did you get on at the vet Matt?

Yep! :lol1:

Once saw my dad dock a lit fag in a bowl of petrol. The cig isn't at a high enough temperature to ignite the fuel.

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=5fa_1436055326

In the Batman episode, when Delboy checked the Robin for a petrol leak with a lighter, all was well really! :)

@zip106 all that Shell V Power gone :cry: !!

Well I wouldn't do it on a shabby 15 year old car!

The vet went well thanks DD; she's on limited time but the melanoma vaccine she's on should give her a fair bit more decent life.

Dawinism; welding next to a unsealed petrol tank.


I lived.

(tank was empty...but the dregs did go up with quite a bang :D :o )

Reminds me of a hygiene guy at work who once checked the fluid level in an FLT battery with his lighter.
He nearly blew his head off.
Got a way with a cut on his chin from the plastic top of the battery casing wizzing past his head.....

It's the vapour that's the problem, an empty fuel truck is way more dangerous than a full one. I'm petro chem installation qualified and when ever installing phones or trackers to a petro chem vehicle it has to be full as there will be considerably less chance of it going bang because there is less vapour.

You can flick a lit cigarette into a full can of petrol or diesel, but don't do it with one that's just been emptied or has a small amount of fuel in it, same effect as a gas explosion, just needs a spark, much like the combustion engine.

So Mattee's theory does hold some water, the heat of the engine bay is not enough to start a fire unless petrol gets onto a glowing manifold, but the embers from a cigarette could possibly ignite any fumes.:thumb: