PDA

View Full Version : Score one for being a night owl.....too close to disaster.



Kevin W Johnson
08-03-2012, 2:24 AM
Most of the time I feel I'm cursed for being a night owl, no matter how hard I try to change that, I just can't seem to do it. Well, tonight I decide to walk out and check the tire size on a utility trailer I just purchased. That led me to find a black widow spider that I imported on it. It took me 4-5 years to clear out the population that resided outside the house when I purchased it in '04. Spiders outside, find their way inside and that's one bugger I didn't want inside. So, I catch it a jar and decide to store her in the shop till tomorrow to show it to the wife :D.

Upon opening the door to the shop, I'm hit with a sickening strong smell of gasoline. I start looking as I have two generators in the shop at the moment, plus a gas can. The gens are awaiting final touches for a regular storage position in the equipment shed. I turn and discover the new generator in a pool of gasoline, with gasoline still leaking. Upon inspection, I find that the fuel filter has broken at the stem, simply from the tension of the bend in the gas line. Immediately my mind turns to how easily the shop could have went up in flames, as I feel sure the gas vapor concentration was at a seriously dangerous level. One small spark from anything in a shop full of tools and electrical equipment, etc. I've had hand tools just decide to "jump" off the pegboard. If that were to have happened, hitting another metal object creating a spark... well, man.

I've soaked up what I can, and opened all the doors. Once it aired out some, I turned on my 2000cfm ventilation blower. I have a feeling it's goning to be running a while.

I have a feeling this is something I should report to the manufacturer, but is there anyone else? I can't help but thing this is the kind of thing that recalls are derived from....

I have some pictures, but will have to resize them and post them later....

Bruce Page
08-03-2012, 2:30 AM
You should take that Black Widow out to the woods and set her free. She may have saved you a bundle!

Paul McGaha
08-03-2012, 8:29 AM
Glad it was only a close call Kevin. Guess you do kind of owe the spider.

PHM

John Coloccia
08-03-2012, 8:53 AM
I have a slightly different take on this:

Black widows are obviously bad luck. Smush it before it can do anymore damage.

Phil Thien
08-03-2012, 9:46 AM
I think I'd report that broken filter to at least the manufacturer.

David Hostetler
08-03-2012, 10:16 AM
Most of the time I feel I'm cursed for being a night owl, no matter how hard I try to change that, I just can't seem to do it. Well, tonight I decide to walk out and check the tire size on a utility trailer I just purchased. That led me to find a black widow spider that I imported on it. It took me 4-5 years to clear out the population that resided outside the house when I purchased it in '04. Spiders outside, find their way inside and that's one bugger I didn't want inside. So, I catch it a jar and decide to store her in the shop till tomorrow to show it to the wife :D.

Upon opening the door to the shop, I'm hit with a sickening strong smell of gasoline. I start looking as I have two generators in the shop at the moment, plus a gas can. The gens are awaiting final touches for a regular storage position in the equipment shed. I turn and discover the new generator in a pool of gasoline, with gasoline still leaking. Upon inspection, I find that the fuel filter has broken at the stem, simply from the tension of the bend in the gas line. Immediately my mind turns to how easily the shop could have went up in flames, as I feel sure the gas vapor concentration was at a seriously dangerous level. One small spark from anything in a shop full of tools and electrical equipment, etc. I've had hand tools just decide to "jump" off the pegboard. If that were to have happened, hitting another metal object creating a spark... well, man.

I've soaked up what I can, and opened all the doors. Once it aired out some, I turned on my 2000cfm ventilation blower. I have a feeling it's goning to be running a while.

I have a feeling this is something I should report to the manufacturer, but is there anyone else? I can't help but thing this is the kind of thing that recalls are derived from....

I have some pictures, but will have to resize them and post them later....

This generator, is in in new(unmodified) condition? If so, notify the manufacturer AND the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Sounds like this needs to be a recall...

Kevin W Johnson
08-03-2012, 12:23 PM
This generator, is in in new(unmodified) condition? If so, notify the manufacturer AND the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Sounds like this needs to be a recall...

Yeah, it's new. Just purchased during the last big outage we had a month ago. No modifications, and the location of the filter under the tank protects it from any chance of being damaged.

Bruce Page
08-03-2012, 12:37 PM
I have a slightly different take on this:

Black widows are obviously bad luck. Smush it before it can do anymore damage.

LOL! You may be right!

Kevin W Johnson
08-03-2012, 1:08 PM
I have a slightly different take on this:

Black widows are obviously bad luck. Smush it before it can do anymore damage.

I definitely have no love for spiders, black widows especially. When I first discovered them around the outside of the house several years ago, I removed 12-14 the first summer, and it went down in count some each following summer till I couldn't find anymore. Thankfully even though she can lay 750 eggs at a time, not many survive sibling cannibalism.