Posted on 01/08/2014 1:52:01 PM PST by ZirconEncrustedTweezers
This really shouldn't be a shock to anyone, but for the record, let's just say it's usually a pretty bad idea to set a charcoal fire under your car. A Wisconsin woman did just that, and set her 2007 Dodge Caravan on fire. Even better, she lives in an area named after a burning torch!
The Lac du Flambeau woman was trying to start her minivan in some really awful temperatures, around -23°F, and after removing her battery and warming it indoors (smart), she decided to warm the engine block with a charcoal fire (not smart).
The inevitable fire started with the underside of the bumper, and quickly spread to all the deliciously flammable bits of rubber under the hood and around the engine bay, causing what the local news says is "about $1000" worth of damage. That would total a 2007 Caravan, right?
I kid, I kid! Still, that looks like it's way more than $1000 of damage to me — those plastic bumper covers alone aren't cheap, and it looks like grille, lights, air cleaner, hoses, and a lot more got engulfed in flames. And then there's paint. The news story also referred to the "engine chamber," which has a strangely medieval feel to it as well, so I'm going to take their estimate with a grain of salt.
So, once again, we all know it's cold, and we get desperate — but an open fire under your car is rarely a good idea.
Yesterday I could start the minivan, but couldn’t shift it out of Park.
Oddly enough, charcoal fires, lighting fluid, boiling water, and blow torches, all of which were available, did not occur to me. It took 45 minutes of running the engine before it would shift.
Now blow dryers and heating pads are entering my mind as possiblities, but I am not sure where I would put them, or that it would be a good idea with the engine running.
I paid a guy 6 incandescent 100 watt bulbs to plow my driveway this afternoon.
I’m setting up an ad hoc black market at my house, too.
In Obamatopia, light bulbs are currency.
I once watched a guy on a ladder attempt to remove, with an acetylene torch, the icicles hanging down from his gutters. Set the whole roof on fire.
Not that hard to install yourself. I did it my cars, and I’m not exactly a whiz with car mechanics. Works great though. But let’s say I was extremely happy when I moved into a residence with a garage. Even unheated garages, like mine, will keep your engine block warm enough to start on subzero mornings.
My dad too. He had a torch that could attach to a small LPGas tank. You could aim the flame right on the oil pan.
At first glance, I thought it said “warn instead of warm”. Good thing I looked again. : )
Herb Brooks did that once. Set his house on fire.
Great. Now we’re going to have ‘warning labels’ on bags of charcoal for the stupid...
Frankly, I’m surprised lighters don’t have warning labels that say “Caution: May start fire when operated”
Great statement by the Chief.
“Well, it worked for Germans outside of Moscow in winter of 1941”...
Even with the warnings (in English and Spanish) on the bag.
There’s a roach-coach BBQ rib guy here that rides around with live charcoal in a similar rig. The smell when mixed with exhaust from the 1982 van is quite intoxicating.
Hopefully it wasn't a Freeper. There was thread the other day suggesting taking the battery inside and also doing the charcoal thing to start diesel powered cars in extremely cold weather.
Another Obama voter.
I have done this before with no troubles, the emphasis is on the small.
I had an older Dodge van, which would not start in the cold. I put three charcoal briquettes in a small stainless steel dog food bowl, covered with lighter fluid and started. When the flames got down I would push the bowl under the engine and go inside for coffee. In 20 minutes, the engine would always start.
No more than 3 briquettes, and all is well. Too many and the car is toast.
What is "Accid Anal Prev. 1995 Feb;27(1):73-87."
And how does one accidentally get acid in their.... never mind
I don't know, but those look like metatags for search engines, such as for "accident, analysis and prevention". Just a guess.
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