Van on fire question...

[Haytch]

Heard a car alarm and looked out the window to check it wasn't mine to see a van on fire across the road about 4 houses down. The van was on fire for about 4-5 minutes before the fire brigade got here. The van was on fire from the engine with the flames reaching well above the roof of the vanand a lot of fizzing and cracking noises going on, however, how long would it have taken for this van to explode?

I ask because the van was on a drive and the owners were standing pretty close to it. Obviously everyone was pretty hectic/upset so not pictures for the sceptics.

[MGZRod]

Most likely would not have exploded, dependant on fuel load and what was in the van.


also, how do you pronounce your user name;)

[davepoth]

Diesel? It wouldn't explode.

[Haytch]

MGZRod said:

Most likely would not have exploded, dependant on fuel load and what was in the van.


also, how do you pronounce your user name;)

Electrical equipment apparently and exactly how its spelt (H, Hey-tch, Aiche) depends where your from lol

In response to the diesel comment was there really no other danger provided there were no flammable products or equipment inside?

[Blue Oval84]

None at all in reality, I suppose eventually a tyre may have popped which can be nasty if you were too close.

[davepoth]

Blue Oval84 said:

None at all in reality, I suppose eventually a tyre may have popped which can be nasty if you were too close.

Didn't think of that, those can be damn nasty on commercial vehicles.

[seagrey]

davepoth said:

Diesel? It wouldn't explode.

Try telling that to my brother in law,skin grafts on his face,hands,forearms and chest prove it does,to a degree.
He actually tried to weld the wheel bracket back onto the tank of a space heater while it still contained diesel.
The tank split in two along the fold where the two halves joined and showered him with burning diesel,luckily he didnt panic and while still alight ran into the alleyway behind his house and rolled in the dusty gravel to extinguish himself.
Not a nice site,it had melted the rubber gloves he was wearing into the skin on his hands and his face and arms looked like they had been skinned.

[FranKinFezza]

seagrey said:

davepoth said:

Diesel? It wouldn't explode.

Try telling that to my brother in law,skin grafts on his face,hands,forearms and chest prove it does,to a degree.
He actually tried to weld the wheel bracket back onto the tank of a space heater while it still contained diesel.
The tank split in two along the fold where the two halves joined and showered him with burning diesel,luckily he didnt panic and while still alight ran into the alleyway behind his house and rolled in the dusty gravel to extinguish himself.
Not a nice site,it had melted the rubber gloves he was wearing into the skin on his hands and his face and arms looked like they had been skinned.

Sorry but anyone who knowingly WELDS directly to a closed container of flammable
liquid (BOMB) is A. a tt of the highest order and B. deserving of all he gets.

ETA: pretty much any liquid in a sealed container will not respond well to extreme
heating but a FUEL sheesh

Edited by FranKinFezza on Sunday 13th February 01:44

[Pigeon]

Yeah, I've welded diesel tanks with the diesel still in them but I did take the lid off.

[TheEnd]

I've thrown lit cigarettes into petrol before, and was quite disappointed with the lack of Hollywood explosions.
Diesel is even harder to ignite, roughly on the same level as candlewax.

[thinfourth2]

FranKinFezza said:

Sorry but anyone who knowingly WELDS directly to a closed container of flammable
liquid (BOMB) is A. a tt of the highest order and B. deserving of all he gets.

ETA: pretty much any liquid in a sealed container will not respond well to extreme
heating but a FUEL sheesh

Edited by FranKinFezza on Sunday 13th February 01:44

If full of liquid it's safer then almost empty.

You've been watching too many hollywood films

[Chiswickboy]

thinfourth2 said:

If full of liquid it's safer then almost empty.

You've been watching too many hollywood films

Yup, it's the fumes that ignite. That is the basis of engine fueling systems. The liquid fuel is atomised and mixed with air.

I have seen a petrol tank welded (off the car) and the flames coming out of the open filler were like a jet on afterburner, even though the tank had been emptied. Also knew someone who died of burns through throwing what he thought was an empty kerosene can on a bonfire.

For this reason I would never weld a fuel tank without having spent two days washing it out beforehand.

[Superhoop]

davepoth said:

Diesel? It wouldn't explode.

So diesel doesn't explode? How does it make an engine work then?

The flash point of diesel maybe higher than petrol, but warm it up enough (a burning van would probably do the trick) and it releases vapour, which can then explode if you give it a source of ignition (again, a burning van would probably do the trick)

And the flash point isn't as Hugh as you'd think - anywhere between 100 and 130 degrees if what I remember from college is correct

[Huntsman]

I had a mondeo catch fire outside the house, there was no explosion despite it being about 1/2 full of petrol, I watch the point as the fuel tank caught fire, no explosion, just a lot more fire!

[Papa Hotel]

I have seen many cars and vans explode... but then I grew up in NI in the 80s. I don't think electrical equipment was the accelerant in those explosions. How preposterous would it be trying to blow something up with a printer cartridge??

[durbster]

Superhoop said:

And the flash point isn't as Hugh as you'd think - anywhere between 100 and 130 degrees if what I remember from college is correct

So whereabouts on the Hugh scale does diesel fit?

Dennis ---- Grant ---- Jackman ---- Jarse

[fuzzyyo]

there was a new micra on fire at the end of the road on friday. There was a number of different explosions but the best by far was the battery. Like a firework.

[OllieWinchester]

There was a van on fire at the end of my road a couple of years ago, it had a load of oxyacetalyne cylinders in the back, which I can confirm do explode...

[Nickyboy]

Superhoop said:

So diesel doesn't explode? How does it make an engine work then?

The flash point of diesel maybe higher than petrol, but warm it up enough (a burning van would probably do the trick) and it releases vapour, which can then explode if you give it a source of ignition (again, a burning van would probably do the trick)

And the flash point isn't as Hugh as you'd think - anywhere between 100 and 130 degrees if what I remember from college is correct

126-204 degrees to be accurate

[Rubin215]

Cars, vans etc do not explode when they catch fire, unless it is in the movies.

Fuel tanks are vented, so there is never enough of a build up of pressure for them to explode; at worst, the tank will rupture, dumping fuel onto the ground where it catches fire rapidly.

Items within a vehicle can explode; gas cylinders (especially acetylene), aerosols, gas struts etc.

The fire service are generally more wary of vehicle fires than we were 10 years ago though due to the rise in global terrorism; how much disruption would it cause to drive a van full of acetylene cylinders into central London/Manchester/Edinburgh and set it on fire?