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Bungleau · 01-25-2004, 05:24 PM

Don't remember if I've posted this here before or not, but...

A few years ago, my wife's car wouldn't start one cold and wintery morning. Went outside, opened the hood, and looked. Lo and behold, I could see a spark arcing over the coil -- something another car of mine did when the coil got wet. I grabbed some WD-40, sprayed the coil, and told her to try again.

Still some spark, but less than before.

So I grabbed the can of WD-40 and sprayed again to dry the coil some more... but forgot to tell my wife to stop trying to start the car. The next arc created an instant fireball under the hood, and both of us stopped what we were doing immediately [img]smile.gif[/img]

Fortunately, I wasn't hurt, but I still maintain a good respect for fire and stuff in canisters.

This one isn't mine, but going further back, my brother's friend was staying at our house. My mom had an old fan that my grandfather had built (yes, built) some forty years ago. It was basically a motor attached to a fan blade, mounted on a piece of wood, covered with something like chicken wire, and had an electrical box with a light switch to turn it on and off. The light switch was also mounted on the piece of wood, underneath the fan.

The friend (not exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer) was talking on the phone with someone when he wanted to turn off the fan. So he reached down without looking to flick the switch inside the fan enclosure.

He missed.

The fan blade didn't.

He got to go to the emergency room shortly thereafter.

He survived with no major damage, but that was his ticket out of the house. He was talking about suing us for his stupidity, so we showed him the door.

01-25-2004, 05:24 PM	#4
Bungleau 40th Level Warrior Join Date: October 29, 2001 Location: Western Wilds of Michigan Posts: 11,752	Don't remember if I've posted this here before or not, but... A few years ago, my wife's car wouldn't start one cold and wintery morning. Went outside, opened the hood, and looked. Lo and behold, I could see a spark arcing over the coil -- something another car of mine did when the coil got wet. I grabbed some WD-40, sprayed the coil, and told her to try again. Still some spark, but less than before. So I grabbed the can of WD-40 and sprayed again to dry the coil some more... but forgot to tell my wife to stop trying to start the car. The next arc created an instant fireball under the hood, and both of us stopped what we were doing immediately [img]smile.gif[/img] Fortunately, I wasn't hurt, but I still maintain a good respect for fire and stuff in canisters. This one isn't mine, but going further back, my brother's friend was staying at our house. My mom had an old fan that my grandfather had built (yes, built) some forty years ago. It was basically a motor attached to a fan blade, mounted on a piece of wood, covered with something like chicken wire, and had an electrical box with a light switch to turn it on and off. The light switch was also mounted on the piece of wood, underneath the fan. The friend (not exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer) was talking on the phone with someone when he wanted to turn off the fan. So he reached down without looking to flick the switch inside the fan enclosure. He missed. The fan blade didn't. He got to go to the emergency room shortly thereafter. He survived with no major damage, but that was his ticket out of the house. He was talking about suing us for his stupidity, so we showed him the door. __________________ B Save Early, Save Often Save Before, Save After Two-Star General, Spelling Soldiers -+-+-+ Give 'em a hug one more time. It might be the last.