My poor Gpa-n-law

[JamesCoste]

My 84-year-old grandfather-in-law, for whom I have a lot of respect and love, did something very stupid and dangerous yesterday.<br /><br />It seems that his boat motor was shutting off from time to time for no reason. He took his boat to the shop and they found a roach (the insect kind) in his gas tank. (I don't understand how this happened). They cleaned it out and it (the boat motor, not the roach) was running fine for weeks.<br /><br />The boat started acting up again. Similar symptoms. Gpa and his best friend decide, "hey, let's fix it ourselves". They siphon out the gas from the gas tank. <br /><br />Here is the sad/funny/dangerous part. You guessed it. They get a shop vac and try to suck out the rest of the gas and "junk" that might be in the bottom of the tank. Within a few seconds enough gas fumes make their way into the holding tank of the shop vac and, boom, a flash of fire lights up the area. My gpa has blisters on his face from the fire.<br /><br />One day, we might laugh about this, but for now, we are just thankful for God's protection over two 80+ year old men.<br /><br />Moral of the story: don't use an electric shop vac to try to remove stuff from a recently-filled gas tank.

 

[Realgun]

Re: My poor Gpa-n-law

Thas so funny mythbusters could not get any sort of fire from a shopvac when they tried to suck gas. Shopvacs are double insulated too so there is no way the gas ans electricity could get together.<br /><br />Hope your GPA is ok.

 

[TwoBallScrewBall]

Re: My poor Gpa-n-law

Depends on the vac I suppose.

 

[SoulWinner]

Re: My poor Gpa-n-law

James, we are all hoping and praying that he makes a full and fast recovery. It just goes to show that we are never too old to learn. BTW, he needs to be especially carefull to protect his injury from infection. Burns are especially prone to infection, and at his age that could be fatal.

 

[JamesCoste]

Re: My poor Gpa-n-law

That's interesting about the mythbusters show. I don't know what they did differently or if it was a defective show vac that allowed the spark. <br /><br />I will keep an eye on my gpa's face and make sure he is taking precautions to keep it from being infected.<br /><br />Thanks for your prayers, SoulWinner.

 

[Capt Joe]

Re: My poor Gpa-n-law

"mythbusters could not get any sort of fire from a shopvac when they tried to suck gas"

Just a suggestion, perhaps the spark came from a source other than the shopvac.

 

[CATransplant]

Re: My poor Gpa-n-law

Depends on how old the shop vac is. Mine sparks like crazy when I run it. I don't believe I'd suck gasoline with the thing. Sheesh!<br /><br />I hope grandpa-in-law feels better soon.

 

[Paul Moir]

Re: My poor Gpa-n-law

Double insulated doesn't mean it's a NEMA 7 enclosure. I can't say I've ever seen one that doesn't spark since they all seem to use universal motors. Did they try it in an enclosed space? I find it hard to belive if they did that it would not explode at some point.<br /><br />Sorry to hear about your grandfather-in-law, but that's a Stupid Human Trick while Boating for sure!

 

[JamesCoste]

Re: My poor Gpa-n-law

The spark definitely came from the shop vac according to my Gpa. It is an older shop vac I think. I'll go check on him tonight after work.<br /><br />His eyes were protected because he wears glasses. His face is starting to peel and the pain in the skin has subsided. He didn't even go to church on Sunday because of how bad his face looked. That's saying something for this old Grouper fisherman. He doesn't miss church.<br /><br />He still hasn't been to the doctor. I'll encourage him to go if it is bad as I imagine.

 

[Moody Blue]

Re: My poor Gpa-n-law

Anything electric has the potential to ignite flamable vapours. Even a spark from static electricity. Double insulated means that it is safe gaurded against possible electric shock to the user, not that it won't create sparks. Unless the motor is rated explosion proof (very expensive) it should never be used in the presence of flamable vapours. If mythbusters were sucking up liquid gas chances are it wouldn't be an issue (although still very dangerous). The gas vapour is what is explosive. Your GPA is a luck man to have escaped with minor injuries. Hope he has a speedy recovery.

 

[JamesCoste]

Re: My poor Gpa-n-law

The burns received by my Grandpa in law caused some swelling in the tissue in his face. His face is pretty red; however, he seems to be okay.<br /><br />I visited him yesterday and he seemed quite thankful for the fact that his injuries were minimal. He then proceeded to share the other times in his life where he "almost lost it all".<br /><br />He's lived quite a life!

 

[fireman57]

Re: My poor Gpa-n-law

Sorry to hear about his mishap. He is going to have to watch getting out in the sun for quite a while. I don't know if they make sunblock strong enough to protect his face. New skin sunburns immediately. I hope recovers well.

 

[Realgun]

Re: My poor Gpa-n-law

Hope he is fine J.C. Hope you take it easy on the old man.

 

[Twidget]

Re: My poor Gpa-n-law

Hope he has a quick recovery.

 

[JamesCoste]

Re: My poor Gpa-n-law

His major concern right now is that he can't shave. He can't stand having any whiskers. I will remind him to stay out of the sun. No grouper fishing until his skin heals up!<br /><br />Now that is being "mean" towards him. In all honesty, I have no control over what he does.