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Beware of Brake Kleen around a torch and no flame around an inflated tire and wheel


Seafoam65

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I don't know if this topic has been discussed, but if it saves a life it is worth mentioning again.......If you are doing any welding

or using a torch to heat up anything, DO NOT use Brake cleaner to clean the metal when prepping. Brake cleaner when exposed to flame

creates a Poisonous Gas that will kill you deader than a doorknob. There have been many hobbyists killed just this way so as the Sarge used

to say on Hill Street Blues.....Let's be careful out there!

Another thing some hobbyists may not know is that putting a torch on the center of a wheel to torch off a wheel stud when the

tire has air in it can cause the tire to explode, killing you instantly so do not do this!

Lastly, NEVER EVER use a concrete block to hold a car up off the ground.....they can explode into powder in a micro second and

drop the car on you.......always use heavy duty jack stands if you are going to get under a car! The life you save may be your own.

Oh, one more thing.......never ever never ever and I mean never use an incandescent trouble light around an automobile. If you are under a car with one of them or under a hood and you have any sort of fuel leak, one drop of gas hitting a hot light bulb will create

a fire similar to a cremation oven. Always use florescent or LED trouble lights when working on cars. Here in the Dallas area a few

years ago a mechanic was killed and the entire car repair facility burned to the ground from using an incandescent trouble light.

Edited by Seafoam65 (see edit history)
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Guest onedesertdog

Very informative Winston. The last one, I've never given much thought to....until now.

We used to pour gas in a tire to make it pop on the rim................I DON'T DO THAT ANYMORE...:o

On a side note, don't EVER pour used motor oil in a gallon Muriatic Acid container...................ask me how I know....talk about a Toxic Mushroom cloud.

Buddy

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I think the big lesson here is don't get too complacent. Also, don't get burned (sometimes literally) doing something you might have learned from an "old wrench" years ago. I still see guys cleaning parts with raw gasoline. Smoking a cigarette while using aerosol brake cleaner. Putting bare hands on parts that have been soaking in Berryman's Chem-Tool. Having a beer or four while tuning a motor and reaching right into the fan. The list goes on and I'm a major offender. Last weekend I decided I needed to make a small tack weld but was too lazy to change out of my tennis shoes and put on boots. Have you ever had a piece of flying molten slag burn right through your shoe and burn through your skin until it cools. Won't do that again. If your like me, I get so comfortable out in my garage I sometimes forget to really stop and think about what I'm about to do to myself. PRL

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