[Rhodes22-list] Gasoline spill under the floor

[Bill Effros]

Disclaimer:  The following is a simplification.  There are exceptions to 
some of the following statements, but those exceptions will never be 
found in the lazarette of a Rhodes 22.  (Roger would have been happy to 
spend a day pointing out the exceptions, and refining this "article" but 
I don't have time for that.  This is just a loosely threaded response to 
Slim's statement that "gasoline in its liquid form does not burn.")

No solid or liquid burns.  Only gases burn.  Wood, in its solid form, 
does not burn.  First you must "melt" wood to turn it into a gas.  The 
heat of the "molten" wood ignites the wood "fumes".  It is interesting 
to watch.  Many people build wood fires inside their homes in order to 
watch this process and smell the fumes.

The big differences between wood and gasoline are that gasoline contains 
much more energy in a given amount of volume, and that the "flashpoint" 
of gasoline (the temperature at which the liquid turns to a gas that can 
be ignited) is -60 degrees for gasoline, (any liquid with a flashpoint 
under 100 degrees is considered flammable) whereas the "melting point" 
of wood is between 500 and 600 degrees (no wood does not really melt--it 
contains a lot of water based chemicals that turn into flammable "steam" 
or "smoke" that ignites--the rest of the wood decomposes before it can 
actually "melt".)

If Slim's match plunges into the gasoline before it ignites the vapors, 
the liquid gasoline will smother the flame.  The liquid won't burn.  In 
Slim's neck of the woods they have a problem with exploding 
solids--grain silos.  Again, the solids do not really explode.  (You 
want to see something?  Sift flour over a candle--very carefully--a 
fireball will result.)  Same process as with liquids.  First must be 
turned into a gas.  Exploding meth labs.  Same problem.

The point of all this is that gasoline spilled into a lazarette can pour 
into many places in a Rhodes 22 where it can puddle  or coat and remain 
for a long long time.  Killing the odor does not solve the problem.  I 
know that most silos don't explode, and most boats don't burn down to 
the water line, but that's not good enough for me.  As far as I'm 
concerned, it's playing with fire, and I just won't do it.

Bill Effros

 

Slim wrote:

>Hi Barry and welcome.  I agree with Rummy--it's a lots-of-air thing.
>Remember, gasoline in its liquid form does not burn--it's the fumes.  If you
>took a bucket of gasoline filled to the brim and threw a match at it on a
>breezy day, it MIGHT explode.  Or the match might just go out.  If you did
>this test ten times, a few times would not result in explosion.  But if the
>bucket were only half full of gas, then you have a collection of fumes in
>the upper half of the bucket.  Then it would explode every time for sure.
>
>But don't try this,
>
>Slim 
>
>On 5/30/05 1:26 PM, "R22RumRunner at aol.com" <R22RumRunner at aol.com> wrote:
>
>  
>
>>Barry,
>>The best time to kick a man is when he's down, but in this I really do feel
>>your pain. Chalk this one up on the side of the list of stupid things we as
>>boat  owners do. Granted, this is a new one to me, but certainly worthy of a
>>Rhodes  owner. We all have our disaster story's to tell.
>>I think the only way to get rid of the fumes/odor is to give it as much air
>>as possible. 
>>
>>Rummy
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>>    
>>
>
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