Hot grass fire at Sun-N-Fun

wrote in message
oups.com...
From Lakeland Ledger newspaper
23 cars burnt.

http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.d...604070342/1039


This is a well known problem with glider retrieves. If the vehicle pulling
the glider trailer pulls off the highway into a grass field to get near
glider the red hot catalytic converter can set the grass on fire. It's
happened more than once. Driving an off-road vehicle on grasslands is also
a fire hazard. Catalytic converters get red hot.

Avoid driving on dry grass if at all possible. If not, stop and shut off
the engine on the highway sholder to let the cat cool off before driving
onto the field.

I remember as a young boy (and I ain't that old now) my uncle converting all
of the farm trucks to "straight pipes". Cut out the catalytic converter, no
muffler, exhaust going straight up instead of under, during a very dry
harvest season. Not the first time it's happened... probably not the last.


"Bill Daniels" bildan@comcast-dot-net wrote in message
...

wrote in message
oups.com...
From Lakeland Ledger newspaper
23 cars burnt.

http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.d...604070342/1039


This is a well known problem with glider retrieves. If the vehicle
pulling the glider trailer pulls off the highway into a grass field to get
near glider the red hot catalytic converter can set the grass on fire.
It's happened more than once. Driving an off-road vehicle on grasslands
is also a fire hazard. Catalytic converters get red hot.

Avoid driving on dry grass if at all possible. If not, stop and shut off
the engine on the highway sholder to let the cat cool off before driving
onto the field.

"Jase Vanover" wrote in message Not the first time it's happened...
probably not the last.

Most of S-n-F's automotive parking is on grass. Central Florida has water
restrictions in place quite early this year. The temp/dew point spread was
30/-1 a few days ago- something I have never seen before in the peninsula. I
wonder if the car owners' insurance will subrogate S-n-F for the claims?

D.

My opinion... whenever an airshow has parking on grass fields they
become completely liable for any fires caused by catalytic converters.
It's no secret that all modern vehicles have catalytic converters and
it's no secret that hot catalytic converters WILL cause dry grass to
catch on fire.

IMHO, SNF is completely responsible for any and all damages incurred
because of the fires.

They should have cut the grass earlier and much shorter so it wouldn't
have caught on fire, causing the damage to the cars...

We have the same problem here at the Arlington Airfair... I drive a
full size truck so I'm not likely to cause a fire but any normal sedan,
being much lower, is quite likely to be able to catch the grass on fire.
I figure we've been lucky so far but can't count on that to last
forever...

John

Capt.Doug wrote:
"Jase Vanover" wrote in message Not the first time it's happened...

probably not the last.

Most of S-n-F's automotive parking is on grass. Central Florida has water
restrictions in place quite early this year. The temp/dew point spread was
30/-1 a few days ago- something I have never seen before in the peninsula. I
wonder if the car owners' insurance will subrogate S-n-F for the claims?

D.

"John Ammeter" wrote in message ...
My opinion... whenever an airshow has parking on grass fields they become completely liable for any fires caused by
catalytic converters. It's no secret that all modern vehicles have catalytic converters and it's no secret that hot
catalytic converters WILL cause dry grass to catch on fire.

IMHO, SNF is completely responsible for any and all damages incurred because of the fires.

They should have cut the grass earlier and much shorter so it wouldn't have caught on fire, causing the damage to the
cars...

We have the same problem here at the Arlington Airfair... I drive a full size truck so I'm not likely to cause a fire
but any normal sedan, being much lower, is quite likely to be able to catch the grass on fire. I figure we've been
lucky so far but can't count on that to last forever...

John



Sometime shortly after the catalytic converters were mandated, heat shields were also mandated that are _supposed_ to
prevent this fire problem....

Sometime shortly after the catalytic converters were mandated, heat
shields were also mandated that are _supposed_ to
prevent this fire problem....



The heat shield cuts down on radiant heat from the CC, but if the
heatshield itself is hot enough and TOUCHES the tall dry grass, then you
still have a fire.

Dave

Dave S wrote:

Sometime shortly after the catalytic converters were mandated, heat
shields were also mandated that are _supposed_ to
prevent this fire problem....

The heat shield cuts down on radiant heat from the CC, but if the
heatshield itself is hot enough and TOUCHES the tall dry grass, then you
still have a fire.

Seems like if there's ANY air gap at all between the CC and shield
that there would be a HUGE difference in temperature between the two.
If there's no air gap, then it's not a shield, really.

Mark Hickey

On Sat, 08 Apr 2006 13:24:55 GMT, Dave S
wrote:

Sometime shortly after the catalytic converters were mandated, heat
shields were also mandated that are _supposed_ to
prevent this fire problem....



The heat shield cuts down on radiant heat from the CC, but if the
heatshield itself is hot enough and TOUCHES the tall dry grass, then you
still have a fire.

Dave
And any mechanic knows the heat sheilds often do not last more than a
few years before they come loose and rattle. Then they can either be
clamped on, welded on, or allowed (or helped) to fall off.

A minor missfire can also cause the converter to overheat. Imagine
what happens if the engine "diesels" on shut-down. My wife drove our
Corolla to visit her family in Windsor, and the cruise stuck, holding
the throttle partly open. When she shut it off(in neutral) it
"dieseled" and the cat must have flashed white hot, as it caused the
carpet on the floor above the converter to start on fire. The carpet,
a corner of the seat, and the console had been consumed by the smokey
fire before her sisterinlaw and nephew got the hose out and turned on.
We salvaged the car and got a few more years out of it, but if IT had
been on dry grass on a breezy day, that would have been the end of it.

*** Free account sponsored by SecureIX.com ***
*** Encrypt your Internet usage with a free VPN account from http://www.SecureIX.com ***

Shoot, Uncle John, I don't know how things are up north of us by you, but in
Northern California you couldn't light the grass on fire with a propane
torch and a tank full of gasoline.

83" of rain so far this year, and still pounding down.

Jim




"John Ammeter" wrote in message
...



We have the same problem here at the Arlington Airfair... I drive a full
size truck so I'm not likely to cause a fire but any normal sedan, being
much lower, is quite likely to be able to catch the grass on fire. I
figure we've been lucky so far but can't count on that to last forever...

John

My neighbor fired up a pile of dry blackberry bushes yesterday. That
pile has been sitting there for 6 or 7 months all through the winter
but, when he set it off, within a minute or so you couldn't get within
15 feet of it. It was amazing how fast it burned. With a dry winter,
our forests and grasslands can be the same way.

John

RST Engineering wrote:
Shoot, Uncle John, I don't know how things are up north of us by you, but in
Northern California you couldn't light the grass on fire with a propane
torch and a tank full of gasoline.

83" of rain so far this year, and still pounding down.

Jim




"John Ammeter" wrote in message
...



We have the same problem here at the Arlington Airfair... I drive a full
size truck so I'm not likely to cause a fire but any normal sedan, being
much lower, is quite likely to be able to catch the grass on fire. I
figure we've been lucky so far but can't count on that to last forever...

John