Cold Weather Car Care - Tip of the Day
 

http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_17272515

Summit Co. tip: Don't warm the engine with lit charcoal
By Kieran Nicholson
The Denver Post
POSTED: 02/02/2011 01:47:26 PM MST
UPDATED: 02/02/2011 02:34:37 PM MST

Workers using an alternative heating method in abominably cold weather this morning sparked a fire at a mountain landfill.

The fire broke out about 9:40 a.m. at the Summit County landfill, just off of U.S. Highway 6 between Keystone and Dillon, said Steve Lipsher, a Lake Dillon Fire-Rescue spokesman.

Workers at the landfill put a pan with lit charcoal in it under a semi-tractor's oil pan, in an attempt to help heat the engine in minus 30 degree weather, and the tractor caught fire.

"This is one of those things that is directly related to the weather," Lipsher said. "They had a unique adaptation for handling it."

No one was injured in the fire.

Two engines and seven firefighters raced to the dump to douse the fire. Two tractors, which are used to haul refuse around the landfill, were damaged.

"It was an accidental fire," Lipsher said. "They clearly didn't mean to torch the truck."

It took firefighters about an hour to put out the fire and mop up.

:shake: Stupid Donk fans.

Seriously? No one else thought this was funny?

:sulk:

You have to wait until the coals turn grey. Otherwise flames will leap. Amatuers.

Diesels just don't like starting in the cold weather, hence while most have engine block heaters to supplement glow plugs or grid heaters.

Pretty stupid idea to put that much heat around a oil pan where oil and diesel would be present. I wonder is the insurance company pays out, an accident, but extremely gross negligence.

Just as funny watching two "middle eastern looking" individuals tossing a bunch of lit "fire logs" under a 2 week old $125,000.00 Peterbuilt with gelled fuel in its tanks ( temp was running about -25) one Sunday morning in Toronto, then going in the truck stop for breakfast.


And yes MANY of us tried to tell em, hollered ...WTF are ya doing????
And got chased away as they knew best. (we just moved our trucks to the other side of the lot.

Got better.....
10 mins later inside when they were ordering breakfast, and honestly thought the management was joking about their truck being on fire, laughed and said ...."Being no prob-lams sir, we are having lots of insurance, Alah will provide"

Got even better......
The owner of the truck almost took his turban off to wipe away the tears when the wrecker hauled it away,
seems he bought the truck, got an intransit permit for a NON-registered, non insured vehicle to move it, parked it, went on holidays, came back to REGISTER AND INSURE IT after he got it started and over to his companys yard for the paperwork.
And had NO IDEA his truck wasn't insured at that exact moment in time.

My old man was a Heavey equipment insurance collision appraiser for 17 years,
And YES
Insurance companys did one time pay for stupidity here in Canada, prior to the Ins. law re-vamp in rules back in 1996.
Most often times they still do!