Gasoline, and what makes it burn?

[Exhaustgases]

I know I've mentioned this sort of thing before on here in the past.
Watch UTG's latest video on "The dangers of smoking in a mechanics shop". Its funny, and proves a point too.

I did not check for proper words so I'm not posting the video.

 

[JimPghPA]

Back in the day, one of my brothers was cleaning the the inside of a valve cover from a Chevy V8 with gasoline and a round parts cleaning brush. It was a hot summer day and he was sitting on the cement floor of the 4 car garage ( 2 wide and 2 deep ) where we worked on cars. He had both legs straight making a V and the valve cover laying upside down on the garage floor ( open side up so it made a decent container) with about a half inch of gasoline in it, laying like a line point down the center of the V. Our cousin lit a cigarette and then through the still burning match on the ground , a few feet in front of my brother's foot. There was a very brief flash and the next thing we know there are flames dancing in the valve cover. Luckily, my brother was not burnt at all. But we did make a few comments to that cousin.

That was a close one, and we were all damb lucky, and learned a lesson.

 

[CleanSump]

I don't even use an electric drill, saw, or anything else with a motor unless I've got the garage door lifted a few inches and the back door open. Smoking just doesn't happen in our home.

 

[clinebarger]

Sparks & open flame will ignite gasoline vapor, Liquid Gasoline is fairly stable....Mechanics have smoked cigarettes since the dawn of the profession.

 

[97prizm]

Back in the day, one of my brothers was cleaning the the inside of a valve cover from a Chevy V8 with gasoline and a round parts cleaning brush. It was a hot summer day and he was sitting on the cement floor of the 4 car garage ( 2 wide and 2 deep ) where we worked on cars. He had both legs straight making a V and the valve cover laying upside down on the garage floor ( open side up so it made a decent container) with about a half inch of gasoline in it, laying like a line point down the center of the V. Our cousin lit a cigarette and then through the still burning match on the ground , a few feet in front of my brother's foot. There was a very brief flash and the next thing we know there are flames dancing in the valve cover. Luckily, my brother was not burnt at all. But we did make a few comments to that cousin.

That was a close one, and we were all damb lucky, and learned a lesson.

Many years ago on a family trip when young I distinctly remember my dad pulling out of the gas station and going down the street. A guy was fueling his car and checking under the hood with a lit cigarette in his mouth.

 

[Japanese]

It needs a strong blue spark.
If it's that simple to ignite gasoline we won't have ignition coils and CDIs that crank up the voltage to the moon.
You may ignite it with a cigarette only if you tap over it and the dropping ashes may ignite it. A glowing cigarette itself won't ignite it. You can dip a burning cigarette in a jar of gasoline and won't ignite it.

 

[2005jettatdi]

Sunday I started the boat engine to warm it before changing the oil. It had sat since last October. After I got it going and opened the hatch covers it occurred to me I forgot the run the blower first. I kind of felt lucky. It was a small amount of gasoline fumes that finished off the Lexington in the Battle of Coral Sea.