SuperBuickGuy
Well-known member
Am I the only one that was surprised to read that Ford is recalling escapes because an engine failure can ignite the antifreeze?
I googled then found this
Anti-Freeze DOES Burn
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Monday, January 11, 2010 Recently we experienced an engine fire in a large haul truck. Other than the overall size of the truck, the basic configuration of the motor, turbocharger, coolant system, etc., is quite similar to other heavy duty trucks.
The fire, and resultant damage, was minor due to quick action by nearby maintenance personnel responding with a dry chem. fire extinguisher. The driver stated he could smell anti-freeze in the cab of the truck, however assumed it was a minor leak and continued to drive the truck to find a good place to pull over to inspect the problem without blocking other traffic. Other personnel that saw the truck go by noticed a coolant leak in the engine compartment (off side mounted engine) and gave notice to the driver via radio. The driver stopped and as he walked around the truck to inspect the problem he saw a fire in the engine compartment. The flames were reported to be a distinctive blue color. The driver stated at no time was there any yellow color to the flames. The fire progressed in size quickly until extinguished w/ a hand held 10 lb. dry chem. FE. The on-board self-contained fire suppression system was not discharged.
An investigation revealed a flex coupling ruptured. This coupling joined two hard lines carrying coolant. Coolant under pressure was sprayed all over the engine compartment including in the vicinity of the turbocharger. The hard lines w/ coupler was located directly on top of the valve cover of the motor. The source of the ignition of the fire could not be determined until information regarding ethylene glycol was researched. Ethylene glycol has an auto-ignition temperature of 748 deg. F., and will flash burn at lower temperatures if atomized in the vicinity of temp.’s at or greater than 250 deg. F. Turbochargers typically demonstrate temperatures well in excess of these numbers. A coolant mix of water and ethylene glycol based anti-freeze in the presence of these high temperatures will decompose the water out of solution and the remaining ethylene glycol may undergo auto-ignition. The resulting fire may be similar to an alcohol fire, resulting in a blue flame.
See below for more information on ethylene glycol. In particular, see the section on “industrial hazards”. All in all I found this article very interesting. Ethylene glycol is used for many purposes other than for coolant, including (at one time) the manufacture of explosives, including dynamite. Something to think about, perhaps, as you are pouring your favorite coolant into your radiator! Read on:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethylene_glycol
Also, this information is taken from the MSDS for CITGO Antifreeze and Coolant (MSDS # 657201001):
All in all we learned some very interesting information from this incident. All heavy truck operators should be advised to stop and investigate any incident of odors of coolant, in the cab or outside the cab in the area of the motor. Report and/or repair leaks immediately. The time spent may save a great deal of damage, even preventing a fire.
dang, how many times have I driven along smelling antifreeze thinking "no biggie"
I googled then found this
Anti-Freeze DOES Burn
Share
Monday, January 11, 2010 Recently we experienced an engine fire in a large haul truck. Other than the overall size of the truck, the basic configuration of the motor, turbocharger, coolant system, etc., is quite similar to other heavy duty trucks.
The fire, and resultant damage, was minor due to quick action by nearby maintenance personnel responding with a dry chem. fire extinguisher. The driver stated he could smell anti-freeze in the cab of the truck, however assumed it was a minor leak and continued to drive the truck to find a good place to pull over to inspect the problem without blocking other traffic. Other personnel that saw the truck go by noticed a coolant leak in the engine compartment (off side mounted engine) and gave notice to the driver via radio. The driver stopped and as he walked around the truck to inspect the problem he saw a fire in the engine compartment. The flames were reported to be a distinctive blue color. The driver stated at no time was there any yellow color to the flames. The fire progressed in size quickly until extinguished w/ a hand held 10 lb. dry chem. FE. The on-board self-contained fire suppression system was not discharged.
An investigation revealed a flex coupling ruptured. This coupling joined two hard lines carrying coolant. Coolant under pressure was sprayed all over the engine compartment including in the vicinity of the turbocharger. The hard lines w/ coupler was located directly on top of the valve cover of the motor. The source of the ignition of the fire could not be determined until information regarding ethylene glycol was researched. Ethylene glycol has an auto-ignition temperature of 748 deg. F., and will flash burn at lower temperatures if atomized in the vicinity of temp.’s at or greater than 250 deg. F. Turbochargers typically demonstrate temperatures well in excess of these numbers. A coolant mix of water and ethylene glycol based anti-freeze in the presence of these high temperatures will decompose the water out of solution and the remaining ethylene glycol may undergo auto-ignition. The resulting fire may be similar to an alcohol fire, resulting in a blue flame.
See below for more information on ethylene glycol. In particular, see the section on “industrial hazards”. All in all I found this article very interesting. Ethylene glycol is used for many purposes other than for coolant, including (at one time) the manufacture of explosives, including dynamite. Something to think about, perhaps, as you are pouring your favorite coolant into your radiator! Read on:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethylene_glycol
Also, this information is taken from the MSDS for CITGO Antifreeze and Coolant (MSDS # 657201001):
All in all we learned some very interesting information from this incident. All heavy truck operators should be advised to stop and investigate any incident of odors of coolant, in the cab or outside the cab in the area of the motor. Report and/or repair leaks immediately. The time spent may save a great deal of damage, even preventing a fire.
dang, how many times have I driven along smelling antifreeze thinking "no biggie"
