Re-Fueling a Hot Motor

Mooseherder · June 07, 2009, 08:01:26 PM

Even though it is rather embarrassing. :

I will post this to hopefully save someone from getting hurt during re-fueling a hot motor.

I had a lot of trouble today mowing the lawn with my zero turn mower. First had to changeout a tire valve and had a hard time breaking the bead on a front tire. Finally got that fixed and then worked on putting new fuel pick up line inside the left side tank and then fueled the left side tank. I had done the right side a while back and had posted about that before in another thread.
My instincts were telling me that the pickup wasn't at the bottom of the tank. There are some circumstances that make it difficult to make that happen. This was confirmed about half way through mowing when the motor kept starving for fuel. I toggled over to the right side tank and it was still starving for fuel. I shut it down and went to get the gas can.

The spout on the can has one of those tabs that you can rest on the rim of the tank. I guess the weight of the can was too much for the spout even though I had done it this way many times and it folded over spilling gas on the motor area and poof it went up in flames.
I threw the can down as it was on fire also. All I could think of was to get the water hose which put the fire out on the mower but wasn't going out for the can. I was afraid to smoother it because I thought it would blow when I got close. It didn't blow, just let it burn off for a half hour. The back of my mower took some damage. The right side hydraulic hoses and drive along with wiring, fuse box and fuel lines look like toast. :

Mooseherder · June 07, 2009, 08:25:29 PM

There is no evidence of a gas can. It is completely gone.

Right before this happened a tree limb came down right after I had mowed around this tree. It is 12 feet from the burn area. :

Thankfully nobody got hurt except for my wallet. :-\

pigman · June 07, 2009, 10:17:01 PM

Glenn, you are either extremely lucky or unlucky. It is hard to tell which. :-\ I am glad no one was hurt. I fuel up hot engines sometimes; I think I will rethink my methods.

beenthere · June 07, 2009, 11:25:26 PM

Glad that you are ok. Bummer on the melt-down tho. :(

Nice looking lawn to have a scorch spot in it.

and now have some search and repair jobs to do. :(

Be careful the rest of today.

LeeB · June 07, 2009, 11:53:00 PM

I did the same thing with a tiller one time, so din't feel alone.

Jeff · June 08, 2009, 02:01:11 PM

I would like to show this to Tammy, who last year took offense big time to my getting after her for putting gas in the riding mower while it was even still running. It caused quite an argument which I never did win. Problem is, if I show this to her to try and show the potential hazard I was talking about, I'll just get in trouble all over for bringing it up again. :-\

Sprucegum · June 08, 2009, 02:10:50 PM

Sure gets your heart pumpin' doesn't it

When I was a young fella working on a paving crew I tried to fuel up a small packer/roller machine. Burnt up the whole machine and a 10 foot circle of new asphalt

I didn't get fired but I didn't get to operate the new roller either :-[

Gary_C · June 08, 2009, 06:50:46 PM

Quote from: Jeff on June 08, 2009, 02:01:11 PM
It caused quite an argument which I never did win. Problem is, if I show this to her to try and show the potential hazard I was talking about, I'll just get in trouble all over for bringing it up again. :-\

Jeff,

Were you thinking that this is the evidence you need to finally win an argument? :

:D :D :D

Jeff · June 08, 2009, 08:24:47 PM

Only for a moment.

LeeB · June 08, 2009, 09:10:02 PM

:D :D yes dear :D :D

Bow Saw · June 09, 2009, 11:00:58 PM

Our local firemen sponsor a school program for grades 2 & 4 called Learn Not to Burn. There were conferences given at the county level & state level which I attended. At the 2nd grade level there are 20 lessons to focus on, & putting fuel in a hot motor/engine is listed as one of them. Students aren't the only ones though who need to learn fire safety, the general public needs to be reminded now & then. To educate the public, firemen should offer 1 hour long evening workshops (at their local high school) periodically to help prevent some of the hazards of fire. The rule is that before you start up any motor/engine make sure there is sufficient fuel in the tank to complete the chore. Safety is the ultimate goal. If something tragic such as body burns ever happens to anyone of you my Fellow Forestry Friends I would surely feel guilty for not having shared this vital information. Please don't take this as nagging, melting flesh & surviving burns is not a cake walk. Be forwarned, educate yourselves about the dangers of all aspects that deal with fuel powered tools. Please share with your loved ones!
Mrs. BowSaw

Bow Saw · June 10, 2009, 12:26:26 AM

Hey MH,
Uh, are you thinking of changing your location "abbreviation name"......Fla*me?
Mrs. BowSaw

Mooseherder · June 10, 2009, 09:20:29 PM

Grass grows fast this time of year. :D
Stopped in at the dealer yesterday only to find out they had closed shop. This is the same guy who carried the Stihl line along with many other brands of yard products. They had quit carrying the Ferris line a while back but I had still had been able to order parts through them.
I ordered some Hydraulic hoses at another dealer today and am waiting on them. Took everything off and cleaned it up. What is incredible was the amount of dried dead grass in every little nook and cranny that didn't burn.

There was enough there to burn for a long time but it just burned the top layer. I had hoped to avoid buying a wiring harness but that doesn't look feasible and looks like I'll be ordering one tomorrow. :

I wonder how much that'll be ???
2 Hoses were 108.00, 6 foot of Fuel line was 15 dollars. :-\

Mooseherder · June 13, 2009, 02:42:47 PM

Got it put back together after working on it 3 nights and Saturday morning.

It was a pretty frustrating work bent over and replacing burnt wires. The heat was killing me.
I did some maintanance work also while it was apart. The good news is it is running good. The bad news is it is still starving for fuel after burning off about a gallon. I have to refill to the top so it'll pick up.
While I had the right side tank off and thought I had repaired my fuel line pickup problem within the tank by taking off a piece that had broken off. I cut the bad part off and reattached and was positive it was good to go. Guess not. Got to redo both tanks fuel pickups again. :

I did get to mow the yard with it but had to top off the tank twice to finish. :

That is what caused the problem in the first place. What a vicious circle. :(

Bow Saw · June 14, 2009, 12:03:58 PM

Well it seems that you have done as much as you could to try to fix it.
Is there a small engine/motor repair shop (like Mr. Chanel's) in your area
that would have diagnostic tools to actually pinpoint what is causing the
problem?
Mrs. BowSaw

Raider Bill · June 14, 2009, 12:10:24 PM

How do you like the Ferris?

They are made in a old school house in stockbridge NY where I'm from. My Mom graduated HS there in 1930.

Mooseherder · June 14, 2009, 01:49:04 PM

Quote from: Bow Saw on June 14, 2009, 12:03:58 PM
Well it seems that you have done as much as you could to try to fix it.
Is there a small engine/motor repair shop (like Mr. Chanel's) in your area
that would have diagnostic tools to actually pinpoint what is causing the
problem?
Mrs. BowSaw

Naw, I'll get it fixed. :D

Bill, The Ferris has been great machine up until the fuel Pick-ups melted off the connector.
Probably because of Ethanol mix in the gas. :

I haven't given up on it and am confident my next fix will make it all better. ;D