Safty Equipment in DIY'er Garage

[Apodman]

What safty equipment do you keep in your garage?

Saturday night I had my 280E up in front on jackstands in the garage half-way through replacing the water pump.

Smell some gas. Find there is a minor drip at the fuel pump, which I replaced a couple of weekends ago. I crawl under with shop lamp and screw driver in hand to tighten the hose clamps on the seeping line. It is a tight squeeze, because the front end is up. The line is a short one, but probably original rubber. To my chagrin, tightening only produces more flow. I realize the rubber is cracked or cut at the hose clamp. I get a small c-clamp and clamp the line above the leak leading to the very-full gas tank. The drip slows to almost nothing, I loosen the hose clamp(not the c-clamp)at the pump and pull off one end, ready to slip on my make-shift patch and new wide American hose clamps. Suddenly, gas gushes from the tank line, I have only a small coffee can under the drip, my shop lamp is on the floor next to me and I'm now in a pool of gasoline growing rapidly.

Realizing the potential consequences, I am on the verge of serious panic.

I move the shop lamp out of the puddle of gas, scramble out, get my largest c-clamp and clamp the fuel line to a stop. I'm out from under, turn off the shop lamp, kill the main breakerswitch for the garage electric. Our house is a safe 40 yards away. I run down to get a flashlight, return to get the car off the jackstands by flashlight, roll the car out into fresh night air. Go back and sprinkle the pools of gas liberally with saw dust collected from my table saw.

I feel completely incompetent and negligent about doing this kind of DIY work without being prepared for unexpected consequences. I did not have a fire extinguisher near by, nor any kind of proper absorbant material. I'm more than ready to do some shopping now.

What do any of you have in your garage for safty materials?

BTW, I replaced the offending hose on Sunday, finished the water pump install and drove round-trip to Brunswick, Maine yesterday in the 280E, 11 hours on the road, most of which cruising at 75-80 on interstate. These cars are at their best at 70+ MPH.

[Mark DiSilvestro]

Wish I had a garage. I try to have something large, like an oil drain pan, handy when I'm working on fuel lines. On the subject of clamps cutting fuel hoses, if I MUST use American worm-type fuel line clamps, I wrap a few turns of electrical tape around the end of the hose before installing the clamp. Most auto parts stores now sell fuel injection band-type clamps that are much less likely to cut the hoses, but matching these clamp sizes to the hose diameter is much more critical.

Happy Motoring, Mark

[300SDog]

Kitty litter is the best for cleaning up fuel and oil spills. Something alot of people never do is disconnect the battery while working on the car. And there's nothing like a creeper, flat board on wheels, for paddling around underneath.

Long hauls like the trip to Maine are good opportunity for 6 hr. coolant flush and fuel additive injector cleaner too. That 500 mile trip probably did the car alot of good, burning away carbon buildup from piston crowns and valve seats. An excellent engine, the twincam 2.8 fuel injected 6 cyl.... It probaby ran better during/after the trip than it ever has before.

[JMela]

I work with a fire extinguisher a few feet away. That said, it's about the size of a thermos and probably has enough juice to put out a couple of birthday candles.

The thing I always worry about is dropping the car off it's jackstands and onto it's owner. If I have the front or rear up, I throw a pair of blocks in front of the tires at the opposite end to eliminate the chance of rollback.

No matter what the precautions, I'm still paranoid while under a car on jackstands. Try to get my business done fast and get out of there.

[Russ114]

it seems like just a simple mistake..

the words "i placed the lamp down" are probably where it started. i normally try to do fuel related things in daylight, just so i don't have to use any artificial light, also i make sure there is sufficent ventilation, so any fuel evaporates quickly

don't be too hard on yourself, just think of other ways of doing things

[Tom Drew]

I've completely stopped using my incandescent trouble lights because of the danger of a broken bulb igniting fuel vapors, and the heat of the reflector melting stuff in the interior if the light falls or touches the wrong thing. I feel a lot safer with a flourescent trouble light that's cool to the touch and has the bulb sealed up behind a clear plastic lens.
Another good thing to remember is that many of us indulge this hobby in the little spare time we have in a busy life filled with considerable job and family responsibilities. We often end up working on the car when we're tired and not at our mental peak. Please think about what you're doing whenever you're under the car, welding, grinding, working with the fuel system, etc. Always protect your eyes, hands & lungs, and remember that saftey comes first.

Tom

[83-240D]

my wifes environmental clean up company uses and sells a product called
the oil sponge. it has biodegradeabvle stuff(scientific term) and looks like gray saw dust. used it on a veggie oil spill in the garage and it absorbed all of it. neat trick here is that you can sweep it up and re use it.

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