Dumb mistake

MFL wrote:

dedmiston wrote:

M.R.E. wrote:
Thanks for all the responses. Not worth the risk, but where do you dispose ?

Dispose of it 1-2 cups at a time every time you start a campfire, more if you're boondocking and less if you're in a fancy park.

Folks in my group used to start their fires with gas, but it's scary to light, and then it just kind of explodes and then all the gas is gone. I use diesel now. It's a little harder to light, but then it catches and rolls into a great fire.

True story...years ago, a young fellow in our small group of tenters, watched me tip a little premix for the dirt bikes on some logs in the pit. He decided to do the same, another night, waited for a few of us to gather round. He said not too close, before tossing the match, so I was back a bit, sitting in my nylon webbed chair, when it lit. As it lit, a trail of fire came back, between my feet, under my chair, melted the webbing as I jumped clear. No, he didn't realize he was losing gas from the full can, when he carried it back.

Yup, another dumb mistake!

Jerry

Yikes Jerry. That's terrifying.

Yeah, I always look for a trail. It's like a Bugs Bunny cartoon when the trail of TNT leads back to the powder keg.

I had a crazy monkey-see-monkey-do episode at camp years ago. One of the guys in camp watched me start the fire with gas and then the fire kind of burned out because nobody fed it more logs. Just as I was walking back to the pit, I saw the guy grab his gas jug to try to restart the fire (very bad idea). I just yelled "Oh no. KIDS, RUN!!!"

The gas immediately caught fire on the hot coals and followed the stream back to his fuel jug. I thought he was a goner for sure, but he had the presence of mind to jerk off the spout and throw it away from the crowd and the flame followed the spout. I can't believe he didn't self immolate, but the gods were on his side that night. We got to use that as a great lesson with the kids. They've never forgotten it.

That was the night I switched to diesel for starting fires.