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Diesel fires?

Rockabillyrat

SlIgHtLy StUpId.
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Location
Ohio
A co worker of mine was showing me that there are hundreds of videos on Tiktok showing diesel trucks, semi's, AG equipment, and off road equipment all catching on fire. Apparently this is happening all over the country the past week after the price of diesel dropped significantly. People are calming that the fuel is contaminated and is causing the issue. One video showed a guy taking a fuel sample at the pump and it was clear like water. Just seems odd, I haven't see any issues here on my area yet.

Anyone hear anything more on this?
 
Kerosene could explain the clear sample.

Ag fires happen occasionally - normally due to lack of maintenance, such as dust and oil buildup. Occasionally, there's a pickup left running in a field of corn stalks and a fire will happen.
 
My son said his tiktok feed has shown a lot of fires and he asked me about it. But I haven’t seen anything personally. Saw 2-3 Videos he tried to show me looked like slant headlight gm’s the chevron light years trucks. Can’t say much only seeing a few videos of any trends.
 
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Well it's getting hot out. So all the neglect of cooling systems, batteries, tire pressure is showing up with the summer heat and A/C use. Two major vehicle fires I know of happened in our area already. Only because friends sent me pictures of the vehicle Bar-B-Q's.

Nothing unusual here unless it starts a fire that burns 1/2 the state down like happened in the past few years already. And twice in 2020 I got to be waiting for the "GO" text as the fire was within 6 miles of my place. Rumor has it a concrete truck spit out a driveshaft to light this off in 2020.

4smokes.jpg
 
I have several yellow five gallon fuel jugs. Next time I fill those I’ll try to remember to pull back on tje nozzle and check the color of the fuel.
I dont know that I would much trust tik tok, controlled by a commie government.
 
I dont know that I would much trust tik tok, controlled by a commie government.
Good point. I would go to far as to say ANY social media platform’s “personalized feed” is simply that, personalized news catered to what you like to see, and should not be taken literally. Not sure if y’all have seen the Social Dilemma but it explains the algorithms quite well I thought.
 
Only things i saw people were saying “what is the gubmint putting in the fuel”

People who understand NOTHING about the fuel industry.
Gubmint doesn’t make alterations other than laws saying cars must burn “X” clean.
 
Gubmint doesn’t make alterations other than laws saying cars must burn “X” clean.
Which is asinine, in my estimation. Tier 3 engines were cleaner than anything the world had seen, but then there had to be a push to Tier 4i, which was bad enough. Then Tier 4 was going to be the end because there's no way we'll ever go to Tier 5. Guess what?! T5 is right around the corner. Nonsense! All these other countries like India and China don't give a rip about emissions, yet we have to compete with them in the marketplace.
 
@WarWagon why doesn’t Alaska and Hawaii have it? It is not a federal mandate.
It is an eps ruling that says it must have 5% oxygenating fuel for meeting the emissions standards. The states choose to accept or decline those standards ruled by the epa as what SHOULD be done.


The EPA said every automobile should pass emissions testing for use on public or private land. In Nevada only clark county and washoe county, not the other 14 counties have chosen to implement smog testing- and only for on road use, not off road nor on personal property.

Even when it is federal law- states can choose yes or no- marijuana.

Back on the fuel- notice I always type “ethanol/methanol” because the two are different. They are both oxygenators of the fuel as alcohols, but are different and different companies choose one or the other. They have different characteristics and different advantages/ disadvantages. They are what “the market” has brought forth in volume and consistency. So the fuel companies choose to use one or the other most of the time.

This doesn’t mean these are the only options. But it is not the government putting it in the fuel. Unical could decide tomorrow to start using something else if they wanted to. The government isn’t going to make them use a specific additive. Because the 2 of 16 most populated counties in Nv CHOOSE to follow EPA’s rules (aka suggestions to follow if you want $$ from the fed gubmint), the fuel companies that sell here decide to make (almost) all the fuel they sell have that same mixture throughout the state.

I say almost because one of the two biggest suppliers here also sells a non mixed gasoline fuel at certain locations. It is through the roof expensive and some of the highest quality gasoline that can be bought. Racers from all around the southwest come here to buy it paying almost 3 times the cost of cheapest fuel. Part of that is higher profit but a lot of it is higher cost of production and specialized shipping since it isn’t just another load of fuel in the same trucks on the normal routes.

Incase I am wrong and it changed:
@ak diesel driver next time you fill up, can you take a picture of the disclaimer sticker on your fuel pumps that notifies you you have a minimum of 5% oxygenator in your fuel?
If not, enjoy because afaik Ak has not given into this nonsense.

Warwagon, my comment of the gubmint not putting anything in the fuel is not saying they aren’t trying to over regulate everything- because I think they are. But two points of me saying it:
1. They aren’t mandates, they are suggested rules to follow IF YOU WANT.
2. They companies choose which additives to run to meet accepted rules.

Yes it is shoved through by lobbyists. The corn lobbyists are amazing at their job.
I used to do drag racing with alcohol engines. Pure alcohol- you have to squirt in gasoline to start the engine then it runs on alcohol. But you have to wear a respirator because if you don’t, the running engine will kill you. The idea that corn juice is poison free is the biggest joke in the world. When my 69 Camaro wouldn’t pass smog, an option WOULD have been start it on gas and drive down to the smog shop and test on pure corn alcohol. It WOULD have passed with flying colors even if it failed insanely on gasoline, because the toxin in the exhaust isn’t measured for. If I WOULD HAVE ever done it I had to make sure it was on a windy day to not mess up the guy smogging it.
I WOULD never admit to breaking the law on a public forum so I MIGHT say something like a story of possibility, like how OJ wrote a book about IF he had done it…

The things I read in about a 10 minute search for people saying the gubmint added something new to the fuel that is burning up trucks- nonsense. There isn’t federal agents opening fuel caps and pouring in something. They aren’t at mixing plants dumping in drums of something. They aren’t at distilleries pumping in a tanker full of compound TB (truck burner).

Is corn juice eating fuel lines, causing them to rot from the inside out making fuel leak and burn down the vehicle on occasion? Yes. But not in Hawaii. Afaik not in Alaska.
We all talk about it here- and after a while of me joining here when I realized there are many people that don’t know about the fuel line differences- I make it a habit to chant the specification hoping it will spread so every diy wrencher and pro wrencher learns the spec: SAE 30 R 9 as the MINIMUM requirement for their fuel line when they replace it. And that if they are running a truck, car, motorcycle, go cart, golf cart, etc from before year 2005, they consider acting preemptively to replacement of the fuel lines. Not all the places are using corn ethanol- so not everyone is going to experience it. Some of the methanol derivatives have absolutely no negative effects on the fuel lines, on the fuel lubed injectors, etc. but that is very few of them. And if one month it is cheaper, exxon will use it, then next month might use methanol that is a version that is not as bad. The corn juice is not destructive to all types of hoses, just some. But the corn juice always puts out different deadly toxins that are not monitored for in any smog test. So congratulations, you quit smoking cigarettes, but only smoke crack once a day now as it’s replacement.

We the people vote and decide yes or no on pot legal in our state. We the people decide yes or no on smog test requirements in our counties and states. We the people by accepting the smog issue determine what is more profitable for the fuel companies, who make fuel based on our purchases.

the DEF systems (i hate them too) far exceeds the difference made by 5% alcohol now.
If diesel owners simply refused buying alcohol fuel and relied on burning more def fluid, then there would be no alcohol in diesel fuel. The non def pickups would pass smog as easy, but think about this- 90% of coal rollers don’t have to detune to go pass smog. They just do a physical limit in throttling to 75% by crimping on a lead fishing weight so the inspectors cant get 100% for that 5 minute test. Then remove the sinker afterwards.
The electronic throttle guys do a version of brick under the pedal. So is the smog really great at stopping people from polluting when they want to- no.
 
I've seen a lot of vids on TT about the fires. Commie china doesn't contribute to contrary to popular beliefs. There just the parent company..and TT doesn't actually control the algorithm. The algorithm does pay attention to what you like and does bring you more vids of same nature though. ..
I saw multiple videos of trucks and equipment burning up. All recent vids so it's not just showing me random truck fires from over the years. And I've commented on many of them. Responses from the people are mostly saying the same things. It was running fine, they got fuel, and it was on fire fairly soon after. Many have mentioned that there insurance companies had sent people out extremely quickly to get fuel samples from the trucks /equipment..I don't know about every company but I've had 3 different friends have there trucks burn up in the past couple years, I asked them about this and they said there insurance never came and got fuel samples from there trucks... So I don't know....
As far as was said about gov controlling fuel. If you believe the gov doesn't have the power to tamper with the fuel than you have blinders on... Not saying that that is what is happening but they could..
 
The algorithm does pay attention to what you like and does bring you more vids of same nature though. ..
Yup that’s all I was saying. Have you watched Social Dilemma? The algorithms are designed to deliver what YOU the individual want to see, and are not at all influenced by whether or not things are true. That’s all I was trying to say. (Also not trying to say there AREN’T vehicles burning up everywhere, just pointing out the percentages seen on social media may not reflect actual current real life percentages.)
 
Yes exactly. That's why if in doubt I always check the time stamp..
The algorithms are nice in that you don't have to sift through a bunch of BS your not interested in, but at same time, yeah you really have to go by the "trust but verify" theory..
What bothers me is when people say they don't trust something just because it was posted on TikTok. I mean everything on there was posted by other citizens like ourselves, not by TT.. TT just provides the platform for it to be posted on..
 
Please post some of the videos where it is covered half way intelligently, I haven’t found one yet.

The gubmint COULD come mess with the fuel.

I seriously don’t understand how to relate to people who haven’t worked around the industry how it works.

There are some pro mechanics here, so let me use this example. A gubmint worker could go to mechanic shops and force the install of a tracker on each car. It could happen- but the shop owner doesn’t want it, the service writers don’t want it, the receptionist at the front desk doesn’t want it, and all the mechanics in the shop don’t want it. The car owners waiting in the lobby don’t want it.

Who is this strange guy here in the shop messing for hours and hours with our customer’s car? No one has phone to record what would be an insanely massive operation?

Think this through on a chemical level for a bit. Not everyone remembers chemistry class, maybe someone who remember chemistry better than me can remind me where I am mis this special reaction. Add a chemical to fuel- the stuff that is already flammable. So it is stable in the mega size tanks at the local tank farm in multi million gallon tanks. From there it gets trucked to the individual gas stations. But it still doesn’t cause the gas station to burn up somehow. Maybe the gubmint guy adds magic chemical to the tank at the station? So now it is mixed in - different stations have different size tanks. 30,000 down to 15,000 gallons is not uncommon. The more remote the station is, the larger the tank. Always they put in the biggest possible. Truck stops are common to using many 50,000 gallon tanks underground.

So when you add lube to your diesel, how much do you add. One spoon full do a tank? No it is the 8oz bottle per tank. And that is because adding a little oil into the fuel helps lube, but has NO EFFECT on the fuel burn rate. So think of a chemical that is SO FLAMMABLE that you mix with gas or diesel to make it super duper wazoo flammable. But here is the catch- it is gonna catch Fred’s truck on fire. But not the other few thousand people who fill up at that station with THE SAME FUEL!
If you had video of 25 trucks all on fire the same day because they all filled up at smokey joe’s gas and grab- hey, ya might have something there.

Has anyone here ever worked at a gas station? Ever talk to someone that works one and found out most stations only get fuel once a week? How many cars/trucks fuel up in a week? Hundreds and hundreds. Let’s say its only diesel trucks burning up. A small gas station has say only one diesel pump on site, so they have a single 20,000 gallon tank. And to use it up in as few pickups as possible, every pickup is a dual tank on complete empty. And they all have a bunch of jerry cans to fill up for their diesel lawn mowers at home, so they all buy 100 gallons each you all fill up 100 gallons each time right? 20,000 divided by 100 is 200 trucks that got the chemically altered fuel that week.
Where are these 200 trucks in one town that all burned up and isn’t making the news? That 200 owners and we don’t have even 20 of them that video’d their trucks on fire telling the story what just happened while the truck is raging on fire in the background?

Now lets shift the numbers a little more realistic. 25 gallons per customer on average because not everyone waits till empty on both tanks if they even have two tanks.
20,000 divided by 25 is now 800 truck fires.

This is one small gas station that only has 1 diesel pump. 800 trucks on fire.

If you have a diesel truck, something an insurance company might look at- did YOU THE OWNER screw up and add E-85? Thats 85% ethanol. Maybe by mistake YOU put it in the DEF tank. Could that catch the truck on fire? Well, if you have a device that injects 85% alcohol into a screaming hot exhaust where diesel fuel is going to flash burn solid carbon build up into a fine dust… maybe adding a liquid that is 20 times more flammable- that might lead to a truck fire.

Ohh! Thats it!!! The gubmint is putting ethonal in The def tanks are o make less diesels on the road. Except… wait… every single truck that bought that def fluid would be on fire. Dang it. We are back to hundreds and hundreds of trucks on fire all within a couple days again.

You know whats easier, cheaper, far more efficient? If the same gubmint agent just drove around and threw Molotov cocktails on your truck while it is parked. But they would risk the self injury that happens throwing the bottle. Just drop a J-dam from a drone and be done. Because- it possible.
 
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