Oh **** **** **** *****!!!!

Hey, after I've bathed in diesel fuel for two days now, does anyone know if you have to have a "pressurized" pump for one of the ****** ******* fancy ******* auto shut off nozzles to work??! After years of freezing my hands and getting cramps using my old fuel pump nozzle I decided to buy me one of those nice green diesel fuel nozzles that have the nice notches in them to keep the flow going and also the little thing a ma jig to automatically shut them off when the tank is full.

First off, fill your ******* tank after you **** with it; not before!! Anyway, I did my annual fuel filter change on my tank which, despite me always putting a 5 gallon bucket under, always manages to splash a quart or quart and a half of diesel on me and everything else close at hand. ***First Mistake*** (2nd if you count doing this with a full tank), I changed clothes and took a shower.

Next, I decide to install this great new ******* nozzle I just had to have! So, not being all stupid, I shut off the fuel petcock at the tank. Then, I figure that as long as I hold the fuel line above where it comes out of the tank, I should be able to use a couple of pipe wrenches and some pipe dope and change nozzles. I take my old nozzle off no problem and then bend over to pick up my my new nozzle. Shit!! I lowered the damn hose and again poured diesel fuel on everything, including myself! Okay, so I now install my new nozzle and get all the fittings tight. I then open the petcock and, wow, no leaks. So I go to try out my new nozzle and, zip, zero, nada, just a dribble of fuel comes out!

I check everything and all seems correct. I even bleed any air out of the system; none there. So, dip shit me, I go take a shower, change clothes and think about it. No reason comes to mind. Yeah, I decide to put my old nozzle back on. ****!!! I'm covered with diesel fuel again now, but it works just fine with my old nozzle. Does this mean that the auto shut off nozzles require a pressure pump to work? I have my tank about 10' in the air and have always used gravity flow.

Just let me know what you think while I go take another shower and change clothes again...

Yes. We used to have a gravity tank on the farm, but this winter, I wanted to switch to an automatic shutoff nozzle. I asked my fuel delivery guy if he would put the automatic nozzle on the tank (they own the equipment), and he said it can't be done. I asked how I could do it, and two days later they brought out a new 500 gal tank with 120vac electric pump and an automatic nozzle. Two weeks later when the gravity tank was empty, I called them up and they came and took it away.

No fuss, no muss.

Is there some way to draw fuel when the electricity is off?

California said:

Is there some way to draw fuel when the electricity is off?

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Are you asking me? (I read the threads flattened)

Sure there is.....hook up the generator.

I suppose I could hook up an emergency valve to the tank drain bung, but I've never really thought about it.

Dargo, you have all the luck guy! Sounds like something I would do.
Auto shutoff does require a pressure pump.

That reminds me.............I got my free Zippo yesterday!

Oh No!!!!!!!!!!!!

After all already mentioned, my son just came and got me a few hours ago and told me of the total disaster. Apparently after being moved around and such, the hose (right where it comes out of the filter) ruptured and poured 500 gallons of diesel fuel into the loft of my barn and all over everything you can imagine.

I've been at work for 4 hours now trying to contain the mess. I've used one complete pallet of floor dry. I had an office off to one end of the loft as well. Both Grasshopper mowers were parked under the loft, etc., etc. This is about as bad as I've had. The $1000 of diesel fuel lost is just the tip of the iceburg. I have many days of cleanup and recovery ahead of me now. I'm just flat beat now. I'll shout "shit" a bit more tomorrow.

Dargo, I'm sorry to hear that.

Is there any chance that insurance would clean it up?

Dargo sounds like you have had fun, what a bugger. Gravity feed tanks are crap full stop, I have seen plenty of disasters with them over the years. Get rid of it.

I cringed when I read that, and almost found myself ducking. That's got to be about the worst thing I've heard, lately. I know how I felt after Hurricane Wilma, when it knocked over my gravity stand with a 55 gal drum of diesel on it, The drum dented but did not burst, the hose fitting broke off the bung but it landed with that side up, and I only spilled about 2 gallons. It was a terrible feeling when I walked up and saw it on the ground; I can't imagine what it's like to have spilled 500 gallons inside the barn...

At least, since it's apparently mostly inside, you probably won't have to notify the EPA and fork out for a prohibitively expensive clean up of the soil.

Yuck. I'm still shuddering at the thought. My deepest condolences.

daedong said:

Get rid of it.

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I did, after the hurricane. I didn't want to spend the bucks for an electric pump, so my new drum has a hand pump from Tractor Supply that works just fine. I don't have the farm nozzle any longer, however, because while it was still on the ground from the hurricane, my son-in-law ran over the hose and nozzle with the brush hog...I bought some clear plastic fuel line and made a nozzle with some pipe fittings I had laying around.

The good news is that you can burn the kitty litter that is oil soaked in a brush fire. It gives off a nice green flame as it burns. Most people don't know that clay burns when it is dry. Have you considered burning the barn down. That will be the fastest way to clean up this mess.... Oh.... you should replace the diesel fuel hose at least once every two years. The oil attacks the hose at the fitting ends and then they start to leak. I had one pop off last winter in the cold... Came into the garage and found the hose on the floor and the fitting still in the pump.

daedong said:

Get rid of it.

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Yes. I believe the gravity feed tank is going to have to be history. I'm so sore right now I'm extremely slow at getting body parts moving. I stayed out there and continued to work until almost 4 this morning. That's when I ran out out of the 1250 pounds (25 50 pound bags on the pallet) of kitty litter. Every time I used the absorbant on the wood floor of the loft it looked like it was making it dry. Then by the time I'd get all the heavy kitty litter cleaned up, the wood would be wet again with new puddles that magically appeared. Damn!

I ended up just pouring a 50 pound bag of kitty litter over each of the two Grasshopper mowers before I came in last night. I don't know if the diesel was running out of the seats hours later or where it was coming from, but every time I looked, new puddles of diesel was running out from under each. I wonder if there is any way to save the seats? They are nice high quality cloth seats; now soaked with diesel.

Everything in the office out there that was on the floor or bottom shelf is ruined as well. I had hundreds and hundreds of pounds of paperwork for business stored there. I burned most all of that in my burn barrel last night. Damn diesel doesn't burn worth a crap, but I suppose I'm lucky it was diesel and not gasoline. But, I would not have had a gasoline tank in the loft of my barn either.

Man, this is going to be expensive! I leave in 5 days to take my family on a 7 day cruise. I'm sure this is going to be heavy on my mind. Speaking of which, besides being extremely sore (I apparently don't have anything stored in my barn that is light - i.e. I had to more a dozen tons or so of steel I had stored there and wipe each piece off), I have one whopper of a headache and don't really feel that great. I wonder if it's from swimming in diesel all night or just from the super heavy workout? Oh well, I'll live, which is more than what I can say for a lot of the stuff in my barn.

Dargo said:

I have one whopper of a headache and don't really feel that great. I wonder if it's from swimming in diesel all night or just from the super heavy workout?

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They are a real bitch to work in, but are you wearing a respirator?

DaveNay said:

They are a real bitch to work in, but are you wearing a respirator?

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Respirator?! What's that? Hell, I'm not even wearing my shirt; I lost that...

Seriously though, I think there just might be something to working in extremely heavy diesel fumes for 10 or 12 hours that makes you feel not so good.

Wow is all I can say............... Hope your luck turns for the better!

You would have needed a respirator with filter cartridges specific to petroleum fumes anyway.......... Doubt you'd find them today!

Dargo, diesel has many toxic chemicals in it, they would certainly absorb through the skin.

That is absolutely terrible.

Don't worry Dargo, while your scratching at your festering pre-cancerous wounds and coughing up blood, today is only going to be worse:

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23382572-details/Blue+Monday:+The+unhappiest+day+of+the+year/article.do

Get some rubber gloves and stop being such a "he-man", we need you around for these great disaster stories!

; )

NOTE (apparently someone didn't see my humor) Dargo - You know I'm just kidding you! Let me know if you think this is in bad taste. I'm pretty sure you still have a sense of humor about these sort of things no matter how bad they are! I saw that that news story and instantly thought of your bad weekend!

PB, finding amusement in kicking a man when he's down is sick.

California said:

PB, finding amusement in kicking a man when he's down is sick.

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I think Dargo will see my attempt to make light of the bad situation. I was not trying to kick him when he was down. If you don't see the almost fatalistic relation between Dargo's disaster and the news story then I am sorry for you.

I mean nothing but the best for Dargo - he needs to at least wear gloves and put a shirt on so he doesn't get sick.

Dargo's a big boy and I'm sure if I pissed him off he'll b'slap me into place pretty quickly.

Brent,

Just talked to a friend of mine who's been in the business of cleaning up such messes for years (geologist, groundwater remediation, hazmat...).

He said you're doing the right thing with the kitty litter although the chips made for cleaning up petroleum products are more absorbent.

For the areas where it keeps coming back, you may want to try "Pig Absorbent Pads" http://www.newpig.com/en_US/main.jhtml (then click "Absorbents" in the category list on the left side of the page).

Once the worst of it is up, you can use Simple Green to get the residual stuff off. He recommended using it with a pressure washer if/when available. He said a citrus based degreaser may also work as well.

PBinWA said:

PM's are for wimps and losers! Say what you have to say in public or STFU!

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Ok, post the PM that you saw then STFU.

I didn't keep a copy but in essence I said this guy was a terrible choice for Moderator, his post (as it existed when I saw it, before the edit) is an example of meanness that detracts from this board.

How can you find amusement in Dargo's loss? "pre-cancerous wounds and coughing up blood"?

California said:

Ok, post the PM that you saw then STFU.

I didn't keep a copy but in essence I said this guy was a terrible choice for Moderator, his post (as it existed when I saw it, before the edit) is an example of meanness that detracts from this board.

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I don't read other people's PM's or play games behind the scenes with faked PM's. In fact, I rarely use PM's.

Did I touch a nerve or hit close to the mark? I'm not sure why my signature line is now an issue.

I think your bigger issue is with me on a personal level and you are looking for opportunities to attack me.

California said:

How can you find amusement in Dargo's loss? "pre-cancerous wounds and coughing up blood"?

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I guess I have a different sense of humor than you. Like I said, if Dargo thinks I was offensive then it is his position to speak up. I think Dargo does a good job of laughing at these sort of disasters (once he recovers from them) otherwise he wouldn't post them with his usual flair, wit, and humorous delivery.

I'm okay guys, thanks. My eyes are honestly a bit on the dim side, but I'm still moving. I think I kind of over-exposed myself yesterday. I was pretty sick feeling with a massive headache, but I'm much better today. Yesterday is when I completed the spill containment and had to bag and seal over 1000 pounds of diesel filled absorbant. Our local land fill has a "tox-away" area where they take such stuff. Strangely enough, they break open the bags and scatter the stuff to evaporate in the open. Hell, I could have done that...for a lot less money!

Any EPA nazi's would even be happy. Rather than worry about all the stuff that was saturated, such as a lot of paper business supplies, I burned it all. I figure I have 4 or 5 hours of cleaning to do on the other Grasshopper mower and then keep on power washing and mopping. Damn if that smell doesn't seem to just cling to your clothes though! I dont' even have to touch it to come out smelling like I've bathed in diesel; and it's 10X better now than it was. Even though I don't want to think about it, I think most of the smell now is coming from the roughly 14 tons of steel I'd collected for various projects that was stored on some large shelves under where the tank was. I moved and cleaned each piece by hand once, but I was getting pretty tired towards the end and I'm not so sure I did that great of a job. I dread thinking of handling each piece again. My back dreads if even worse...

The good news is the the steel won't rust.. Take a week off and it will still be there when you get back. A lot of the odor will dissipate once the warm weather gets here and the sun starts to warm everything.

Junkman said:

The good news is the the steel won't rust.. Take a week off and it will still be there when you get back. A lot of the odor will dissipate once the warm weather gets here and the sun starts to warm everything.

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Brent, is your property secure enough that you can leave some large doors open in the barn while on vacation?

Good idea Dave ..... We can have the FF detail stop by for a PARTY ....er I mean to help watch the place!

I'm pretty sure Dargo's got some Fort Knox stuff going on at his place.

Woe be to the fool that tries to get in there!

He could crack some vents or windows and just set his heat pump fan on re-circulate with no heat. Anyone know if Diesel fumes would be explosive in that scenario? I don't think the flash point is high enough.

Diesel needs to be atomized to ignite...... put some diesel in a pan and try to light it..... it can't be done... even if you put a torch to it. Unless it is under pressure, you can't light it, unlike gasoline. It will support combustion in combination with something else, such as wood or leaves, but not by itself.