Equipment Fire

[RickyDL77]

Any ideas as to how this could have happened? Has been Raining since Monday here, so the trailers have not been disturbed untill this mourning. the Fire was short lived thanks to low oxygen and a new "tightly" sealed trailer, along with relative humidity close to 100%. Looked as if the fire started under the fuel tank of the Stander. The fuel tank was completely full yet only a few gallons were consumed. the wood inside the trailer was only damaged by smoke, as the wood was damp from the humidity.






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[sehitchman]

Unless the equipment was put in the trailer red hot from hard work, we've all done that a million times without problems, it has to be electrical. Other possibility could be someone flipped a butt and logged itself somewhere unseen and it was exposed to fumes. I hate this for you, loosing equipment is the last thing I'd want to go wrong with my business.

[jsslawncare]

You said it started under or around the gas tank? I have seen several posts like this and it just happened to me. Not a fire though. I hopped a curb with my walk behind the the gas line fell out of the bottom of the gas tank. The rubber piece that holds the valve in cracks and leaks.

[RickyDL77]

the bottom of the tank was still intack, the solenoid and starter were not touched. the connector from the wire harness to the engine harness looks to be where the fire started. Our guys have a bad habit of leaving the key on the run position all night long. I am thinking the charging wire fell off the regulator and grounded out and caught the leaves and oil (engine was not cleaned from last oil change) on fire. They also have a bad habit of using a jumper wire in the place of the fuses while on a job and then forgetting about it, that is what i'm going with untill the insurance company comes out and estimates and takes pictures. I am not aloud to fiddle with it untill then. And all the wires right up to the top are all burnt and fused together, can not tell if there is a fuse or not.

[Restrorob]

Originally Posted by RickyDL77

using a jumper wire in the place of the fuses

That was my first thought, Then either the wire dropped off the VR as you mentioned or the VR shorted out......

[piston slapper]

Definitely electrical....With that much fuel in the tank... it would have consumed the mower and the trailer.....
With fuel vapors in the trailer you would have seen spontaneous combustion.....

[RickyDL77]

still waiting for insurance company to come take a look at it before i dig in it. Going to throw a new engine and wire harness on, paint the burnt areas and keep on mowing eventually.

Wierd thing is the bottom of the fuel tank was not burnt, still had about a gallon in it. they are definately lucky it was really foggy and rainy that day.. was like walking through a cloud out here.

been to damned busy to be posting on here lately, plan on resolving that soon...i miss the chit.