Were there is Smoke there is Fire

AKBill

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AKBill
Boy, boy, boy did I make a bone head move this morning!!!! Well snow is forecast to start by noon today. Weather has been nasty the last few weeks and it's been 3 weeks since I have flown. So I figured I would preheat early and at least fly in the pattern for a bit. Maybe a short local flight.

At the airport 6:30, fueled generator and tried to start. Dam, forgot to switch to generator to run position and flooded generator. Got generator started and it's running at a lot higher rpm than normal. I figured I would put a load on it to drop rpm. Hooked to my engine heater for 30 seconds or so. Noticed smoke billowing from under engine cowl. Disconnected power and start to look for FIRE. No Fire but lots of smoke. Took a few minutes for smoke to clear.

I'm guessing with the higher rpm the generator was putting out a much higher voltage. So I just smoked the preheater. Now I need to order a new preheater, find a heated hanger, remove old heater, and install new heater....:(:(

I have an old Red Dragon in the closet, but I really don't like using it. You have to stand by the entire preheat time and baby sit it..:(:(

I'm really upset with myself right now..
 
Technology happens.
Glad the plane didn't burn to the ground.
Thanks Shepherd. I'm off to buy a fire extinguisher to keep in the truck.... One never know when something could go south. Have an extinguisher in the plane, but the covers were still on. If I needed it, it would have taken a bit of time to get to it.
 
So you burned up a installed heater like a tannis or reif?
 
And please go get a fire extinguisher for your hangar. I have three in mine so I'm unlikely to get blocked if something goes awry.
 
Yes it was a E-Z Heat sum pad. Just ordered a new one and found a heated hanger to work in next weekend (I hope)..
Fingers crossed nothing else was damaged! I hope you can find that heated hangar. I was filling a nose strut last weekend, only -8F inside the hangar..yuck.
 
Fingers crossed nothing else was damaged! I hope you can find that heated hangar. I was filling a nose strut last weekend, only -8F inside the hangar..yuck.
I feel for you there, -8F inside a hanger does not sound like fun.
I'm thinking mouse nest.
I don't think mouse nest, maybe a mouse holding the speed governor wide open on the generator..:(
 
Just wondering, does your generator not have a voltage regulator? Why does a faster idle result in an over-voltage condition?


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Just wondering, does your generator not have a voltage regulator? Why does a faster idle result in an over-voltage condition?
That is something I question as well. Its the only explanation I could come up with. It was running at a higher rpm than normal operation, when smoke started rolling out from under the cowl.

edit: I plan to run tomorrow and check voltage at different rpms
 
That is something I question as well. Its the only explanation I could come up with. It was running at a higher rpm than normal operation, when smoke started rolling out from under the cowl.

edit: I plan to run tomorrow and check voltage at different rpms

You didn't say what type and brand of generator, but many rely on the engine rpm to control voltage. I would pull the recoil case and look at the governor, I really think some vermin got in there and gummed up the works, they make a mess and can do it overnight. Let us know what you find.
 
Just heard a sad story. One of the guys on the field spent 5 months recovering the wings of his C-120. Well he had it in a hanger to do some final work on the wings. Fueled the plane and started to preheat with a Red Dragon. They don't know what went wrong but flames erupted on the right side of the fuselage and the right wing was in flames. They put the fire out but the right window melted, right side of fuselage and right wing were damaged by fire.

A fire like that moves fast, glad they got it put out quickly.
 
You didn't say what type and brand of generator, but many rely on the engine rpm to control voltage. I would pull the recoil case and look at the governor, I really think some vermin got in there and gummed up the works, they make a mess and can do it overnight. Let us know what you find.
Well my son gave me the generator as a gift. It's a 1500watt Trades pro. Just played with the governor and got voltage to 180VAC. Guess I need to be careful in the future
 
Just heard a sad story. One of the guys on the field spent 5 months recovering the wings of his C-120. Well he had it in a hanger to do some final work on the wings. Fueled the plane and started to preheat with a Red Dragon. They don't know what went wrong but flames erupted on the right side of the fuselage and the right wing was in flames. They put the fire out but the right window melted, right side of fuselage and right wing were damaged by fire.

A fire like that moves fast, glad they got it put out quickly.

Yikes.... was that in the east hangars.??
 
Changed the EZ Preheating pad yesterday. Here I what 180V or so does to a 110V heating pad.
EZ Heating Pad.jpg
 
I bet that smelled wonderful as it was happening...:lol::lol:
Yah I was not a happy camper...
Here are a few pictures of the C-120 that caught fire inside the hanger. I really felt bad for the fellow, the only thing positive about it was he did not panic what it happened and was able to put the fire out.
C120.jpg C120A.jpg
 
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