Hot day in Georgia today. Been traveling the last 3 weekends with the family and so it was a real catch-up day around here. We needed some of the old round bales from the back field for garden mulch, but thought I'd take a quick run around that back 40 (actually more like 20) with the 640 Ford ('55) while the bush hog was still attached. I had been wanting to clear a path around the property line for fence maintenance, and blackberry picking. About 3/4 around the field, "the Ford got hot and wouldn't do no more," as Chuck Berry said. When I shut her down I could hear what sounded like the gas boiling - not a good sound and not one I'd heard before, but that's sure what it sounded like! I walked away, ate some berries, checked some fencing, and thought about trudging down to the house for lunch, but didn't. I have a hard time cooling my heels so after a short while hopped back on and when I hit the starter button I saw a flame on the left side of the hood...and shut her down as I jumped off.But the flames kept coming: out the left side and through the gaps on either side of the hood. My first thought was to run: "she's gonna blow!" My second thought was of the burned out remains of an old Ford 2000 over at Billy Faulkner's place. (If you like old Fords (and Fergs) and you're ever in NE Georgia, you owe it to yourself to go see Billy over in Ila, GA. Bring a checkbook 'cause he's got something you "need.") I yelled "NO! Not THIS tractor!" repeatedly and beat the flames a couple of times with my sweaty old shirt. And the flames stopped -- for a moment, then reignited. A couple more swats, same thing. I noticed these flames weren't exactly shooting out. They were wispy and light. Very easily blown out by my actions. The boiling gas! It's somehow escaping from the gas tank under the hood, but not under great pressure and she probably won't blow up unless this fire gets a lot hotter and the tank ruptures. Heat-Fuel-Oxygen, the fire triangle. I needed to cool it down fast and also disperse the fuel vapor or cut it off from the oxygen. No fire extinguisher and no water to cool the tank. So I flailed with that shirt to beat the band. The paint on the hood was just starting to blister. I knew I didn't want paint and rubber to burn. Beat, flail, move air, and, after probably just a minute or two, the flames stopped, for good. I sat with her (not on her) for a good long time, until the boiling sound stopped. Then I walked home, wondering just what had happened. As my son Josh might say, "what was that all about?" Why was the gas boiling to start with? What damage did the fire do? After an hour or more cooling off (in more ways than one) I headed back up the hill with a gallon of water, a quart of oil, and a gallon of gas. I surveyed the damage. Some light blistering of the paint on the hood was all I could see. Opening the hood, everything looked ok, but the gas cap wasn't level; it was cocked up toward the rear. Apparently, I had caught only one "ear" of the cap on the tank lip when I filled it (with just a gallon) this morning. So that was it! The cap gasket was fine, but the cap wasn't seated. The oil looked ok, smelled ok. The coolant checked out. Everything checked out. I refit the gas cap properly and closed the hood. She started right up! She warmed up normally and ran fine and so I finished the bushhogging cautiously, attached the hay fork, and retrieved those bales for the garden. Close call. I almost lost my tractor (or worse) today because of something as simple as a gas cap not seating properly. I might have avoided any damage had there been a fire extinguisher on board. And I took some personal risks today that I do not want to repeat. I tell you my tale of woe (at some length, apologetically) in hopes that you might learn from my mistakes. I'll be fastening the fire extinguisher to the left fender tomorrow. And I still need to find out why she's running so hot...new radiator and all. I'll remove the thermostat for now. Be careful out there. Dick Daniels
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