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brake cleaner in flammable!

2K views 15 replies 5 participants last post by  HemiFun05 
#1 ·
My riding lawn mower decided not crank. Charged up the battery and still nothing, no solenoid click. Ok, the terminals on the solenoid are nasty so I shot some brake cleaner on them to clean it up. Did a good job of it. Went and got my handy dandy jumper wire with clips on each end and jumped the starter motor and it turned over. So next I reach inside to the solenoid and jump it. Sparks and flame was my reward. Punched the gas tank sitting just above the now two foot flames coming out of my poor old rider. Fortunately the tank flew out into the yard and didn't catch fire. Poured a bucket of water on it and got most the flame out. Used a rag and got the rest put out. Damage is all of the wiring is completely burned up. I guess it need some basic wiring, toggle switch and a solenoid to get back running... lesson learned.... brake cleaner takes awhile to completely evaporate and is very flammable.
 
#2 ·
Yikes! Yeah, even when it looks dry the residues are still flammable. Glad everyone is okay!
 
#3 ·
Well, the old rider isn't happy. Lol
It's definitely going to have some hot rod wiring..... will have find a schematic so I can wire up the ignition and charging circuit....
 
#5 ·
Funny, I was thinking the same thing. ....
 
#7 ·
My old rider has now gained Outlaw status..... There are no more safety switches for anything. What really surprised me is how the fire totally destroyed every bit of wiring it had. So it now has basic wiring to run. The tricky stuff it use to have three automotive type relays ganged and jumped together for one purpose or another. And the ignition runs on a open circuitry and is killed when grounded. Charging circuit has a loop that connects when energized only problem is, is there was no pin connectors in the plug they went to. weird... Of course being in the country I needed a momentary switch the run the starter. Ended up using the interlock switch for engaging the blades as the starter switch. I now have a push pull switch to turn on the ignition and then I pull the lever that use to engage the blades to crank the starter. Strange but works. Runs and charges.... of course it'll start without the brakes being locked or anyone siting in the seat while in reverse. I've never worried about anyone stealing the old rider, but now I seriously believe no one could figure out how to start it without losing a limb..... Outlaw mowers are fun.. lol
 
#8 ·
Please be very, very careful with heating brake cleaner. If it gets hot enough it releases gases that can kill you in an instant! Especially during welding. A lot of people use brake cleaner to clean parts that are going to be welded and the result can be deadly. I do not remember the name of the of the gases that are released, but Google it if you are interested in learning more. So please be careful and definitely dont use it as lighter fluid :D
 
#9 ·
It's chlorine gas. A lot of the brake cleaners are cl-free and this is why but you can still get the regular stuff so definitely be careful!
 
#10 ·
Thanks for the heads up. I'll have to check, but I believe the stuff I've used is chlorine free. Regardless all kidding aside. I really thought I had given it enough time to evaporate. But I can tell you it is highly flammable and like I said I had flame two feet high coming off of it. The mess of wires and relays I finally removed had all the plastic burned off of it destroying anything that wasn't metal. Bad juju.... Thanks again...
 
#11 ·
I've done similar with less damage. I don't know what it is with brake cleaner. It leaves a lot more residues than you'd expect from a "cleaner" lol

I have a sweatshirt with a big burn hole in it set by a combination of lithium grease and angle grinder sparks. One of my co-workers was being funny and asked about it. I told him it was my lucky sweatshirt :D
 
#12 ·
I have a sweatshirt with a big burn hole in it set by a combination of lithium grease and angle grinder sparks. One of my co-workers was being funny and asked about it. I told him it was my lucky sweatshirt :D
When I was young and dinosaurs still roomed I was welding on a Model A chassis one night in the dark. A buddy came out and said , "you're on fire".... the whole front of my sweatshirt was burning..:facepalm:
 
#15 ·
Man, that is bad stuff.. I'm going to much more careful in the future......
 
#16 ·
YEP - Phosgene can be a problem; :eek:ld-025: back in the old days of CCL2F2 / Freon 12 + CO in a closed garage with the motor running while charging the AC a few guys unfortunately bit-the-dust :eek:.

I've also seen examples where people have suffered inhalation intoxication while cleaning a shower stall in an enclosed bathroom using an ammonia cleaner combined with a strong acid cleaner :icon_nono:.

Mustard gas :facepalm: is not your friend either...be careful :thumb:.


:flowers:
 
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