HELP Gas spill down drain

[fattogatto]

Have a beer . . . . . or two. It's a non-event.

 

[NHBandit]

I actually wonder if many of the forum posters have a clue with reality. This is a forum for tools, which generally means people who work with their hands, and I correlate that with common sense, but I see little of it.

Actually it's a garage forum and while I partially agree with you and I have been twisting wrenches proffesionally for 40 years that is not true of all the members. Some of the guys here clearly have much better paying jobs than most of us, use their garages mainly to store & display their ultra expensive "toys" and haven't got a clue which end of a hammer to pound with. Then there are the inbetween crowd. They like to putter in the garage but it's not how they make their living. They all come to those of us who do for advice. I say good for them. I'm happy to offer help in those areas that I have experience with. I am also not afraid to ask advice on things I'm not an expert in. Such as wiring the garage I'm planning when the time comes. You want to squeeze 600 horsepower out of a smallblock Chevy maybe I'm your guy but other than very basic wiring I'm lost with household electrical issues. Personally I'm thankful that websites like this exist.

 

[Az Scooter]

I am with blowing it out with a shop vac. The motor is likely not going to ignite any fumes, and the shop vac will clear out the trap. After it is blown out, you are still going to want to put water down the drain to put a cap on any fumes.

Or pay your insurance and drop a match. Just make sure that you can run really, really fast.

 

[Falcon67]

No offence to Nuts (who's advice IMO was right on), but those credentials do not necessarily mean much:

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/11...ing-cars-on-fire-while-trying-to-siphon-fuel/

All that really proves is that no matter how well managed the screening process may be, sometimes a whack job makes it through. I mean - really, fireman stealing gas from fire department vehicles? Basis for a bad sitcom.

 

[1967marti]

My roommate once dumped his ******'s pan full of ATF down the bathroom drain... Not really adding much to this post by saying that other than i just ran the drain with some soap for a few minutes and all was well.

 

[NUTTSGT]

All that really proves is that no matter how well managed the screening process may be, sometimes a whack job makes it through. I mean - really, fireman stealing gas from fire department vehicles? Basis for a bad sitcom.

Yes they do slip through, it's no different than any other job.

 

[AffableCurmudgeon]

Its less then 100 gallons of gas right? It will be fine.

Working in the auto field, I've seen some big gas spills that get mopped right into the nearest drain.

I actually wonder if many of the forum posters have a clue with reality. This is a forum for tools, which generally means people who work with their hands, and I correlate that with common sense, but I see little of it.

1. Perhaps you were born having all the answers; some people still learn by asking.

2. The name of the forum is "Garage Journal" so it cannot be just a forum for tools.

3. Just because someone asks a question does not mean that he/she does not have common sense.

4. "Its less then 100 gallons of gas right? It will be fine." So, as long as the spill is less than 100 gallons it is fine? This asserts that 90 gallons of gas can be safely dumped into drains. How about 95, 96?

 

[ra42mario]

DING DING DING.... WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER. WAIT NEVERMIND.

Ashamsi, it was sarcasm. I was mocking the predicament. No, 95 gallons is not fine, nor is 90 gallons. This gentlemen MAY have spilled half a gallon into a drain and he is not even aware of that much.

We have people suggesting to call the fire department, contact a HAZMAT company etc...

For christ sake, you can just leave that gas in your drain, your house will not blow up, you will not collect $200. Sure spray some water down in it if it makes you feel better.... its not like there is not water in a drain.

There is no issue. I wonder how some of our beloved members even tie their own shoes in the morning. The scariest part is some of them even own power tools. OUCH

I have no issue with the OP asking a question, its the ridiculous solutions to his problem that have me scratching my head.

 

[VHF]

When I served on a rural volunteer fire department some years ago we got called to a house with a flooded basement. There had been a couple gallons of gas stored in the basement in a not very well sealed can. When we arrived there was a layer of gasoline floating on top of 6' of water.

Needless to say we were a bit nervous about this situation and proceeded very carefully! After we got the power to the house disconnected, we applied a few gallons of Dawn using our foam nozzle*, spraying it in through a basement window. It seemed to do a good job emulsifying the gasoline. We also used our fog nozzle to ventilate the basement of gasoline vapors. Once it seemed like the detergent had done its job (“Dawn gets grease out of your way”), we pumped out the basement using a gasoline-powered portable pump.

*(And why didn’t we use foam instead of Dawn you might ask? Foam was much too expensive to use on an unoccupied house! Foam was reserved strictly for car crashes that involved a gasoline spill and/or trapped occupant. During practice drills we also used Dawn instead of foam.)

 

[Curtis_Peterson]

Have a beer . . . . . or two. It's a non-event.

Right?! Wash it down...have a beer and relax. Good question to the OP can never be to safe if you are unsure. No need to freak out about it though.