View Full Version : I got to "comfortable"...
gold bond
09-05-2008, 10:38
Got a new alcohol stove and a new cook pot the other day. Decided to play with it and check boil times with differant pots, amounts of water, windscreens etc... Well I noticed one of the pots had some rust in the bottom and decided to put all my pots in the dishwasher. Grabbed the pot with the boiling water in it and well lets just say I sustained 3rd degree burns on my stomach and chest. If not the most stupid thing I did it sure is close! Sitting home on the day after it happened cause I couldn't go to work due to the blisters and raw meat I had time to think. I feel that I have become way to comfortable and just forgot all the safety issues involved. I have since gone back and re-evaluated alot of things. Don't let this happen to you guys....keep thinking safety all the time!
I'm glad you were at home and not deep in the woods. Hope you have a speedy recovery.
sheepdog
09-05-2008, 11:14
It could happen to anyone, thanks for the reminder and another speedy recovery wish.
Blissful
09-05-2008, 11:31
Wow, sorry that happened, take care!!!
Gray Blazer
09-05-2008, 11:49
I changed the water pump on my Mustang. I then went inside and ate lunch and came back out thinking the car had been sitting long enough. I took off the radiator cap and the hot water came afer me like a swarm of bees. Luckily my cap brim kept me from getting burns on my face, but, my chest and stomach were pretty torn up. My rule now is don't do anything that's going to make me call 911.
gold bond
09-05-2008, 11:59
Hey thanks guys all is healing well....including the ego. Being on trail was the first thing that came to my mind. A hip belt would have sucked! you know I don't want to be parinoid about everything but it does make you think about how just getting to complacent could cost you big time on the trail. I do hope non of you guys have to go thru this though. Again thanks for the concern and well wishes.
I came very close to tipping over my burning trangia the other day. Trying out a folding sterno stove/windscreen. I bumped the windscreen, dumped the water everywhere (wasn't boiling yet) and since the stove is connected to the windscreen, it was coming with it. 7 oz of burning alcohol in the kitchen is NOT something I wanted to deal with. Thankfully I saved the stove and didn't burn myself too bad.
Hope you heal up well.
canoehead
09-05-2008, 13:47
I was on a 30 day expedition in Equador, and while at 14,000 ft I was
making lunch when a team member tripped into my cook stove sending boiling water all over my legs a stomach area.
Thank God I was wearing my Gortex Bibs and jacket, I was able to just shake it off. But it could have been much worse.
Get well soon
sherrill
09-05-2008, 14:02
I've had a couple of near misses, enough that my rule is no testing of stoves or anything related unless I'm outside.
Appalachian Tater
09-05-2008, 15:25
Something else to be aware of with an alcohol stove is that it can be difficult to see the flame. You may think it's out when it's not.
The stove can also stick to the bottom of the pot enough to tip over or even well enough to be lifted into the air before spilling flaming alcohol everywhere.
Alcohol can also be mistaken for water. Some people color it. Too bad there isn't a color that says "Don't drink me!". You can get sugar water in any color I can think of.
Alcohol can also be mistaken for water. Some people color it. Too bad there isn't a color that says "Don't drink me!". You can get sugar water in any color I can think of.
Another reason why I like my Trangia. It may be heavy and a bit slow, but I can store enough fuel inside of it to last me a week. That way, I don't have to worry about which bottle has what liquid in it.
A week of alcohol in a trangia bull.
Caveman of Ohio
09-05-2008, 18:25
I was using my alcohol stove for teh first time last week .So I had a full bottle of alcohol with me because I did not know how much I would use. In a attemt to build a fire I noticed the wood was still a little damp and I got this great idea. Lets throw some alcohol on the fire"t will help it get started faster. Wow what a mistake. I had a flamming stream of alcohol making its way back to the bottle. I will never be that dumb again.
astrogirl
09-05-2008, 20:01
I was using my alcohol stove for teh first time last week .So I had a full bottle of alcohol with me because I did not know how much I would use. In a attemt to build a fire I noticed the wood was still a little damp and I got this great idea. Lets throw some alcohol on the fire"t will help it get started faster. Wow what a mistake. I had a flamming stream of alcohol making its way back to the bottle. I will never be that dumb again.
I burned myself that way once. Yeah, really bad idea. :D
Lesson learned though.
LIhikers
09-06-2008, 00:20
All this safety talk makes me think back to when I was a young man, in my 20s, with long hair. One day at work I was using the drill press and got my hair caught in it. :eek:
I've gotten regular haircuts ever since
Matteroo
09-06-2008, 00:57
dang LIhikers - lose your hair or have worse injury??
Living out in oregon here after having grown up in the midwest and then hiked the AT - there are so many dangers here and it is much more wild/extreme (falling rock/steep scree/perilous washouts/snow bridges/snow fields/glaciers/high snowpack) than most areas along the AT corridor - I am so much more mindful of safety. I bet 1 person dies each week out here and many more lost or seriously injured through the summer.. (and in the winter). I keep safety (whilst outdoors) a lot more in mind since moving here, and also getting older, I like risk but I evaluate a helluva lot more than I once did..
A week of alcohol in a trangia bull.
7 oz, I cook one meal a day usually, and can do it on less than one oz each.
I have never gone a full week without refilling it, but my math says it's possible.
Hope you are on the mend.
I find about a nanosecond after I ding myself, I often think, I wasn't paying attention. Seems to happen on flat spots.
I prefer my dings to be milder than yours.
Jack Tarlin
09-10-2008, 19:48
Wow, sorry to hear about this.
Try Vitamin E cream on the burns. Feels great, costs very little, promotes speedy healing, and cuts down on scarring.
Get well soon.
gravityman
09-10-2008, 23:57
In the aerospace industry, they put us through 'error prevention training' because when we make a mistake, it can cost 100M's.
The big thing that I got out of it was 'The Pinch'. That feeling in your gut when you know you are about to do something that might not be the best thing in the world to do. Sometimes it turns out okay, but when it turns out bad...
Listen to the pinch, and slow down before you do something. It takes a bit of practice, but it's well worth it. Usually your body knows when you are about to do something you shouldn't, even if your mind forgets to mention it.
gravityman
09-10-2008, 23:58
PS Hope you heal quick. Burns stink!